The Dutch city that attracts tourists with a surprising new attraction

I’m floating in line with 11 other surfers, waiting my turn to catch a wave. But this is no ordinary beach scene. Steep gray walls rise up around us, forming a concrete coliseum that amplifies the excited chatter. The setting is surreal: a canal sandwiched between a McDonald’s, a parish church, and a strip of gray office blocks in the center of Rotterdam.

It’s raining, but that doesn’t stop the lunchtime crowd and curious tourists, who stand along the waterfront with umbrellas in hand to watch the strange urban spectacle.

When it’s my turn, I paddle hard and jump to my feet, but I fall spectacularly and swallow a mouthful of the river Rotte.

I’m one of the first to try out RiF010 (pronounced “rif-oh-ten”), the world’s first inner-city wave pool. Built on part of the Steigersgracht, one of the medieval canals of the River Rotte, the £8.4 million (€10 million) project brings surfing to the heart of the Netherlands’ second city.

Last year, Rotterdam attracted just 1.5 million hotel nights, a fraction of the 9.4 million visitors who will stay in Amsterdam for at least one night in 2023. Moreover, the city has a very different atmosphere than the 17th-century canal houses of Amsterdam.

Rotterdam, known as Manhattan on the Maas, has acquired a cityscape after the war that increasingly resembles that of the American city. Gleaming skyscrapers dot the horizon, creating a skyline reminiscent of New York. Little C, a trendy new neighborhood, seems to have been plucked straight from Greenwich Village, complete with metal fire escapes on the apartment facades.

Even New York City’s High Line is getting a Rotterdam counterpart: Hofbogenpark, a mile-long park built on an abandoned elevated railway line. While the gardens aren’t finished yet, the area is already worth a visit for the Station Bergweg food court, a collective of 12 local food stalls in an old station on the line.

Meanwhile, in a twist that perhaps only Dutch engineers could have dreamed up, Europe’s largest port is harbouring unlikely ambitions to become a beach destination in its own right. Plans are afoot for a major new urban beach in the historic Rijnhaven, due to open in 2025 as part of a major redevelopment project that includes a migration museum, Fenix, also due to open next year.

RiF010, whose name incorporates the Dutch word for ‘reef’ and the local postcode, is a marvel of engineering and is a project ten years in the making and part-funded by a £2.54 million (€3 million) grant from the city.

The system, developed by Tom Lochtefeld, the brains behind a new, acclaimed wave pool in Palm Springs, California, allows for fine-tuning of the shape and size of the waves.

Renewable energy powers eight caissons (watertight chambers from which water is held back by air pressure) that create waves ranging from gentle to challenging breakers. During my session, the staff increased the height from 1.35 meters to a competition-level 1.65 meters with the push of a button. I am told there is also a “beast mode” for professionals.

A one-hour session costs €50/£42.40 and offers around eight waves, depending on the number of fellow surfers or the time between sets. Summer slots are expected to sell out within hours of online bookings. Jonas Altan, one of the surf instructors, explains why surfers want to improve their skills.

“Because it’s the same wave, you get immediate feedback. In the ocean, it can take months to catch a similar wave again.”

You can perfect the technique you need for a particular wave speed and size before transitioning to another.

Given the varying quality of the few surf spots in the North Sea in the Netherlands, RiF010 is expected to become a hub for Dutch surfers and there are plans to involve the surrounding community through a foundation offering free lessons to primary school children. The attraction opens on 6 July and also features a terrace restaurant and bar, surf shop, paddleboard and canoe rental (€17 and €16 per hour respectively) to explore the surrounding canals.

Many staff members, like Jonas, an events manager who commutes an hour from Amsterdam, have full-time jobs and work here out of passion for the sport.

“Dutch surfers will do anything, even for really bad waves,” he says. “For the past few years I’ve worked in the Netherlands for six months and then travelled for six months to surf. So while working at RiF010 alongside my day job might seem like a struggle, it doesn’t feel that way.”

One of the city’s highlights this summer is the free Rotterdam Summer Carnival on 27 July, featuring a colourful street parade with over 2,500 dancers from all over the world and exhibitions at the Kunsthal Rotterdam, including work by Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury (until 8 September) and a retrospective of New York fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon (until 6 October) (tickets from €18).

In the meantime, cycling fans can enjoy themselves, because in August the Tour de France Femmes will take place in Rotterdam. The first three stages will take place in and around the city.

A great way to experience the city’s cosmopolitan flavor is the Bite Me Self-Guided Food Tour (€39 per person). The app-guided, three-hour stroll through the city’s diverse food scene features treats like a jianbing crunchy crepe at Shanghai street food joint Super Crepe and a chicken curry sandwich at Rotterdam institution Chinny, a Surinamese restaurant. Or combine the food tour with a hop-on-hop-off bike rental via the Donkey app to zip between stops and maximize your tasting time.

Born in 1270 with the construction of a dam on the Rotte River, Rotterdam embodies Dutch dominance over water. It’s fitting that they were the first to bring ocean waves to the city centre. With this unique new attraction, a growing food scene and quirky cultural activities, Rotterdam is riding a wave of creativity that makes this summer the perfect time to visit.

Get there

There are direct flights available from Edinburgh and London City to Rotterdam. There are also direct flights from the UK to Amsterdam, from where it is approximately a 40 minute train journey to Rotterdam. Alternatively, you can take the Eurostar to Amsterdam and change trains there.

Stay there

The Usual has double rooms from €75 and twin rooms from €104. It offers a 30 percent discount for guests arriving by train, theusual.com.

More information

rif010.nl/en
nl.rotterdam.info