CURRENT POPULATION: 589,000
% POP GROWTH: -0.98 %
CITY AREA: 319 KM2

CITY DENSITY: 2,851 INH/KM2
GDP PER CAPITA: €23,200
DIALLING CODE: +31

CLOSING THE DEAL
IVY
LLOYDSTRAAT 294
TEL. 010 425 05 20
Ivy opened this spring and the star of chef François Geurds is still rising. Located in an area packed with high tech creatives, Ivy is modern but warm and the waiters informal but attentive. Unthinkable combinations like calf with onions and white curry foam sit together, while a tomato is frozen with ultra-cold nitrogen under our noses, turning it into an alien but delicious structure. The boldly molecular approach to dinner is rounded off with a dessert augmented by scent – as we eat, chocolate and mocha are sprayed in our direction by remote control.

WITH FRIENDS
SOIT
’S GRAVENDIJKWAL 136 B
TEL. 010 436 1 4
Simple but romantic, with chandeliers and high quality French food, Soit can be relied on for a constantly changing menu and a selection of interesting wines.

ENTERTAINING A CLIENT
  ’TOUWE BRUGGETJE
  VOORHAVEN 6
TEL. 010 477 34 99
Based in picturesque Delfshaven, this eatery (‘The old little bridge’) offers a warm welcome from a passionate and attentive team. Dinner is good – try the smoked duck with raspberries.

STYLE
DE WITTE AAP
WITTE DE WITHSTRAAT 78
TEL. 010 414 95 65
We’ve recommended ‘The White Monkey’ before, but this summer Lonely Planet named it the best bar in the world. Its strongest point is the wide variety of people who visit this bar in one of the nicest streets in the city – art lovers, shoppers, creative professionals and students all get along fine.

RELAX
CAFÉ VERHIP
ST JOBSWEG 21
TEL. 010 476 68 69
In the centre of a cluster of high tech enterprises situated in brand new buildings lies this old café, which was built as a grocery store in 1928. Many of the young and fashionable people working in the area consider Verhip a step back in time and a haven for relaxing after a day at the office.

VALUE
NEW OCEAN PARADISE HOTEL
PARKHAVEN 21
TEL. 010 225 00 05
Sitting at the harbour just across from the Euromast, this three-star is built in classic Chinese style. Its 25 rooms all have free internet. Inside the floating building there’s also an Asian supermarket and two restaurants.

BUSINESS
EDEN SAVOY HOTEL
HOOGSTRAAT 81
TEL. 010 413 92 80
This four-star hotel is well equipped for both leisure and business, since it is located in the middle of a shopping centre and is close to conference buildings such as de Doelen and the WTC. The 94 rooms are spacious and comfortable and fitness facilities are free.

BESPOKE
CRUISE HOTEL/SS ROTTERDAM
3E KATENDRECHTSE HOOFD 25
TEL. 010 297 30 90
This four-star hotel is on board the SS Rotterdam, which has a permanent place in Katendrecht’s harbour in the middle of the city. Once the most prestigious ship of the Holland America Line, it was recently renovated, and reopened this autumn. There are dozens of business rooms, restaurants, shops and 257 hotel rooms on board.

From 4-6 September is World Port Days (www.wereldhavendagen.nl). This annual maritime event offers a spectacular view of daily life in the port with helicopter demonstrations, naval activities, seminars, exhibitions, music and tours around ships.

Walking With Dinosaurs – The Live Experience takes place from 16-20 September in Ahoy (www.ahoy.nl). Based on the BBC television series, it’s a spectacular show with moving life-size dinosaurs.

American modern art at the beginning of the 20th century has been associated in Europe with one artist – Edward Hopper. The Kunsthal’s exhibition Modern Life – Edward Hopper and His Time shows us Hopper’s empty streets and landscapes, desolate buildings and solitary individuals in an urban setting (www.kunsthal.nl). It’s on from 26 September.

The oldest item in the museum of soccer club Feyenoord (www.feyenoord.nl) is a football from 1890. It’s from the FIFA collection and was brought to the city last year by Kevin Moore, director of English football’s National Football Museum in Preston as a gift. The strangest item in the museum’s collection is a stuffed seagull, killed in full flight in 1970 by a ball kicked by goalkeeper Eddy Treitel.

WORDS BY HELMUT DE HOOGH