{"id":9360,"date":"2014-01-09T15:57:27","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T15:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress72\/?page_id=10696"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:30","slug":"week-2-rotterdam-a-world-class-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2014\/01\/09\/week-2-rotterdam-a-world-class-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 2: Rotterdam: a world class city?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rotterdam: a world class city?<\/h2>\n

A few days ago, the travel guidebook Rough Guides mentioned\u00a0 <\/a>Rotterdam in the top 10 cities worldwide. Rough Guides especially likes the modern architecture, and points out the newly risen vertical city \u2018De Rotterdam\u2019 and the \u2018Markthal\u2019 near Blaak, which is still under construction. What do international students at the Erasmus University appreciate most about their temporary hometown?\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

Olena Pidenko (22), Econometrics student from Ukraine<\/h3>\n

\u201cThis is my second year here, so I already know the city quite well. I think that Rotterdam is a typical student city, while most tourists go to Amsterdam, and The Hague mainly attracts families. There are multiple reasons why Rotterdam is such a special city, and one of them is the big contrast between old and modern. The majority of the original center was bombed in World War II, but among today\u2019s modernist structures, you can still find some historical buildings. Modern architecture is certainly not a bad thing, I really like the center to go shopping and to meet up with friends. Several special and creative buildings like the Kubuswoningen are places that you don\u2019t encounter very often in other cities. My hometown Kyiv is more classical, while it\u2019s also very big and crowded, which causes a lot of traffic jams. Rotterdam is much more relaxed, and has nice green areas such as the Kralingse Bos and the city park of De Esch, near where I live. This is a city that I\u2019ve recommended to some of my friends, who will visit me for the second time in a few months. The only thing that I don\u2019t like here is the unpredictable weather: when it\u2019s sunny it can be raining just a few minutes later!\u201d <\/p>\n

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Piram Patel (28) and Vibhor Sahay (27), both Master Business Administration (MBA) students from India<\/h3>\n

Piram: \u201cIt would be a bit too quick to make a judgment about Rotterdam, since I only arrived here last Saturday. So far, we like it though: the public transport is very good, the city is hygienic and the locals are friendly. We consider these three things to be the most important characteristics of a city. The modern architecture is also great here, and I will definitely pay a visit to the Erasmus bridge. Rotterdam isn\u2019t a bad place to live, but if I didn\u2019t have to be here for my study, I would go back to my hometown Mumbai right away.<\/p>\n

Vibhor: \u201cI\u2019m living in Rotterdam mainly because of the excellent MBA program, but there is another reason. Rotterdam has an impressive and beautiful port, and since I\u2019m a marine engineer, that immediately drew my attention. Therefore the Maritime Museum is also on my checklist. I\u2019m from Delhi, a big city that is incomparable to Rotterdam, both in culture and appearance. It really surprises me that Rotterdam is in the top 10 list of best cities. Most people say Amsterdam is a must-visit during a eurotrip, but Rotterdam isn\u2019t that famous among foreigners. Maybe that will change now, and Rotterdam will become more popular.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Raquel S\u00e1nchez Osuna (24), Master Urban, Port & Transport Economics student from Spain<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe city of Rotterdam has a nice atmosphere. Unlike a lot of other big cities, there aren\u2019t many must-see attractions. You can just take a walk or ride your bike anywhere to enjoy life on the streets. In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of a city is the architecture, which is \u2013 unlike cities as Utrecht and Leiden \u2013 not typically Dutch here. To be honest, I like Rotterdam better than Amsterdam. It\u2019s really chaotic over there, but in Rotterdam you have a lot of breathing space, which I like a lot. Two of my favorite parts of Rotterdam are the Museumpark area and the historical Dutch site of Delfshaven. In my hometown, which is near Barcelona, the weather is a lot better than it is over here. Apart from that, I think Rotterdam is a nice city, but not very special. In the future, I might come back here to visit some old friends, but I don\u2019t think I would revisit Rotterdam just for the city itself.\u201d MvS <\/p>\n

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