Markets in Rotterdam
In Rotterdam there are 2 main markets. Both are there 2 days a week. The market in the Center is on Tuesday and Saturday. The most well known is the one in Rotterdam Center area. This one is located at “the Blaak”. It is a big market with lots of stands. The local sales men are selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, and also lots of clothes. There is also a big second hand section offering stuff from super cool vintage clothes, antique stuff to decorate your house, to complete smelly garbage that isn’t worth a Euro. It is priceless however to walk around and take some great pictures. The market also offers a fine variety of fresh take away food from the numerous cultures that live in Rotterdam. Grab some Turkish pizza, Vietnamese snacks, or some Dutch fried fish or fresh clams and eat them right at the market.
Besides this well know market, there is also a second market. This one is not know by tourists, but it might be even more urban and underground than the market on the Blaak. The market I am talking about is located on the “Afrikaanderplein”, located in Rotterdam South, it is on Wednesday and Saturday. This market is the 3rth biggest market in The Netherlands. Only the market in the Center of Rotterdam and one in The Hague are bigger.
The market on the Afrikaanderplein is know for its even more multicultural diversity. Here you can find even more authentic products from the great diversity of cultures that have established in Rotterdam. Fruit you have never seen , fishes that sell like crazy that are totally unfamiliar to Dutch people. Fresh herbs, clothes, cosmetics, take-away food. Don’t forget to take a moment and listen to the ladies and men that sell vegetables and fruit and yell their super-low prices in the air. Sometimes they sounds like a mixture of cabaret and bad chanson d’amour.
One important rule on ALL the markets in Rotterdam, beware of pickpocketing. No matter how you store your valuable stuff, if they think they can steal it from you, they will try it. No wallets in your back pocket. No backpacks on your back. No fancy camera’s on the side of your body or on your back. These people will steal from you and you will NOT notice this. They will work in groups and distract you. ( Watch Scam City on National Geographic… ) They do not only target tourists. They target everybody that allows them. It is just like every big city. Be smart, be clever 😉