Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam.

Western Rotterdam is the busiest harbor and the largest port in Europe.

For the visiting tourist Rotterdam has many attractions.

• Places of interest.

Rotterdam Zoo (Blijdorp Zoo) along with its Oceanium, a walk through sea aquarium is very popular for visitors and their children with its many animals and penguin feeding section.

The Euromast is a 185 meters tall tower with a panoramic restaurant at its top that offers the best view of Rotterdam to the visitor.

Delfshaven with its reconstructed 18^th century windmill and shipyard is the place where the Pilgrims first embarked on their journey to America in 1920.

Rotterdam beaches include the artificial beach at Boompjeskade, or the beaches of Hoek van Holland, Ouddorp, Oostvoorne, and Renesse.

Harbor tours offer the visitor many water attractions.

The 17 acre park of Arboretum Trompenburg has seasonal bulbs, shrubs and trees which is a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the busy city of Rotterdam.

Rotterdam has a museum park district around which most of the major museums are found. This includes the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the major art museum, The Netherlands Architectural Institute, The Maritime Museum, and The Historical museums to name a few among the many museums of Rotterdam.

• Sports.

Football clubs Feyenoord and Sparta are two soccer giants based at Rotterdam.

There is an annual marathon held in Rotterdam which draws international athletes.

Rotterdam is also part of the ATP tennis circuit.

Field hockey, baseball and rowing are among the other popular sports of Rotterdam.

Rotterdam is to feature as part of the 2010 Tour de France.

From fashion to clothing, groceries, cheese, to model windmills and clods the pedestrian streets of Lijnbaan, the Hoogstraat, the Coolsingel and the Weena offer the tourist the best shopping experience with many cafes and restaurants to relax over coffee and snacks or a meal.

• Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

Located 5.6kms NW of Rotterdam is Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

It is Netherlands third largest airport.

At the airport there is a service information desk very useful for the passenger.

The airport offers excellent restaurant facilities De Basseri and Grand Café/restaurant Horizon.

The Rotterdam airport shop and the Ako shop have everything from newspapers to perfumes, liquor, china etc.

The Panorama Promenade offers visitors a beautiful view of aircraft as they land or take of the tarmac.

There is a lounge bar /terrace for the passenger to relax and have a drink.

There are very good facilities provided for the disabled passengers who use the airport during their travel.

Several locations along the terminal building have facilities for baby care.

ATMs can be found in the transit section along with cash exchange counters.

The airport is also wifi internet enabled.

Conference and business facilities are also available at the airport.

Several established operators offer car rental services at the Rotterdam airport like Avis, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt and Budget.