Rotterdam Maritiem Museum Video Tour. Half a Million Maritime Treasures!

Rotterdam Maritiem Museum

Rotterdam is the 2nd largest port in the world, only recently surpassed by Shanghai. Not surprisingly, it has a major maritime museum. Inside it exhibits and stores over half a million maritime objects!

My video tour explores the highlights, which for me were 5 main focus areas.

Mainport Live
This unusual exhibit consists of a huge stylised model of Rotterdam Port, surrounded by massive video screens telling the history and story of the port. It is very striking and unexpected. Upstairs in a control booth you can engage with the model and the history using computers loaded with interactive timelines and videos.

Ship Models
Across a large area on the first floor are all styles of ship models. One, the Mataro Model, is from the 15th Century! Models on show include old sailing ships, traditional paddle steamers, ships in harbours and even exclusive mega yachts. The collection is very impressive.

Maritime Art
There is a collection of huge oil paintings, drawings, smaller paintings and even sculptures of old explorers. The collection is topped up with cruise line posters.

Old Navigation Guides
There is a collection of globes, books and maps which give insight into how the seas were navigated centuries ago.

Ocean Cruising
On the top floor is a fascinating and clever exhibit telling the trends and development of the passenger cruise industry. There is a large collection of old posters and then a corridor with representations of passenger cabins across every decade. This gives huge insight into how the style and nature of cruising has evolved. You then enter a larger representation of a cruise ship with displays of uniforms, old casino equipment and ocean liner table settings.

The Maritiem Museum in Rotterdam is within walking distance of where cruise ships visiting the city dock across the river. Highly recommended for fans of the ocean and cruising!