The wooden trams
Early 20th-century cars you can board.
Martijn Janssen from Rotterdam, The Netherlands — CC BY-SA 2.0 · RaAr2010 — CC0 · Smiley.toerist — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Smiley.toerist — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Rotterdam Public Transport Museum occupies a former tram depot north of the city, presenting the history of the tram, bus and metro in Rotterdam from horse-drawn carriages to the present. The collection runs to around forty vehicles, most restored to working order: wooden trams from the start of the twentieth century with their benches and sliding windows, buses from the 1950s, and early metro cars. Many can be boarded and sat in, which is what makes it work with children. Its genuine distinction: on certain days historic trams leave the depot and run on the ordinary tram network through the streets of Rotterdam — you ride a tram of 1929 on the same rails today's trams use. Those days are limited and announced in advance, and the museum itself opens only a few days a week — check the schedule.
Early 20th-century cars you can board.
A 1929 tram on today's own rails.
Weg en Land 5, 3043 Rotterdam
Rotterdam Radio MuseumA small museum devoted to the history of radio and broadcasting, showing hundred5 minutes walk4.5
Stoom Stichting NederlandA volunteer society in Rotterdam that keeps steam locomotives and historic carri20 minutes walk4.5
Houweling Telecom MuseumA museum of the history of telecommunications, showing a collection of telephone22 minutes walk4.6The metro is the best option: four lines covering the city and suburbs, reaching Schiedam and towards Delft, fast and clean. Trams complement it in the centre. An OV-chipkaart or contactless bank card at the gate both work. Distances are short so many sights are walkable, and bicycles are available to hire everywhere — Rotterdam is entirely flat with excellent cycle paths.