Rotterdam Photo Gallery - Euromast

The Euromast is a good place for a panoramic view of the city. Built in 1960 long before the EU was born, the tower's name comes from 'euro' for Rotterdam's location and 'mast' as it is used in Dutch and several other European languages. It has a fairly colourful history, with the city not having enough money originally to build over 50m. The port tycoons then pledged money to build taller, and the tower reached 100m. A further 85m was added in 1970 with the Space Tower installation. Lifts take about half a minute to reach the outdoor observation deck at 98m, costing 12.5 euros while an additional ticket allows you on Euroscoop, a revolving platform that ascends further up. You can book both online ahead of time as a bundled ticket or purchase the Euroscoop ticket on the spot for 7 euros. I arrived in the early evening 2 hours before sunset to avoid the crowds, and with the online ticket on hand, went straight in and right to the elevators. Since the tower is west of the city, visit from the afternoon onwards so the sun is behind you and you can get the best skyline views. The tower is just across the highway from Het Park, a nice urban oasis along the Nieuwe Maas river. On the other side of the river towards the south are plenty of residential developments around Rijnhaven, Maashaven, and further beyond. To the west, the residential communities slowly fade away and the massive port takes over all the way to the North Sea. In 2024, Rotterdam's port throughput exceeded 435 million tonnes, including 13.8 million container TEU, ranking it the largest in Europe. To the north, I can make out The Hague's skyline in the distance. The metro's line E connects both cities together, with a journey time of about half an hour from Centraal station.