I know this is considered a tourist trap but I am so glad I came over to check it out. We went to a…read morelot of places to try the food. We had coffee at the tea bar. We got a corn dog, a smash burger, stroopwaffle with Nutella, crispy tofu, chocolate truffles, chicken dumplings, chai tea, macchiato latte, cannoli, and ramen. Most of the employees are very kind. Some are a little prickly but that might be because I'm American and only speak English. Most of the things we bought were priced well. There were only a couple of things that were pricey. The whole Markthal is fun atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this place.

Stopped in here two different times during our visit. It was hard not to revisit, so many choices…read moreand everything looked so good! Anything you'd want to eat or drink was at your fingertips. Cookies, fish, Chinese, empanadas, etc. amazing! A few gift stores also made it easy to say yes, since the prices were comparable to what we'd been seeing. It was very warm inside, but they were having a heatwave. Maybe it's usually much more comfortable inside. My other peeve was to have to pay for the use of the toilet. You'd think that at least they would be cleaned and stocked, it was not. Overall, super neat place to stop in quickly or hangout. Located in a very central location of downtown.

Koopgoot is a sunken shopping passage right in the heart of Rotterdam, with a nice selection of…read moreshops. The shopping centre is also known as Beurstraverse, but De Koopgoot seems to have become a more informal name to reflect the centre due to its low-lying position. The design reminds me of the Liverpool One Shopping centre, closer to home, with the balcony overlooking the shops, it is mostly exposed to the elements, with limited cover in event of rain/snow, but still, the shopping area looks modern and rather attractive. The large Christmas tree adds some festive cheer, located by the Crocs Store. (December 2022) Urban Outfitters, Crocs, Dunkin, Esprit and H&M are some of the larger brands to have physical locations within Koopgoot. Fairly clean/modern, easy to find the stores you want to find, but do be aware that the steps can be very slippy, especially during the bad winter months, so you may wish to take the escalators, or just take extra care. I prefer the overall design in comparison to Alexandrium, which is a large indoor shopping centre, a short metro ride away, even if there aren't as many shops, but there are still some unique and cool brands here, so it is worth a visit for sure. 4*

Central Plaza is a shopping centre, in the centre of Rotterdam, it is right across the way from…read moreRotterdam Centraal station, making it an option to have a quick walk around or bite to eat, before or after getting a train. Brands here include: - Beers and Barrels (Pub-style restaurant) - Etos (Drug Store) - Hollands (Casino) - Miso Sushi (Japanese Restaurant) - Vapiano (Casual-dining Italian) There are also a couple of other smaller names options to shop and eat. There might not be a lot of places to shop and eat inside this mall, with the city having much more to offer in Koopgoot and the surrounding streets nearby, but this is a nice starter option, in a particularly useful location due to being across the way from central station. It is fairly clean and presentable inside and easy to navigate and there is a small seating area within the main dome. 3*

Alexandrium Shopping Center is a decent-sized shopping centre in Rotterdam, around 8 km from…read moreCentraal station but easily accessed by public transportation, with Metro and Intercity train links offered. Parts of the centre are currently undergoing a major refurbishment (December 2022), but considering this, they're doing a good job to keep the disturbance to a minimum, with shops and restaurants remaining open. They have a good selection of shops including Albert Heijn, Etos, Foot Locker, G-Star Raw, H&M, Holland and Barrett, JD and many others. While there isn't the typical American fashion mall food court, there are a number of places to eat and drink here, including McDonald's, Starbucks, Burger King, Cinnabon, Bagel and Beans and a potato place, as well as several other choices. The mall is pretty easy to follow, there is also a bridge which connects to the car park as well as a separate part of the mall which is much more modern and high-end, mainly consisting of furniture stores. The toilets were surprisingly clean for a mall too. 4* - A good mall with a good selection of places to shop and eat, while it may not have the Westfield factor, it is a good alternative if you don't want to travel too far out of Rotterdam's centre.