Fodor's Expert Review Maritiem Museum Rotterdam

A sea lover's delight, the Maritiem Museum or Maritime Museum contains Rotterdam's noted nautical collection. Appropriately perched at the head of the Leuvehaven harbor, it was founded by Prince Hendrik in 1874. The seafaring ways of old Rotterdammers make more sense set against the background of modern and historical maritime objects. The main exhibit on the ground floor is a large model of the Europoort, which shows how the Rotterdam area has developed over the centuries into the major seaport of today. The upper floors are mainly given over to rotating exhibitions on seafaring themes. Children have half a floor dedicated to them, called "Professor Plons" (Professor Plunge), where museum staff are on hand to help with looking through a real periscope, donning a hard hat, and taking to the driving seat of a scaled-down crane, and engaging in many other aquatic and maritime activities. Outside the museum, a dozen or so old tugs and barges are moored along Leuvehaven. The wharf is also home to a number of cranes salvaged from ports around the country, and these are particularly striking when floodlighted at night.