Rotterdam
You're flying out of Rotterdam Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Rotterdam Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Rotterdam's airports.
Cool District · $$$
Rotterdam's most awarded cocktail bar.
Cool District · $$$
Tiki bar that takes the genre seriously.
Kop van Zuid · $
Heritage harbour-side bar.
Hofbogen · $$
Live-music venue inside the converted Hofpoort viaduct.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Rotterdam proper at the end.
Plays for Rotterdam Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 176 cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Rotterdam? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.