ROTTERDAM, 30 September 2026 – Autumn at Trompenburg brings more than changing leaves this October, with wildlife films, outdoor yoga and a three-hour mushroom walk joining the programme at the botanical gardens in Kralingen. The first event arrives on 1 October with The Ancient Forest, while Wednesday 21 October turns into a particularly packed day with yoga, fungi and a second Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam screening.
Wildlife films come to the garden
Trompenburg is teaming up with Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam for two evening screenings at garden restaurant Flora. Both begin outside with a short activity inspired by the film before visitors settle in for the screening in a smaller, living-room-style setting.
The first takes place on Thursday 1 October with The Ancient Forest. The 70-minute documentary explores remote old-growth forests in Russia, looking at the interconnected lives of trees, fungi, insects, birds and mammals and the role these ecosystems play in biodiversity, water and climate. The film is in English, French and Russian.
Doors open at 17:30 with a miniature forest-bathing walk, followed by the film at 18:30. Tickets cost €16.50, including a first drink and popcorn. If you want to visit Trompenburg itself earlier in the day, regular garden admission applies.
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Wild Asia follows later in October
The second wildlife-film evening takes place on Wednesday 21 October. This time, the programme begins with a guided walk past Trompenburg's Asian plants before moving indoors for the short film Colourise and BBC Earth's Wild Asia.
Colourise explores biofluorescence, while Wild Asia travels through different Asian landscapes and their wildlife. Visitors arrive from 17:30, with the films beginning at 18:30 and ending around 19:30. Tickets again cost €16.50, including a drink and popcorn.
These screenings are also an early taste of Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam before the main festival takes over Cinerama and LantarenVenster from 2 to 8 November. The wider WFFR Lokaal programme begins at Trompenburg with The Ancient Forest.
Yoga starts one busy autumn Wednesday
If one wildlife film is not quite enough nature for a Wednesday, 21 October has options.
The day begins with Kundalini Yoga. Participants gather at 10:00, with the session starting at 10:15 and lasting between one and one-and-a-half hours. Movement, breathing, meditation and relaxation are combined in an outdoor setting, followed by herbal tea.
The class costs €19, excluding regular admission to the garden, and you need to bring your own yoga mat and optionally a cushion. If rain arrives, the session moves beneath Trompenburg's covered tent rather than being cancelled. Museum Card, Rotterdam Pass and Trompenburg annual-pass holders have free garden admission.
So, yes, it is entirely possible to start your day breathing calmly under the trees and end it watching BBC wildlife with popcorn. Rotterdam autumn planning can apparently be very specific.
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Three hours devoted to mushrooms
Between yoga and the evening film, Trompenburg is running a mushroom foraging walk from 13:00 to 16:00.
The three-hour session explores the fungi growing around the gardens, including how to distinguish edible and poisonous species, the ecological role of fungi and ways wild mushrooms can be used in cooking. The programme begins with a mushroom snack and warm drinks.
Participation costs €34.50 for adults. The newsletter also lists a €15 rate for children aged 8 to 17. Regular garden admission is separate, while Museum Card, Rotterdam Pass and annual-pass holders enter the gardens free. The outdoor walk continues in less favourable weather, so this is probably the October activity where sensible shoes deserve more attention than aesthetics.
Trompenburg in autumn
October already has a wider autumn programme at Trompenburg, including guided walks focusing on seasonal leaves, fruits and flowers and a children's autumn trail later in the month.
Regular admission to Trompenburg currently costs €12.50 for adults, €6.50 for visitors aged 13 to 25 and €2.50 for children aged 5 to 12. Children aged four and under enter free, as do Museum Card and Rotterdam Pass holders.
Individual activity tickets and the latest availability can be found in the Trompenburg events calendar.
How to get there
Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum is located at Honingerdijk 86, 3062 NX Rotterdam, in Kralingen. The 20-acre botanical garden is recognised as both a museum and municipal monument and contains extensive collections of trees, shrubs, perennials and other plants.
