Trompenburg offers free entry during Rotterdam heat

ROTTERDAM, 13 August 2026 – Looking for somewhere greener to spend one of Rotterdam’s hottest days? Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum is offering free admission on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 August, giving visitors a chance to escape some of the heat beneath the trees of its botanical gardens in Kralingen.

Trompenburg made a promise earlier this summer: whenever temperatures in Rotterdam reach 35°C or above, admission to the gardens would be free. With another spell of extreme summer heat hitting the city this week, the garden has now released free-ticket codes for both Thursday and Friday. 

Why a botanical garden helps in the heat

The idea behind the promotion is not simply to give Rotterdam a free day out. Trompenburg wants to show what trees and plants can actually do when a city heats up.

Trees provide shade, but they also cool their surroundings through evapotranspiration, releasing moisture through their leaves. Trompenburg says that on hot days, temperatures inside its gardens can be up to seven degrees lower than in more heavily built-up parts of Rotterdam.

That makes the eight-hectare botanical garden a particularly appealing place during a heatwave. Trompenburg contains large collections of trees, shrubs and perennial plants, alongside traditional gardens, a developing food forest and its desert greenhouse. 

And while Rotterdam has plenty of parks, Trompenburg feels quite different from simply finding a patch of shade in the city. Many of its mature trees have been growing here for generations, creating dense green areas where you can actually spend a few hours walking rather than just hiding beneath the nearest tree.

How to get a free ticket

You still need to book a ticket before visiting. Go to https://www.trompenburg.nl and choose Tickets.

For Thursday 13 August, enter the discount code coolzomer13. For Friday 14 August, use coolzomer14. Choose the corresponding date when booking and the free ticket will be sent to you by email. You can then scan it at the entrance. 

Trompenburg normally charges €12.50 admission for adults, while visitors aged 13 to 25 pay €6.50. Museumkaart, Rotterdampas and ICOM cardholders already receive free admission under the regular ticket conditions. 

The free-entry promotion is tied to extreme heat. Trompenburg says it will publish a new discount code whenever another day reaches the 35°C threshold, so it is worth checking its website or social media if another very hot day appears later this summer. 

Make an afternoon of it

Trompenburg is open from 10:00 to 17:00 on both Thursday and Friday. Tuinrestaurant Flora is also open, with summer drinks and refreshments available if walking through eight hectares of botanical garden starts sounding slightly ambitious once the afternoon heat kicks in. 

There is plenty to see without trying to cover every corner. Alongside its tree and plant collections, Trompenburg has the Woestijnkas with cacti and succulents and Voedselbos De Overtuin, a food forest based on the ecological principles of a natural woodland.

Families visiting during the school holidays can also take part in the Geheime Bewoners holiday passport trail, which runs until 30 August. That activity costs €2.50 separately. 

The timing could hardly be better to see what all that greenery actually does. Rotterdam is very good at concrete, glass and asphalt, but on a day when all three are absorbing the August sun, Trompenburg makes a convincing case for keeping plenty of trees around too.

How to get there

Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum is located in Kralingen, just east of Rotterdam city centre. Trams stop near Erasmus University at Woudestein, from where the gardens are a short walk away. Cycling is also an easy option from Kralingen, Oostplein and the city centre.