June pulls Rotterdam outdoors, but will the skies behave? Which festivals should you mark on the calendar, and what fresh city projects will reshape daily life? Read on for a grounded preview that helps residents plan the month ahead.
Milder temperatures and long evenings
June usually delivers Rotterdam’s most comfortable weather: daytime highs hover near 20 °C while nights cool to around 12 °C. Expect roughly sixteen hours of daylight and more than 200 hours of sunshine, balanced by about 60 mm of rain spread over a dozen showery days—often brief, but worth preparing for when cycling to evening plans.
Festivals that define the month
Rotterdam Architecture Month opens on 1 June and turns the Schiemond quay into a circular festival site made from reused materials. More than 125 events—including a “Day and Night of Architecture” on 14 June—unpack how existing spaces can be re-imagined sustainably.
Just across the river, another height-seeking project steals early-June headlines. From 29 May to 9 June the tenth edition of Rotterdam Rooftop Days unveils the giant Rooftop Roetsj slide on top of the Maritime Museum. After exploring an elevated exhibition about future city-water relations, brave souls can zip down a long stainless-steel chute with sweeping views of Coolsingel and Leuvehaven; stairs are available for anyone who prefers a slower descent. The slide is closed only on 2 and 3 June, and extra rooftop routes pop up around town on both festival weekends.
From 7 to 9 June the Roparun relay race finishes on the Coolsingel, bringing 212 fundraising teams and a weekend of roadside cheer for cancer care charities.
Literary fans converge on LantarenVenster between 13 and 15 June for the 55th Poetry International Festival, featuring a new Poetry Summit curated by Poet Laureate Babs Gons and an international line-up that includes Simon Armitage and Warsan Shire.
Finally, North Sea Round Town begins on 26 June, scattering more than 350 jazz, soul and pop-up performances across metro stations, parks and cafés in the run-up to North Sea Jazz.
Hands-on art and design exhibitions
Families have until 29 June to explore Anansi the Spider at Kunsthal Rotterdam, an interactive romp through West African folklore complete with games, puzzles and colourful illustrations that trace the tale’s journey via the Caribbean to the Netherlands.
Also at the Kunsthal, audiovisual artist Boris Acket’s installation Spaces Between Lines—a moving canvas animated by air currents—closes on 8 June. The work spills from Hall 6 onto the exterior ramp, blurring boundaries between inside and open parkland.
Over at the Nieuwe Instituut, Ma Yansong. Architecture and Emotion runs throughout the summer. Models, films and a late-June talk by the MAD Architects founder link the show to the Fenix Museum’s dramatic Tornado staircase across the river.
Live music: from jazz quartets to Nordic electronica
The month’s first weekend swings straight into gear. On Thursday 5 June Barcelona-meets-Florence quartet Barencia sets LantarenVenster ablaze with a heady mix of flamenco dance and modern jazz, led by pianist Xavi Torres and dancer Karen Lugo. Twenty-four hours later the same stage rewinds to vintage rock ’n’ roll when Oklahoma guitarist JD McPherson teams up with honky-tonk troubadour JP Harris for a double bill promising upright bass slaps and twanging Telecasters.
Mid-month belongs to the musical mavericks. On Tuesday 10 June the Casady sisters return as CocoRosie, turning children’s toys and operatic vocals into poetic lo-fi pop. Folk archivist Jake Xerxes Fussell follows on 11 June with Appalachian story-songs that feel both centuries old and sharply present, while the cavernous Maassilo hosts Icelandic-Faroese duo Kiasmos on 12 June, bathing dancers in minimalist electronica built from sub-bass and string samples. The percussion spectacle Slagerij van Kampen celebrates forty years at the Oude Luxor on 13 June, and Bollywood icon Shreya Ghoshal fills RTM Stage on 14 June with the soaring melodies that made her a legend of Indian cinema.
Big voices claim the spotlight later in the month. Gospel powerhouse CeCe Winans teams up with long-time friend Michael W. Smith for an arena-sized worship evening at Rotterdam Ahoy on 19 June, their first joint Dutch date. Two nights later alternative-rock history walks onto the Theater Rotterdam stage when Pixies bassist Kim Deal premieres songs from her debut solo album Nobody Loves You More—recorded partly with the late Steve Albini—alongside Breeders classics.
The closing week offers contrasts as wide as the Maas. North Sea Round Town starts on 26 June, scattering more than 350 free and ticketed jazz, soul and hip-hop sets across metro stations, bookshops, parks, and dive bars through to mid-July. One highlight lands on 27 June at LantarenVenster, where the Paradox Jazz Orchestra joins Belgian trumpet great Bert Joris for contemporary big-band swing steeped in Ellingtonian warmth. Whether you prefer intimate folk tales, industrial-scale techno pulses or full-choir gospel, June’s calendar proves you never need to leave city limits to tour the world’s sounds.
Terrace season and food news
As soon as the afternoon sun settles over the Maas, Rotterdam’s seasonal hang-outs burst back into life. Biergarten, Garden of BIRD, De Maaskantine and other pop-up terraces have rolled out their benches, fairy lights and vinyl DJs, inviting lingering after-work drinks and long Sunday lunches by the water. Each venue stays open only for the warm months, so June is the ideal moment to claim a table before weekend crowds peak.
A short metro ride west, Schiedam welcomes the public into jenever history on 12 June when the Nolet family unveils the Nolet Copper Club. Housed in the historic Witte Huis, the experience pairs a mini-museum tour with a two-hour mixology workshop where guests shake three cocktails made from the distillery’s botanicals and spirits. Sessions run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings, and group sizes are capped for an intimate feel.
Dining out with relatives gets a social twist early in the month. On National Grandparents’ Day, 4 June, dozens of Rotterdam restaurants take part in the nationwide ‘Een tafel voor Twee’ campaign: bring an older companion and their main course is on the house. Participating spots range from Café de Ooievaar in Delfshaven to Vegan Pizza Bar on Goudsesingel, so you can choose surroundings that suit your elder’s taste.
Families with young children can stretch the budget further at De Beren Rotterdam Alexandrium, where every Saturday and Sunday until 20 July one children’s menu is free with each adult main. The promotion grew out of a May-holiday pilot and now includes a mid-week extension for kids who attend Alexandrium’s Wednesday Kidsclub. Expect a small surprise for the little ones and a playground that lets parents linger over dessert.
Finally, mark 16 June for the lakeside Haringparty at De Tuin aan de Plas. Every herring eaten during this convivial fundraiser sends a donation to Stichting Taai, supporting cystic-fibrosis research. It is a quintessentially Dutch way to celebrate the new herring catch while giving back to a good cause.
Greener energy and better housing
A 5,400-panel solar park opened mid-May in Schiebroek, the city’s first in which local entrepreneurs and residents each hold a fifty-percent stake—enough to power about a thousand households. In governance news, the municipality launched Rotterdams Goed Wonen on 28 May, an integrated plan to tackle neglected housing in five southern neighbourhoods through joint action by housing associations, police and health services. Meanwhile, on 3 June councillors formalised protection of Landtong Rozenburg, converting this windy strip beside the port from industrial zoning to permanent nature reserve after years of local campaigning.
View more news on urban development
Get your groove on
If you prefer dancing to spectating, nhow Rotterdam’s rooftop-bar DJ nights run every Friday and Saturday from 21:30 until 01:00. Part of the hotel’s “dance nhow, change now” programme, the sessions pair skyline views with house, Afro-Latin and disco sets. Entry is free and the lifts run late, making it an easy excuse to stay out after sunset.
On Saturday, June 7th, Typical Tropical is hosting its monthly LatinXpress events in Grounds, featuring separate bachata and salsa rooms.
