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.

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.

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.

UNTIL 30 JUN '27 | Cinemini has returned to LantarenVenster for a new season, giving children aged two to six a gentle introduction to cinema through short films followed by play in an interactive light landscape. The 2026 to 2027 season continues until 30 June 2027, with the currently announced programme running through December.

Cinemini returns to LantarenVenster with film and play for young children

LantarenVenster is hosting another season of Cinemini, a film experience created especially for children aged two to six and their parents or other accompanying adults.

Cinemini usually takes place every other Sunday morning from 10:30 to 11:30, with extra sessions during school holidays. Each visit consists of around 30 minutes of film followed by 30 minutes of play.

The screenings are adapted to young children, with dimmed lighting, sound kept at a gentle level and a relaxed atmosphere in which children can move around and react to what they see.

After the films, children explore a light landscape made up of installations involving projection, shadow, movement, shape and colour. The idea is to let them process what they have seen through play and discover how light and images can be used to create stories.

Taartrovers Cinemini was developed by Taartrovers and Eye Filmmuseum and is now presented at film venues around the Netherlands, including LantarenVenster.

Children cannot attend Cinemini alone. An adult must accompany them, and LantarenVenster asks visitors to book a ticket for everyone in the group.

The Cinemini programme for autumn 2026

Cinemini: Samen
Sunday 20 September | 10:30
Friendship is at the heart of Samen, with adventures involving the search for a third dimension and a rock creature that needs to find its way home.

Cinemini: Dag en Nacht
Sundays 4 and 18 October | 10:30
What happens while most of the world is asleep? This selection ventures into the night, where bats wake up, the moon can go missing and dawn eventually returns.

AFFR x Cinemini: Mijn huis
Sunday 11 October | 10:30
Presented during Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, Mijn huis brings together four playful shorts about unusual homes, imaginative spaces and unexpected adventures.

Cinemini: Weer en Wind
Friday 23 and Sunday 25 October | 10:30
Rain, wind, sunshine and changing seasons provide the theme. The programme plays with the familiar Dutch experience of several kinds of weather arriving in quick succession.

Cinemini: Vreemde Vissen
Sundays 8 and 15 November | 10:30
This underwater programme introduces children to an assortment of unusual animated creatures. The films mix poetic images, humour and moments that may be just a little spooky.

Cinemini: In de keuken
Sunday 29 November and Sunday 13 December | 10:30
Three animated films approach cooking in very different visual styles, while exploring the pleasures of preparing and sharing food together.

Cinemini: Kareltje Kat
Sundays 20 and 27 December | 10:30
Kareltje Kat meets London street musician Fred and the pair become close friends and performers. When they lose one another, both must find out how much their friendship means.

LantarenVenster says the Cinemini season continues until 30 June 2027. Further individual dates for 2027 were not yet listed on the venue's Cinemini programme when we checked on 7 September 2026.

More family films during the autumn holiday

Families visiting LantarenVenster in October can also look out for Cinekid Festival. Cinekid lists LantarenVenster as its Rotterdam festival location from 17 to 25 October 2026, with films and additional activities during the autumn holiday.

The Cinemini programme itself also includes the special AFFR x Cinemini: Mijn huis screening on 11 October, part of Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam.

Venue information

LantarenVenster is at Otto Reuchlinweg 996 on Rotterdam's Wilhelminapier.

From Rotterdam Centraal, metro lines D and E and tram lines 3 and 5 serve Wilhelminaplein, around a five-minute walk from the venue. Bicycle parking is available around the Wilhelminapier, including directly outside LantarenVenster.

Drivers can use nearby garages including Q-Park De Rotterdam, Interparking World Port Center and Q-Park Boston & Seattle. LantarenVenster also recommends Park+Ride as a cheaper alternative.

Check LantarenVenster's current Cinemini programme before travelling, particularly for newly added dates in 2027.

HAPPENING 19–20 SEP 2026 | Trompenburg Gardens returns with its autumn plant market this September, bringing specialist growers, unusual plants, garden products, food and practical horticultural advice to the botanical gardens.

Autumn plant market returns to Trompenburg Gardens

Rotterdam's Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum will hold its autumn plantenmarkt on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026. The market is open from 10:00 to 17:00 on both days.

The event spreads through a large part of the botanical gardens, with specialist growers selling plants, trees and shrubs while offering advice on choosing suitable plants and caring for them. Expect perennials, shrubs and trees alongside flower bulbs, orchids, clematis, hydrangeas, unusual houseplants, cacti and succulents, garden ferns, eucalyptus, fruit trees and seasonal flowers.

Normal Trompenburg admission applies. Tickets cost €12.50 for adults, €6.50 for visitors aged 13 to 25 and €2.50 for children aged 5 to 12. Children aged 0 to 4 enter free. Entry is also free with a valid Museumkaart, Rotterdampas, ICOM card or Trompenburg jaarwandelkaart.

Specialist growers and garden products

The 2026 line-up brings together a broad mix of specialist nurseries, growers and other green organisations. The published market map lists 39 numbered stands, covering everything from organically grown bulbs and peat-free perennials to orchids, ferns, fruit trees, carnivorous plants and unusual houseplants.

Among the growers and sellers listed for 2026 are:

• Bloemoloog, with organic flower bulbs.
• Tuinwinkel van Trompenburg, selling peat-free and unsprayed perennials.
• Kwekerij Ferdinandushof, with unusual perennials and dahlias.
• Inca Orchids, specialising in orchids.
• Hoeksche Pompoenen, with organic pumpkins and peonies.
• Böttcher Clematis, appearing on Saturday with clematis, other climbing plants and lilacs.
• De Mengelmoestuin, appearing on Sunday with organic fruit and herb products.
• Boschveld Pitcherplants, with fruit bushes, plants and summer-flowering varieties.
• Cedarhouseferns, specialising in unusual garden ferns.
• The Planthoarder, with houseplants and handmade terrariums.

Other stalls cover garden decoration, seeds, books, honey and bee products, ceramics, ecoprint work, wool products and information from green organisations including Groei & Bloei and Nationaal Park Rotterdam.

Food, coffee and children's activities

The 2026 market map shows several places to stop for food and drink around the gardens. These include Marcellus Wafels, The Caffeine Boys Coffee, Pom-Pie, Dapp Frietfiets, Caffeine Boys Broodjes, Krep de la Crêpe and Turkish snacks from Fatma, alongside Trompenburg's own Tuincafé and Tuinrestaurant Flora.

The market also includes activities for children. The published 2026 map includes supervised tree climbing on Saturday.

One part of the gardens will not be accessible during the event: Voedselbos de Overtuin is closed during the Plantenmarkt.

Practical information for your visit

The market route covers a large part of Trompenburg and includes some unpaved paths, so suitable walking shoes are recommended. Trompenburg says the event is accessible to wheelchairs, pushchairs and rollators.

Bring your own bag if you are planning to buy plants. It is also sensible to bring both a payment card and some cash: not every market stall accepts card payments and there is no cash machine nearby. Trompenburg's own entrance building, garden shop and hospitality outlets are card-only.

If you are visiting with a Museumkaart or Rotterdampas, remember to bring a valid and activated card.

If you arrive by electric bicycle, note that Trompenburg cannot store e-bike batteries in the entrance building during the market because of fire-safety requirements.

Directions and venue details

Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum

The Plantenmarkt takes place at Trompenburg Gardens at Honingerdijk 86, 3062 NX Rotterdam in Kralingen.

According to Trompenburg, trams 1 and 11 stop at Woudestein, a short walk from the gardens, while tram 7 also serves the Erasmus University/Woudestein area. Rotterdam's tram network is affected by works around Hofplein during September 2026, so check current public transport information shortly before travelling.

If you come by car, Trompenburg recommends the P3 Erasmus Plaza car park at Erasmus University, with the entrance on Burgemeester Oudlaan. A €7.50 day parking ticket for Erasmus Parking Plaza or Excelsior Parking can be purchased at Trompenburg's entrance.

HAPPENING 1–13 SEP 2026 | Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum is slowing things down from 1 to 13 September with yoga, forest bathing, an outdoor piano concert, a botanical retreat and even a guided power nap. Slow September uses the Kralingen botanical garden as a setting for two weeks of activities centred on rest, nature and taking a little time away from the usual city pace.

September is a good fit for the idea. The final stretch of summer is giving way to the first signs of autumn, while Trompenburg’s trees, gardens and quieter corners provide a rather different environment from the streets only a short distance away.

Slow down among the trees

Slow September is less a single event than a programme spread across nearly two weeks. Sessions range from conventional yoga to experiences that combine nature, music, art and relaxation.

The programme begins on Wednesday 2 September with Kundalini Yoga. Movement, breathing exercises, meditation and mantra are brought together during a session among the plants and trees, followed by herbal tea. No previous Kundalini Yoga experience is required. Participation costs €19, excluding regular garden admission.

On Friday 4 September, pianist Anne Veinberg performs film music during Piano & Chill, an open-air concert where the audience lies down rather than sitting in rows of chairs. Visitors should bring a picnic blanket, mat, cushion or blanket and settle into the garden from 19:00. Tickets cost €28 including garden admission, or €24 with a Museumkaart, Rotterdampas or Trompenburg annual pass.

An English-language botanical retreat

One of the most interesting options for RotterdamStyle readers takes place on Saturday 6 September. The three-hour Botanical Day Retreat is conducted entirely in English and combines a guided forest-bathing walk, gentle yoga, tea and a mindful botanical painting workshop.

The morning runs from 10:00 to 13:00. After the walk and yoga session, participants spend time together over tea and a snack before making their own botanical artwork inspired by the garden.

Participation costs €49 per person, excluding regular garden admission, and includes painting materials, tea and a snack. You should bring your own yoga mat and water and wear clothes you can comfortably move in. The activity takes place outdoors, although the programme can move under Trompenburg’s covered stretch tent in poor weather.

Slow September brings yoga and relaxation to Trompenburg

Cacao, forest bathing and yogic sleep

On Wednesday 9 September, Nouqs hosts a Cacao & Yoga Nidra Retreat. The afternoon begins with a ceremonial cacao ritual before moving through meditation, gentle breathing and yin poses towards Yoga Nidra, sometimes described as yogic sleep. The session starts at 14:00 and lasts around two to two and a half hours. Participation costs €47.50, including fresh cacao.

Nature takes the lead again on Saturday 12 September with Waar aarde fluistert, a three-hour forest-bathing session marking the Day of Mindfulness. Shinrin-yoku originated in Japan and centres on deliberately slowing your pace and paying closer attention to what you see, hear, smell and feel in a natural environment. Trompenburg’s version includes a quiet guided walk, sensory exercises and a closing tea ceremony. The session starts at 11:00 and costs €49, excluding garden admission. Rotterdampas holders receive 50 per cent off the activity price.

Slow September closes on Sunday 13 September with Rotterdam interdisciplinary collective HipSick and [DIS]ORDER – The Spectrum of Sleep. This one is essentially permission to lie down on a lawn and drift off.

Participants bring their own yoga mat, sleeping mat or air mattress and are guided towards the boundary between waking and sleeping through live music, voice, scent and subtle projections. Falling asleep is completely acceptable and, unusually, means you are doing the activity correctly.

The experience lasts about an hour and costs €20, excluding regular garden admission. Trompenburg’s Slow September overview and separate booking pages currently show different start times for this performance, so check the time shown on your booking confirmation before visiting.

Slow September brings yoga and relaxation to Trompenburg

Tickets and garden admission

Most Slow September activities require a separate booking, and several prices do not include regular admission to Trompenburg. Normal adult entry is €12.50, visitors aged 13 to 25 pay €6.50, children aged 5 to 12 pay €2.50 and younger children enter free. Museumkaart and Rotterdampas holders receive free regular admission.

The garden is normally open from 12:00 to 17:00 on Mondays and from 10:00 to 17:00 Tuesday to Sunday between March and October. Individual Slow September activities can take place outside those standard hours.

The complete programme and booking options are available on Trompenburg’s activities page. Because places are limited per session, booking ahead makes sense if there is one activity you particularly want to join.

How to get there

Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum is located in Kralingen, east of Rotterdam city centre and close to Erasmus University. The garden is easy to reach by bike from the centre and Rotterdam-Oost, while public transport stops are available around Honingerdijk and Woudestein.