City centre of Vlaardingen as seen from above.

Vlaardingen is a town in Rijnmond, the metropolitan area of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Understand

Vlaardingen is a city located on the banks of the Nieuwe Maas (New Meuse), which makes the city a part of the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Region. The municipality houses some 72,000 citizens. Vlaardingen is dissected by the Vlaardingervaart river. The city is best known as the herring city of the Netherlands. Fishing for herring, anchovies and Atlantic cod however, has long gone. The history as a fisherman's town, however, can still be seen around the Oude Haven and Koningin Wilhelminahaven.

Vlaardingen is first mentioned in the eighth century. Around the year 700, a small church would have been founded by a monk known as Heribald, who donated the church to Saint Willibrord. The city is thought to have obtained its city rights before 1273, as a document from that year allows Vlaardingen rights that seem to be additional rights to pre-existing rights. Herring has been a main focus for Vlaardingen since the eighteenth century. The fishing and trade of herring are what made the city grow.

The opening of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872 and a railroad connection in 1881 are of great significance to Vlaardingen, allowing it to develop industry that could benefit from the activity in the harbour. In 1941 Vlaardingen annexed the neighbouring municipality of Vlaardinger-Ambacht, which gave the city space for further expansion projects such as Westwijk and Vlaardingen-Holy.

• 1 VVV-Agentschap Vlaardingen (Tourist office), Westhavenkade 56, ☏ +31 104 346 666, info@vvv-vlaardingen.nl. 10:00-17:00. (updated Nov 2017)

Get in

Water travel on the Vlaardingervaart.

By car

Vlaardingen is near the intersection of the A20/E25 highway and the A4 highway. From Rotterdam, follow the A20 heading west, using exit 8 (Vlaardingen-West). From Amsterdam and The Hague, use the A4 heading south, using exit 16 (Vlaardingen-Oost) followed by a turn right towards the Burger King.

By public transit

Vlaardingen can be best reached by the Rotterdam metro operated by RET. It has three metro stops: 1 Vlaardingen West  A  B , 2 Vlaardingen Centrum  A  B  and 3 Vlaardingen Oost  A  B .

From Rotterdam take Line A to Vlaardingen West or line B to Hoek van Holland Strand. Note that line A only goes to Vlaardingen during peak hours, outside peak hours it terminates at Schiedam Centrum.

These lines also offer a connection from the railway stations of Rotterdam Alexander, Rotterdam Blaak and Schiedam Centrum. Services on line A and B are frequent, with 4 metros per hour between 05:30 and 07:00, and between 19:00 and 00:30, and 6 metros per hour between 07:00 and 19:00 on both lines. There are four trains per hour during the Dutch holidays.

The north of Vlaardingen, which consists of mostly private housing, is accessible via RET tram line 24, which also connects to Schiedam Centrum. The main tram stop is 4 De Loper.

By boat

Vlaardingen is located along the Vlaardingervaart, which connects directly to the Nieuwe Maas (New Meuse). Here, you will find three marinas:

• 2 W.S.V. De Kleiput, Hoflaan 20. (updated Nov 2017)
• 3 Broekpolder, Watersportweg 30-32, ☏ +31 6 130 809 71, retseemnevah@wsvcallenburgh.nl. (updated Nov 2017)
• 4 De Bommeer, Broekkade 5. (updated Nov 2017)

Get around

Vlaardingen is easily covered by public transit, whether you'd rather take a bus, tram/light rail or metro, your main hub will most likely be in Schiedam. If you wish to travel a greater area, car rental can be found at 5 Rotterdam-The Hague Airport, found on Metro line E and busline 33.

See

Saint Batholomeus' Church.

• Grote Kerk
• Weighing Bridge
• 1 De Kroepoekfabriek (Concert hall), Koningin Wilhelminahaven Noordzijde 2A, ☏ +31 104 455 580. (updated Nov 2017)
• Museum Vlaardingen, Westhavenkade 54, ☏ +31 10 434 8722, info@museumvlaardingen.nl. Museum dedicated to the history of Vlaardingen, and especially its relationship with water. 
• 2 Masamuda, Klokbekerpad 1 (a 15 minute walk towards the west from tram stop Holysingel (terminus of tram line 24). Limited car parking along the Watersportweg). Su only 12:00-16:00. Masamuda is an educational archaeological site, fully run by volunteers. Buildings from prehistory and the Middle Ages are being recreated. The landscape appropriate to the various archaeological periods is also brought back to life. Masamuda is the native name for the Meuse estuary area, which appears in written sources for the first time in the 8th century.
  The site is located within the Broekpolder nature and recreational area in the north of Vlaardingen. free. (updated Aug 2023)

Do

• 1 Golfbaan Schinkelshoek, Zuidbuurt 79, ☏ +31 104 602 139, info@golfbaanschinkelshoek.nl. (updated Nov 2017)

Eat

• 1 Barbequerestaurant ZieZo, Koningin Wilhelminahaven Noordzijde 2, ☏ +31 102 480 848. (updated Nov 2017)
• 2 De Elegast, Markt 39, ☏ +31 104 604 177, elegast@de-elegast.nl. (updated Nov 2017)
• 3 Westkaai, Westhavenkade 10, ☏ +31 102 487 018, info@westkade.nl. (updated Nov 2017)
• 4 Grillroom-Steakhouse Farao, Dayer 2, ☏ +31 104 603 275. (updated Nov 2017)
• 5 Gallo d'Oro, Smalle Havenstraat 9, ☏ +31 104 359 393. (updated Nov 2017)
• 6 The Irish Pub, Westhavenplaats 31, ☏ +31 107 853 309. (updated Nov 2017)
• 7 Café Stam, Markt 9, ☏ +31 104 341 557. (updated Nov 2017)
• 8 De Hofnar, Hoogstraat 169, ☏ +31 104 356 372. (updated Nov 2017)
• 9 Paviljoen De Krabbeplas, Surfpad 50, ☏ +31 102 340 755. (updated Nov 2017)

Sleep

The Cruise Hotel

• 1 Cruise Hotel, Maasboulevard 15, ☏ +31 104 345 477, info@deltahotel.nl. Has views over the harbor. 
• 2 Hotel Ibis Rotterdam Vlaardingen, Westlandseweg 270, ☏ +31 104 602 050. €64. (updated Nov 2017)
• 3 Hotel/Restaurant Campanile Rotterdam Vlaardingen, Kethelweg 220-222, ☏ +31 104 700 322. €51. (updated Nov 2017)
• 4 Bastion Hotel Vlaardingen, Mr L.A. Kesperweg 51, ☏ +31 102 327 100. €79. (updated Nov 2017)

Go next

• Using the metro network, you will be able to get around the greater Rotterdam area easily.
  • Line  A  and line  B  will get you to Schiedam, Rotterdam Beurs, Blaak, Capelsebrug, as well as Alexander. Line B continues west towards Maassluis and Hook of Holland.
  • Line  C  connects at Schiedam Centrum and will get you to Spijkenisse.
  • Line  D  connects to Rotterdam Beurs, reachable via lines A and B, from which it connects to Rotterdam Centraal, the main railway station of Rotterdam, as well as Spijkenisse.
  • Line  E  also connects at Rotterdam Beurs, and runs north towards The Hague.
• On the other end of the Meuse, you will find the historical town of Brielle.
• Also to the south, you will find the province of Zeeland, famous for the Delta Works.

Routes through Vlaardingen

Amsterdam ← The Hague ←	N  S	→ Rotterdam
Naaldwijk ← Maassluis ←	W  E	→ Rotterdam → Gouda
Vlaardingen ←	W  E	→ Schiedam → Rotterdam Alexander
Hoek van Holland Strand ← Maassluis ←	W  E	→ Rotterdam Blaak → Rotterdam Alexander