Capelle aan den IJssel (or Capelle for short) is a city along the Hollandsche IJssel river, that to the east and north is bordered by Rotterdam.

Understand

Of the two waterways that Capelle and Prins Alexander border, the Rotte in the north is by far the quieter one - The Hollandse IJssel in Capelle after all, is a major domestic shipping route.

Capelle was founded in the twelfth century, and fortified with a castle, Slot Capelle, in the fourteenth century. Of the castle, only the 'dief- en duifhuisje' (thief- and pigeon house) of the castle remains today. To its north used to lie a swamp that was drained to become the Prins-Alexanderpolder, named after the then-crown prince Alexander of Nassau (1851-1884) who died before he could succeed his father, Willem III. Both Capelle and Prins Alexander grew explosively after the Second World War as demand for housing was surging.

Get in

Through the north of the region, the A20 highway runs from the Rotterdam ringway to Gouda, connecting near the Alexandrium mall with exit 16. The ringway also serves Capelle from the A16, where exit 25 feeds into the N210/S107, which connects to Kralingen in the west and Capelle in the east.

Metro lines  A ,  B  and  C  all run through and terminate in this district. Furthermore, the water ferries 20 and 21 call at Rivium, a business park in the far west of Capelle. This water ferry port is connected to the metro through a self-driving bus, though you will have to walk half a kilometre from the ferry port to the end of the bus line. Taking the metro directly from either Rotterdam Alexander or Rotterdam Centraal train stations is far less cumbersome.

Get around

1 Capelsebrug  A  B  C  is the gateway into both Capelle aan den IJssel and Prins Alexander. All three lines connect to the metro hubs of Blaak and Beurs, which in turn are connected to Rotterdam's city centre by train and tram respectively. This journey usually takes around 20 minutes. From Capelsebrug, line C connects into Capelle, while lines A and B turn north into Prins Alexander. These lines then offer a connection onto slow and fast trains headed towards the east of the country at 2 Rotterdam Alexander  A  B . Lines A and B terminate at Binnenhof and Nesselande respectively, both being stations out in the suburbs of Rotterdam.

See

Jousting tournament in the Schollebos.

• 1 Historisch Museum Capelle (Jan Anne Beijerinckgemaal), Bermweg 13 (400 metres (440 yd) south of Schenkel  A  B , located east of the tracks.), ☏ +31 104 500 080. Sa: 13:00-16:00. Housed in the former pumping house that was used to drain, and then protect the Prins Alexanderpolder, the Historisch Museum is a small museum of Capelle's local history. Free. (updated Sep 2024)
• 2 Dief- en Duifhuisje (Thief- and Pigeon House), Nieuwe Laan 11. A small house from 1612 that used to accompany the Capelle castle. The house has a quirky combination of functions, being used to house up to two prisoners on its ground floor, and housing carrier pigeons in its attic. It was used in this capacity until the sometime in the 19th century, and is nowadays considered the smallest museum of the Netherlands. Free. (updated Sep 2024)
• 3 Vierkant Eiland in de Plas (Lowest point of the Netherlands), Prinsenlaan. The Vierkant Eiland in de Plas (Square Island in the Puddle) is a 1996 artwork by Frans de Wit. It symbolises the lowest point of the Netherlands (which is actually in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel), some 700 centimetres (280 in) below mean sea level. The island, measuring 52 metres (57 yd) in both directions, has a deep concrete bowl in the middle of it and is connected to the mainland through two long bridges. (updated Sep 2024)
• 4 Schollebos. Tucked onto the south side of the Schollevaar suburb, the Schollebos is one of the larger parks in this area, which has a very active community. Hot air balloon flights can be booked to depart from here, and the community of the park tries to organise a day-of-the-park every summer, which among others has a small renaissance fair as part of it. (updated Sep 2024)

Do

• 1 Isala Theater, Stadsplein 5 (Capelle Centrum  C ), ☏ +31 104 586 400, info@isalatheater.nl. Mostly hosting Dutch acts, the Isala Theater is Capelle's performance venue, which does from time to time house smaller international acts. (updated Sep 2024)
• 2 Golfclub Capelle, 's-Gravenweg 311, ☏ +31 104 422 337. (updated Sep 2024)
• 3 Zevenhuizerplas, Kosboulevard (Nesselande  B ). Found at the line of the metro's B-line, the Zevenhuizerplas is a large recreational lake with facilities for water sports and recreation. It does also allow for boating on the lake itself, though the lake isn't connected to any waterway in a way that is usable by boats. (updated Sep 2024)

Buy

Being mostly post-World War II developments throughout, most of the neighbourhoods in Capelle and Prins Alexander have centrally located shopping centres, if not complete malls in a central location. In the case of Capelle, these are found near the metro stations of Capelle Centrum and De Terp ( C ). In the case of Prins Alexander, such central shopping areas are found around Binnenhof ( A ), Hesseplaats, Ambachtsland and Nesselande ( B ). The region's foremost mall, however, are the Alexandrium Malls found between Rotterdam Alexander and Oosterflank ( A  B ).

• 1 Alexandrium Mall, Watermanweg. One of the Netherlands' biggest malls, which in essence is a combination of three different malls all called Alexandrium: A shopping centre counting some 140 stores, a mall of only megastores of which it counts 16, and one mall dedicated to living. (updated Sep 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Bastion Hotel Rotterdam Alexander, Hoofdweg 40 (Directly off the A16 highway at exit 27.), ☏ +31 104 203 439. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. (updated Sep 2024)
• 2 Hotel-Restaurant Campanile Rotterdam Oost, Koningslaan 2, ☏ +31 102 202 044. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. (updated Sep 2024)