51.81° N · 4.67° E
Harbours with historic boats, the Grote Kerk tower, three museums free for under-18s and the Waterbus along the river to the Kinderdijk windmills.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Visit · 1 h 30 · The great Gothic church in the centre and its square tower, with views over the harbours and rivers. €4 church and tower; free up to age 12.
Boat · half day · Waterbus line 20 from the Merwekade along the rivers to Ridderkerk and the small Driehoeksveer ferry to the windmills. Day ticket €16.10.
Museum · 2 h · Dutch painting from the Golden Age to contemporary art, including what was painted in Dordrecht. €17; free up to age 18.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to October, when the Grote Kerk and its tower are open Tuesday to Sunday and the Kinderdijk windmills have long hours. The museums are open all year. In November and December the tower is only open on some Saturdays.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Dordrecht is south of Rotterdam, on the rail line from Amsterdam towards Belgium. The usual route is to fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and nearly all the major Spanish cities, and continue by train, direct or with one change. With a hire car, Dordrecht is about twenty-five minutes from Rotterdam by motorway.
Dordrecht can be done entirely without a car: train from Amsterdam or Rotterdam, the centre on foot and the Waterbus to Kinderdijk along the river. The budget per person per day includes accommodation, food, entry fees and the boat day ticket.
By car, Dordrecht is a good base for the south of Holland: Rotterdam and Kinderdijk are close, and the De Biesbosch National Park is about 35 minutes away. In the centre, park and walk: the streets are narrow and hourly parking is expensive. The budget includes accommodation, food and entry fees, but not the car.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Dordrecht works well with children for two reasons: the museums are free or almost free for them and the city is surrounded by water, with boats you catch like a bus.
With teenagers, Dordrecht has what a historic city usually lacks: climbing a tower, an escape game in a museum and a fast boat along the rivers to the windmills. And the museums do not charge under-18s, except the Hof, which charges €4.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Twelve rooms with their own character in a monument in Dordrecht's historic centre, with the Christa's patisserie and lunch room on the ground floor.
Why we like it: Hotel in a restored stately house beside the Kalkhaven, ten minutes on foot from the centre, with free parking, a terrace and 24-hour reception.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a late lunch, served until five, or something to share on the square terrace.
Takeaway and markets
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
The €22 day ticket covers the Dordrechts Museum with Huis Van Gijn or with the Hof van Nederland.
The Ridderkerk to Kinderdijk ferry is not part of the Waterbus: check its timetable before you set off.
One euro for the first day, 25 minutes on foot from the centre.
The Grote Kerk and the Dordrechts Museum are closed.
Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and it shows in its layout: an island surrounded by rivers, with a centre of narrow harbours, merchants' houses, warehouses and moored wooden boats. In 1572 it hosted the first free assembly of the States of Holland in the revolt against Philip II, the origin of the independent country. Today it is a quiet city, far less visited than Delft or Leiden, with three museums free for under-18s and a practical advantage: from its quays leaves the Waterbus, the fast boat that takes you along the river towards the windmills of Kinderdijk.
By train, via Rotterdam: there are direct trains from Amsterdam Centraal and from Schiphol, and others with a change at Rotterdam Centraal. The station is south of the centre, about fifteen minutes on foot from the Grote Kerk. Pay by tapping a contactless card on the reader when you enter and leave. If you come from Rotterdam, the Waterbus also brings you along the river to the Merwekade.
By car, parking in the centre is expensive; leave the car on the Weeskinderendijk, where the first day costs €1, and walk, or sleep in a hotel with parking such as the Hotel Dordrecht.
Start with the Grote Kerk, the great Gothic church in the centre, and climb its square tower: church and tower cost €4, and nothing up to age 12. Continue with the harbours walk: the Groothoofdspoort, the monumental gate at the tip of the city, the Wolwevershaven with its historic boats and the Nieuwe Haven.
There are three museums a few minutes from one another. The Dordrechts Museum covers six centuries of Dutch painting; Huis Van Gijn is a 19th-century house with the drawing rooms upstairs and the servants' kitchen downstairs, and the Hof van Nederland tells the story of the country's freedoms where it began, with a ball pool and an escape game for children. Under-18s do not pay at the first two, and the day ticket combining two museums costs €22.
By water: the Waterbus line 20 leaves from the Merwekade for Ridderkerk, and at the Schans stop you change to the Driehoeksveer, a small ferry that drops you at Kinderdijk in a few minutes. The Waterbus day ticket costs €16.10, and the ferry is paid separately. By land, bus 93 runs direct from Monday to Friday, and the 416 with a change to the 489 any day. The one-day combination is clear: Dordrecht in the morning, windmills in the afternoon.
De Klander Muelen, in a 17th-century house on the Statenplein, is open every day, including Sunday, with lunch until five. Broodcafé Jaap bakes its own bread and serves breakfast and lunch from Tuesday to Saturday. To sleep in the centre, the Stadshotel Steegoversloot has twelve rooms with its own pastry shop downstairs; the Hotel Dordrecht is a stately house beside the Kalkhaven, with free parking and a 24-hour reception.
In a day you see the centre, one museum and the windmills. With a night, the city changes: the harbours go quiet and the next day you can carry on to Rotterdam by Waterbus or to the De Biesbosch National Park by car.
From April to October, when the Grote Kerk and its tower are open and Kinderdijk has long hours. The museums are open all year, so in winter Dordrecht is a good city plan, without the windmills at their best. Avoid Mondays: the Grote Kerk and the Dordrechts Museum are closed.
Questions
By train, direct or with a change at Rotterdam Centraal. The station is about fifteen minutes on foot from the centre.
Yes: Waterbus line 20 from the Merwekade to Ridderkerk and the Driehoeksveer to the windmills.
€4 per person with the church; free up to age 12.
At the Dordrechts Museum and Huis Van Gijn, free up to age 18; at the Hof van Nederland, €2 for ages 4 to 12 and €4 for ages 13 to 18.
De Klander Muelen is open on Sundays from 11:00 to 22:00.
Yes, to see the harbours at night and combine Kinderdijk and Rotterdam without going back to Amsterdam.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/dordrecht
