The recreation area of Rotterdam
The Kralingen Lake is an oasis of peace in Rotterdam where you can recover after a busy day in the city. This is what a lot of people from Rotterdam do, because the Kralingen Lake is the most important recreational area of Rotterdam. Alongside the lake you will see people jogging of taking a stroll, on the lake you will see people sailing and around the lake you can see people relaxing or visiting a terrace.

Kralingen Lake and Kralingen Forest
The Kralingen Lake is situated in the Kralingen district in the north-east of Rotterdam. The somewhat square shape of the lake is the result of digging up the marshland in order to make peat, a fuel that was used in earlier times for cooking and heating. The lake is surrounded on three sides by the Kralingen forest and on the east side are two historic windmills that are worth the effort to visit and observe. These two windmills are still in use today for grinding spices and snuff tobacco!

The widest poplar of Rotterdam
The Kralingen Lake is the favorite spot of recreational visitors, sun lovers and sports fishermen and as a result there are quite a few water sports clubs founded there. Also if you just want to get out for a day the Kralingen Lake is a great place to linger with its excellent cafe terraces where you can enjoy a drink or something to eat. In the Kralingen Forest you will encounter a lot of skaters, joggers and cyclists. Also in summer the place is popular to have a barbecue in the open air. The view that the Kralingen Lake offers is very diverse in both summer and winter. On the west side of the Kralingen Lake is the Langepad which is flanked by a lot of high poplars. This is also where the widest poplar of Rotterdam stands, which has a radius of 4.85 meters! It's an impressive sight.

Restaurants at the Kralingen Lake
The south of the Kralingen Lake offers you a beautiful outlook on the Rotterdam center skyline. You can clearly see the high office buildings amongst which is the Delftse Poort, main office building of the insurance company Nationale Nederlanden. In the east you can see the Plaszoom, where the two monumental windmills The Star and The Lilly are located. Between those windmills is the recently completely renovated Bar-Restaurant De Tuin (The Garden). Because of the beautiful location at the lake this restaurant is the favorite spot for a lot of people from Rotterdam. In the north you see the Kralingen Forest, but also the restaurant De Schone Lei (The Clean Slate) which is also an excellent spot to have something to eat. The terraces of De Schone Lei and De Tuin are amongst the most popular terraces of Rotterdam!

More parks in Rotterdam?
If you want to stay closer to the center there are of course other big parks in Rotterdam, like the park near the Euromast (but with a lot less water!). Another alternative is the Bergse Plas in the leafy Rotterdam district of Hillegersberg, which also houses a lot of catering industry.