Festivals in Rotterdam

North Sea Jazz is the festival the city is known for abroad. It moved from The Hague to Rotterdam Ahoy in 2006 and now runs over three days on the second weekend of July, with many stages under one roof. Jazz is the core, but the programme stretches into soul, funk, blues, hip-hop and pop, so a single evening can take you from a big-band hall to a packed arena show. Because it is indoors, the weather matters less than at most summer festivals; what matters more is planning, since the best-known sets fill up and the walk between halls takes time. Ahoy is in Rotterdam-Zuid and easy to reach by metro, so most people leave the car at home.

Rotterdam Unlimited is the city's summer carnival, a celebration of Caribbean culture and the many communities that live in Rotterdam. Over a weekend in late July the centre fills with dance groups, floats and live music, and the Saturday street parade is the moment the whole city seems to come out onto the pavement. It happens out on the streets, so the crowd is mixed - families in the afternoon, a party crowd as the evening goes on. Bring sunscreen and expect busy trams.

In September, Baroeg Open Air sets up in the Zuiderpark next to Ahoy for two days of bands from the underground end of the spectrum, with a broad programme and a relaxed atmosphere that the organisers put at the heart of the event. It is a day festival - the last bands finish in the evening - and children under twelve get in free, which says a lot about its tone. Outside these dates, Rotterdam's music life moves to its clubs and concert halls. The list on this page shows the festivals we currently have on sale in Rotterdam and fills up again as the new season is announced.