VacationSelector
The Three Graces at Pier Head, Liverpool
LiverpoolThe Three Graces at Pier Head
Erasmus Bridge and the skyline, Rotterdam
RotterdamErasmus Bridge and the skyline

Photos: Liverpool by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Rotterdam by Bas Geerlings, Pexels License.

Liverpool or Rotterdam?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Liverpool for

  • nightlife
  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Liverpool’s own page.

Choose Rotterdam for

  • day trips
  • wellness
  • families

What lies behind each score is written up on Rotterdam’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Liverpool 22, Rotterdam 27: Rotterdam leads by 5 points.
Food & drink. Liverpool 48, Rotterdam 52: Rotterdam leads by 4 points.
Culture & sights. Liverpool 64, Rotterdam 58: Liverpool leads by 6 points.
Nightlife. Liverpool 66, Rotterdam 52: Liverpool leads by 14 points.
Nature & outdoors. Liverpool 52, Rotterdam 44: Liverpool leads by 8 points.
Day trips. Liverpool 64, Rotterdam 85: Rotterdam leads by 21 points.
Good for families. Liverpool 55, Rotterdam 66: Rotterdam leads by 11 points.
Getting around. Liverpool 68, Rotterdam 78: Rotterdam leads by 10 points.
Shopping & style. Liverpool 52, Rotterdam 55: Rotterdam leads by 3 points.
Affordability. Liverpool 50, Rotterdam 38: Liverpool leads by 12 points.
Live music & performing arts. Liverpool 66, Rotterdam 58: Liverpool leads by 8 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Liverpool 22, Rotterdam 42: Rotterdam leads by 20 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Liverpool and Rotterdam.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Liverpool
52match

Wins on nightlife and prices with your weighting.

Rotterdam
Best match
55match

Wins on day trips and wellness with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Liverpool in July

21 °Cdaytime high
13 °Cnight-time low
67 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
16 °Csea
17 hdaylight a day

Rotterdam in July

22 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
91 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
18 °Csea
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°5°10°15°20°25°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

020406080100JFMAMJJASOND
LiverpoolRotterdam

Where the figures come from

Liverpool's temperatures are measured 47 km from the centre, at Manchester Airport.

Liverpool has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.

Rotterdam has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.

Rotterdam's sunshine is measured 52 km from the centre, at De Bilt.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Liverpool: 1991-2020 normals, Manchester Airport (47.4 km from centre). Rotterdam: 1993-2020 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Rotterdam Airport Zestienhoven (3.9 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLiverpoolRotterdam
Official languageEnglishDutch
CurrencyPound Sterling (GBP)Euro (EUR)
SocketsG230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC, UTC+1 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112 or 999112
Elevation70 m10 m
Main airportLiverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL)12 km from centre75 non-stop destinationsRotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM)5 km from centre53 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year8 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureLiverpoolRotterdam
City population513,441664,311
People per km²4,5922,080
Museums within 10 km3140
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km25
Swim season, months above 21 °CNoneNone

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Liverpool or Rotterdam somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.