VacationSelector
The Frauenkirche towers and the Mariensäule, Munich
MunichThe Frauenkirche towers and the Mariensäule
Erasmus Bridge and the skyline, Rotterdam
RotterdamErasmus Bridge and the skyline

Photos: Munich by 0xd1ma, Pexels License; Rotterdam by Bas Geerlings, Pexels License.

Munich 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 Munich for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • live music and the arts
  • culture and sights

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

Choose Rotterdam for

  • prices

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. Munich 28, Rotterdam 27: Munich leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Munich 62, Rotterdam 52: Munich leads by 10 points.
Culture & sights. Munich 79, Rotterdam 58: Munich leads by 21 points.
Nightlife. Munich 56, Rotterdam 52: Munich leads by 4 points.
Nature & outdoors. Munich 82, Rotterdam 44: Munich leads by 38 points.
Day trips. Munich 86, Rotterdam 85: Munich leads by 1 points.
Good for families. Munich 78, Rotterdam 66: Munich leads by 12 points.
Getting around. Munich 86, Rotterdam 78: Munich leads by 8 points.
Shopping & style. Munich 72, Rotterdam 55: Munich leads by 17 points.
Affordability. Munich 32, Rotterdam 38: Rotterdam leads by 6 points.
Live music & performing arts. Munich 84, Rotterdam 58: Munich leads by 26 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Munich 62, Rotterdam 42: Munich leads by 20 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Munich and Rotterdam.

Your match

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

Munich
Best match
67match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and live music and the arts with your weighting.

Rotterdam
55match

Wins on prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Munich in July

25 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
119 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
No seasea
16 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

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
MunichRotterdam

Where the figures come from

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. Munich: 1991-2020 normals, München (1.9 km from centre). Rotterdam: 1993-2020 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Rotterdam Airport Zestienhoven (3.9 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMunichRotterdam
Official languageGermanDutch
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation519 m10 m
Main airportMunich Airport (MUC)29 km from centre210 non-stop destinationsRotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM)5 km from centre53 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year12 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureMunichRotterdam
City population1,505,036664,311
People per km²4,8442,080
Museums within 10 km7440
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km15
Swim season, months above 21 °C-None

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Munich 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. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). 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. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

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.