From 4 April 2019, the Eurostar will begin running services from London and Ebbsfleet direct to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. These will leave twice daily Monday to Friday, with one service a day on Saturday and Sunday.

The journey takes you non-stop to Brussels, and then move north out of the Belgian capital through into the Netherlands, stopping first at Rotterdam and finally pulling into Amsterdam’s historic Centraal station in under 4 hours from London.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of Western Europe’s must-see cities. Historic canals lined with narrow gabled houses, museums covering subjects from Van Gogh to Vodka, Anne Frank’s House, tulip markets, hidden cafés and boutique shops; these are just some of the attractions you can expect to find. We recommend at least 2 nights here to explore.

Rotterdam

The Netherlands’ second largest city, Rotterdam is not on the tourist map in the same way as its Northern cousin. But with its world-class museums, maritime tradition, exciting modern architecture and new restaurants and bars popping up all the time, it’s definitely worth a visit – especially as it’s now only 3 hours direct from London by train.

Connecting with other cities

Why not create a multi-centre holiday by rail, including the new Eurostar direct service to the Netherlands?

– Other Dutch cities: You can easily combine Amsterdam and / or Rotterdam with other enticing Dutch delights such as Utrecht, Delft and The Hague.

– There are direct train services from Amsterdam to Berlin, Basel, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Paris, making it a great place to start a holiday to two or more destinations.

Returning to the UK

Because it’s currently not possible for passengers boarding at Amsterdam or Rotterdam to go through passport control, the return journey to London is not direct as you will still need to disembark at Brussels to go through security. This is another reason why we recommend combining Amsterdam or Rotterdam with another destination.