01
Step aboard
You walk up the gangway into a real wooden ship. The smell of cedar, the creak underfoot — it starts straight away.
The scale
This is how big
the Ark is
A seventy-metre wooden ship, four floors high, with more than two thousand square metres of experience on board. And you can simply walk inside.
70
Metres long
Roughly half the dimensions described in the biblical story.
13
Metres high
Taller than a four-storey house. The restaurant sits at twelve metres.
4
Floors
From the hold to the top deck. There is a lift on board.
2.000
m² of experience
Visitors stay on board for an hour and a half on average.
For comparison
City bus
12 m
12 m
Olympic pool
50 m
50 m
The Ark
70 m
70 m
The experience
Four floors.
One remarkable story.
The Ark is an impressive storytelling ship measuring seventy metres in length, with four floors full of experiences. Across more than 2,000 m² you travel through the story of Noah and the animals — presented in a surprisingly contemporary way.
You walk past the stories of Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Samson all the way to the New Testament. The Tree of Life grows twelve metres through the heart of the ship and connects every story.
No matter what you believe, the Ark is a place where visitors start talking to each other. About hope, about responsibility, about how we treat the world. The Ark is not a traditional museum.
Climate
Cooperation
Responsibility
Humanity
Animals
How we treat the world
New on board
Two by two
the animals are
reporting back
The old Ark no longer smells so fresh… and then something unexpected happens: two by two, animals report back to the Ark. Together with Noah and the audience a new plan is devised, giving this age-old story a surprising new turn.
Let yourself be surprised.
On board
Seven things to do
on board
Take your time.
02
Discover the stories
Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Abraham, Moses, Samson & Delilah, David & Goliath, King Solomon — all the way to the New Testament.
03
Meet Noah
Noah tells you how it went himself. And he has a problem: the ship is old and there are animals at the door again.
04
Discover the animals
Two by two, carved in wood and — new — in AI. Spread across all four decks.
05
Do the treasure hunt
Children set off with a treasure hunt and an information folder. A small surprise awaits at the end.
06
See the theatre
There is room on board for performances and storytelling. Check opening hours for the current programme.
07
Discover every floor
Four levels, from the theatre at the bottom to the restaurant at the top. A lift connects them all.
Cross-section
Four decks,
from keel to crow’s nest
Choose a deck to see what you will find there.
Waterline
Deck 04
Theatre, fish pond & exhibition
The theatre is at the bottom, where Noah tells his tale and the animals report two by two. A new plan is devised together with the audience.
The fish pond and part of the exhibition are on this same deck. Groups can also book the theatre outside opening hours.
Deck 03
Entrance, shop & exhibition
This is where you step aboard. This floor holds the entrance, the shop and the toilets.
The exhibition continues from here across several decks. A lift connects all four floors.
Deck 02
Exhibition
A full floor of exhibition. The stories come alive in hand-carved wooden figures, from Adam & Eve to King Solomon.
There is plenty to touch and discover. Children follow part of the treasure hunt here.
Deck 01
Restaurant & the Tree of Life
The restaurant sits at the top of the ship, overlooking ZUIDYARD and the port of Rotterdam. Lunches are served here during the holidays.
This is also where the Tree of Life emerges, growing twelve metres up through the heart of the ship and connecting every story.
The story of the Ark
1,200 trees,
twenty weeks of sawing,
one ship
1.200
FSC trees were needed to build the Ark.
20
Weeks to saw those trees into beams and planks.
12 m
Height of the Tree of Life, right through the ship.
0
Engines. The Ark does not sail herself — she is towed.
The inside of the Ark is made of fir, the outside of Canadian red cedar. The ship was built on an inland cargo vessel that once carried iron ore.
In 2010 theatre and television producer Aad Peters bought the Ark. He saw the chance to turn her into the first floating biblical theme park in Europe.
Over the fifteen years that followed the Ark toured Europe through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway and England, visited more than sixty harbours — including Rotterdam, Hamburg, Cologne, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Oslo and Bergen — and welcomed over 600,000 visitors.
To the story →
For families
For little
explorers
Children will not get bored on the Ark. They set off with a treasure hunt and an information folder and discover every story on board. There is plenty to touch and experience — you can even take on Goliath.
A small surprise awaits at the end of the treasure hunt.
Treasure hunt
Information folder
Touching allowed
Surprise at the end
Plan your visit
Good to know
before you come
01
Opening hours
From 11 September
Tue to Sat11:00 — 18:00
Sunday13:00 — 18:00
MondayClosed
02
Tickets
A ticket costs € 2. You get that amount back on board as a voucher for food and drink.
Book tickets ↗
03
Length of your visit
Allow about an hour and a half for the full route. You can stay as long as you like.
04
Accessibility
The Ark is wheelchair accessible and a lift serves all four floors.
06
Schools
School trips and education projects on board, with treasure hunt and information folder.
Enquire →
Book your
tickets
Tickets for the Ark in Rotterdam are booked online. Reserve a time slot and step aboard.
Location
The Ark is
in Rotterdam
Part of ZUIDYARD
Address
ZUIDYARD
Doklaan 40
3081 AD Rotterdam
Doklaan 40
3081 AD Rotterdam
From when
Open from 11 September
Parking
ZUIDYARD parking information
Public transport
Public transport route to ZUIDYARD
ZUIDYARD Rotterdam
There is much more
to experience
The Ark lies in the middle of ZUIDYARD, among the other attractions on site. Make a whole day of it.
