Rotterdam City Guide

Modern City, Harbour & Delfshaven

From the sweeping Markthal to the tilted cube houses and the old harbour, over to the snow-white Erasmus Bridge and out on a grand harbour cruise. By water taxi to the south bank and the Kop van Zuid, then to the mirrored Boijmans art depot, up the Euromast and, to round off, into historic, cobbled Delfshaven.

1. Markthal – The walk starts at the Markthal, the landmark of the new Rotterdam: a vast arch of apartments arching over a covered market hall. The interior is covered by "The Horn of Plenty", at 11,000 square metres the largest artwork in the Netherlands - a riot of oversized fruit, vegetables and flowers above stalls of cheese, fish and street food.
2. Cube Houses (Kijk-Kubus) – Right next door, Piet Blom's cube houses tip the world 45 degrees: 38 yellow cubes stood on their corners and lined up on pillars above the street - Blom called them a "forest of trees". One cube is set up as the "Kijk-Kubus" (show cube) and reveals what living in a tilted house is really like.
3. Oude Haven – The Oude Haven is Rotterdam's oldest harbour, dug in the 14th century and one of the few corners recalling the pre-war city. Historic boats and barges bob in the basin, terraces line the quay. Above it all towers the Witte Huis of 1898, once Europe's tallest office building and a survivor of the bombing.
4. Erasmusbrug – The Erasmus Bridge has arched over the Maas since 1996 and is the city's landmark: 800 metres long, with a 139-metre angled pylon from which the steel cables hang. Its elegant silhouette earned it the nickname "De Zwaan", the Swan. From the bridge you overlook the river, the Kop van Zuid skyline and the ship traffic.
5. Spido Harbour Tour – From Willemsplein the Spido cruises head into one of the largest ports in the world. From the water you see what Rotterdam is really about: kilometres of quays, huge container cranes, shipyards, barges and ocean-going freighters. The classic harbour tour lasts a good hour and only from the water does the sheer scale of the port sink in.
6. Hotel New York (Kop van Zuid) – On the south bank, at the tip of the Kop van Zuid, stands Hotel New York in the former headquarters of the Holland America Line, with its distinctive twin turrets. From right here, emigrant ships once set sail for New York. The finest way over is the yellow water taxi; the grand café in the old waiting room is an institution.
7. Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen – The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Museumpark is the world's first publicly accessible art storage: a huge mirrored bowl holding the museum's entire collection and reflecting the whole city in its façade. Stairs and display cases lead through the storage rooms up to the roof terrace with its forest, restaurant and panorama over Rotterdam.
8. Euromast – The Euromast at the edge of the park soars 185 metres into the sky and is the tallest observation tower in the Netherlands. From the viewing floor and the glass "Euroscoop", which rotates as it screws upward, you overlook the whole city, the port and the Maas to the horizon. For the brave there are even abseiling and zipline experiences up top.
9. Delfshaven – To finish, Delfshaven, one of the few historic corners that survived the bombing: an old harbour basin with squat gabled houses, a windmill and the Pilgrim Fathers' Church. From here in 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers set off on the Speedwell for the crossing to America. Today old boats bob in the water, and in a historic brewery you can let the day wind down at ease.