Rotterdam walking tour & city guide

Architecture icons

The Markthal is a giant horseshoe-shaped building with apartments in its arch and a food market underneath, its ceiling covered with a huge colorful mural of fruit, vegetables and flowers. Across the street, the yellow Cube Houses, designed by Piet Blom, are tilted at 45 degrees, and one is open as a museum.

The Erasmus Bridge, nicknamed 'the Swan' for its white curved pylon, connects the center with the Kop van Zuid, where skyscrapers like De Rotterdam stand on the river. The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, a mirrored bowl-shaped building, is the world's first publicly accessible art storage.

Old harbors and the port

Not everything is new: Delfshaven, a historic harbor district that survived the bombing, has canals and old houses, and is where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America in 1620. The Oude Haven has old ships and terraces under modern buildings.

The Port of Rotterdam stretches 40 kilometers to the sea, and harbor boat tours show its huge container ships and cranes. The Euromast tower offers views over the whole city and port.

Visiting tips

Rotterdam is only 40 minutes from Amsterdam by fast train. Water taxis are a fun way to cross the Maas River. The windmills of Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a short boat trip away.