Rotterdam's Modern Architecture

Rotterdam lost its old centre in 1940 and rebuilt not as a copy of what had gone but as a laboratory for modern architecture, and the result is the most striking skyline in the Netherlands and a city that reads as one long design experiment. Its landmarks are genuinely odd and genuinely loved: the Cube Houses, a cluster of yellow homes tilted onto their corners like dice, one of which is open to visit; the Markthal, a huge arch of apartments curving over a food market, its inner vault painted with an enormous mural of fruit and flowers; the Erasmus Bridge, a white asymmetric span nicknamed the Swan; and the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, a mirrored bowl that is the first publicly accessible art storage building in the world. Add the reborn harbour district and the old Delfshaven that survived, and it is a city best explored by simply looking up.

What you actually see

• The Cube Houses - the tilted yellow cubes, with one open as a small museum.
• The Markthal - the arched market building with its vast painted inner vault.
• The Erasmus Bridge - the white asymmetric span over the Maas.
• The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen - the mirrored bowl storing an entire art collection on view.

When to go

April to September is the mildest and best for walking and water taxis; the city is a good wet-weather destination too, with the Markthal, Depot and museums indoors. Summer brings festivals along the river. Weekdays are quieter in the market hall than Saturdays.

Honest expectations

Rotterdam divides people: it has none of Amsterdam's canal-house prettiness, and those who come expecting a classic Dutch old town are often disappointed by the concrete and glass. The interest is architectural, so it rewards curiosity about design more than casual sightseeing. Distances between landmarks are walkable but real, and the wind off the river is sharper than in the sheltered inland towns.

Nearby

Kinderdijk's windmills are a short boat ride away; Delft and The Hague are twenty minutes by train.