Rotterdam Sightseeing: Modern Architecture
Rotterdam is known for architecture, because the medieval centre was destroyed in the German bombing of 14 May 1940 and the city was rebuilt from the 1950s. The result is a skyline of bridges, towers and unusual homes. Entry prices are in euros.
Blaak: Cube Houses and Markthal
Piet Blom’s Cube Houses, finished in 1984, are tilted yellow cubes standing over Blaak station. You can walk under them for free. The furnished Kijk-Kubus at Overblaak 70 is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, with entry at €3.50 and reduced prices for ages 65 and over, students and children.
The Markthal by MVRDV opened on 1 October 2014 with a horseshoe-shaped arch that holds 228 apartments over a food hall. The ceiling artwork by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam is called the Horn of Plenty. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 10:00 and Sunday from 12:00, at Ds. Jan Scharpstraat 298.
The river and Kop van Zuid
The Erasmusbrug, nicknamed the Swan, is 802 m long with a 139 m pylon and was designed by Ben van Berkel of UNStudio. It opened in 1996, and walking across is free. On the south bank De Rotterdam, by Rem Koolhaas and OMA, is a block of three linked towers about 150 m high, completed in 2013. Hotel New York is next to it at Koninginnenhoofd 1 in the old Holland America Line headquarters.
Museumpark
The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is a mirrored bowl by MVRDV that opened in November 2021 as the first publicly accessible art depot. Visitors need an online time slot, and it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00. The roof has a birch garden. The older Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen building is closed for renovation and is expected to reopen around 2029 to 2030. Beside it are the Kunsthal at Westzeedijk 341 and Het Nieuwe Instituut at Museumpark 25, which includes the Huis Sonneveld house museum.
Old and surviving Rotterdam
The Witte Huis by the Oude Haven is an Art Nouveau office building from 1898, about 43 m high, and one of the few central buildings that survived 1940. Rotterdam City Hall on the Coolsingel is a 1920 building by Henri Evers. Delfshaven, in the west, is the one old harbour district that escaped the bombing. The Van Nelle Fabriek, a UNESCO site since 2014, is a functionalist factory that you can view from outside.
Remembrance
The bombing killed roughly 900 people and left about 80,000 homeless. Ossip Zadkine’s bronze The Destroyed City (1953) stands near Leuvehaven, and the Laurenskerk was restored after heavy damage. The Brandgrens marks the edge of the 1940 destruction with markers and lights along a loop of about 12 km. Visit these places quietly.
Tips
- The Euromast, at Parkhaven 20 and 185 m tall, gives the best view of the whole skyline.
- Most of these sights are free from the street, so book only the Depot and the Kijk-Kubus if you want the inside.
Read more: Walking Tours in Rotterdam links these sights into routes. Official pages for the Markthal are at markthal.nl , and a guided architecture tour can be searched on GetYourGuide .