Netherlands
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A Harbor City Rebuilt After the Bombs
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The Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen) in the Blaak district, designed by architect Piet Blom and completed in 1984, are the image most associated with Rotterdam architecture internationally: houses built as cubes tilted 45 degrees on hexagonal poles, their living surfaces tilted as well, with each corner pointing upward. One of the houses (Kijk-Kubus, or Show-Cube) is open to visitors as a museum apartment; the interiors show how the slanted walls and floors create unconventional but genuinely habitable spaces. The adjacent Markthal — a massive horseshoe-shaped apartment building whose interior arch is covered in a 4,000-square-meter painted tile mural and contains a covered market below — was completed in 2014 and is the most recent landmark in the Blaak area. Both are within 15 minutes' walk of the cruise terminal.
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The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen holds one of the Netherlands' most significant art collections, including Dutch and Flemish masters (Hieronymus Bosch's The Marriage at Cana, a Bruegel the Elder, Rembrandt's Titus), Surrealist works (Dalí, Magritte, Man Ray), and an unusually strong collection of objects: glass, silverware, Delft ceramics, and applied arts. The museum building is under major renovation through 2028; the collection is currently exhibited in the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, a new spherical building opened in 2021 that functions as both visible storage (the full 151,000-object collection is publicly accessible) and exhibition space. The Depot building itself — covered in curved mirror panels that reflect the sky and the park — is worth visiting for its architecture as much as its contents.
The Euromast tower, on the bank of the Nieuwe Maas 2 kilometers west of the cruise terminal, rises 185 meters above the city and has observation platforms at the 96-meter and 112-meter levels with views across the port, the city, and the Maas river delta. The space ride (a capsule that spirals up the mast's upper section) extends the observation height to 185 meters. The tower was designed in 1960 for the Floriade horticultural exposition and has remained in continuous operation since. Clear days provide views to Antwerp, the North Sea coast, and, in winter, sometimes to the Antwerp Cathedral spire.
The Fenix Food Factory at Fenixloods, a former warehouse on the Katendrecht peninsula south of the Nieuwe Maas accessible by water taxi from the cruise terminal, is the best food market in Rotterdam: local producers of Dutch gin, artisanal cheese, bread, coffee, and the Dutch poffertjes (small raised pancakes). The harbor view from the Katendrecht waterfront takes in the Erasmus Bridge — a 802-meter asymmetric cable-stay bridge opened in 1996 — and the working port activity on the opposite bank.
Dutch stroopwafel (thin waffle with caramel center), herring with raw onion, and Indonesian food (from the former Dutch colonies) are the three most specifically Dutch food experiences available in Rotterdam. Albert Heijn supermarkets throughout the city sell stroopwafels; the herring stands on the market square serve them fresh; and the Witte de Withstraat restaurant strip has several Indonesian restaurants whose rijsttafel is the most locally practiced version of the colonial-era Indonesian feast.
Good to know
Overview
Cruise ships berth at Cruise Terminal Rotterdam, Wilhelminakade 699, on the Wilhelminapier in the Kop van Zuid district, on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas facing the city center. Public transport is a minute's walk from the terminal, and a water-taxi landing is two minutes away.
- The terminal is the last of five warehouses built on the pier between 1946 and 1949, where emigrants once set out across the Atlantic, and it has received cruise ships since 2000. It became a national monument in 2011.
- A covered boarding bridge links the ship and the terminal, which has a tourist information desk, free wifi and taxis.
- The water taxi leaves from beside Hotel New York, the former office building of the Holland America Line.
- Give a taxi driver the terminal's full street address, Wilhelminakade 699.
Rotterdam on Your Own
Rotterdam is an easy port to see without a tour, because the terminal faces the center across the river and both public transport and water taxis are close by. A simple plan is the center in the morning for the Markthal, the Cube Houses and the old church, lunch in the market hall, and a water taxi back to the pier.
- Into the center: Take public transport, a minute's walk from the terminal, or a water taxi from beside Hotel New York, across the Nieuwe Maas.
- The Markthal and the Cube Houses: The Markthal, opened in 2014, is a horseshoe-shaped arch of apartments with a covered market hall underneath. Piet Blom's Cube Houses, tilted on their corners above hexagonal pillars, are another stop in the center.
- What survived: The Laurenskerk, built between 1449 and 1525, is the one remnant of the medieval city. Near the Leuvehaven, Ossip Zadkine's statue The Destroyed City, a figure with a hole torn through its body, remembers the bombing of 1940.
- Tourist information: There are tourist offices at the Port Pavilion, Schiedamsedijk 68, and at Rotterdam Centraal station.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, so allow for the trip back across the river.
Getting Around
Public transport is about a minute's walk from the cruise terminal, and a water-taxi landing is two minutes away.
- Water taxis run along the river from the Hook of Holland to the Brienenoord Bridge, stopping at the Oude Haven and the center, and since 2024 they take payment only by bank card or credit card.
- The Erasmus Bridge, 802 meters long, links the south bank with the center, and its single pylon rises 139 meters.
- Kinderdijk, with its 19 windmills built around 1740, is about 15 kilometers east of the city.
Where to Eat
The Markthal is a convenient place for lunch on a port day, with more than 100 places to eat under one roof at Ds. Jan Scharpstraat 298. The Katendrecht district has a food hall of its own.
- Food stalls in the Markthal range from Asian and Caribbean cooking to a section of Dutch favorites.
- Fenix Food Factory, in Katendrecht, has a craft brewery alongside its stalls of meat, vegetables and dairy.
- Saturdays bring the Harvest Market to the Noordplein.
Culture and Architecture
Rotterdam lost its old center in 1940 and rebuilt it as a modern city, so its culture shows most in its buildings. The Lijnbaan, a car-free shopping street opened in 1953, and the Markthal of 2014 are two examples.
- The Van Nelle factory, built for coffee, tea and tobacco, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The Erasmus Bridge, designed by Ben van Berkel and finished in 1996, is part of the city's official logo.
- The Euromast, built for the Floriade garden show of 1960, has an observation platform 96 meters up and a restaurant.
- The cruise terminal's shell-shaped roofs were the first of their kind in the Netherlands.
- Hotel New York, in the former office building of the Holland America Line, was a stopping place for emigrants waiting to sail.
History
Rotterdam grew from a dam on the little River Rotte into a great international port, and the bombing of 14 May 1940 broke its history in two. Almost everything in the center was built after the war.
- The 1260s: A dam was built across the Rotte, where the Hoogstraat runs today.
- 1340: On 7 July, Count William IV of Holland granted Rotterdam its city rights.
- 1449 to 1525: The Laurenskerk was built, and it is the one remnant of the medieval city.
- 1872: The Nieuwe Waterweg opened a direct channel to the sea, and the port and the city grew faster than ever, spreading onto the south bank.
- 1873: The Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, after its first ship sailed from Rotterdam to Hoboken in October 1872.
- 14 May 1940: German bombing destroyed almost all of the city's heart, killing about 900 people and leaving some 80,000 homeless.
- 1946 to 1949: Five warehouses went up on the Wilhelminapier for the transatlantic lines. One of them, the last survivor, is today's cruise terminal.
- The rebuilding: The Lijnbaan, opened on 9 October 1953, is described as the first purpose-built pedestrian street in Europe, and Zadkine's statue The Destroyed City was unveiled the same year.
- 1996 to 2015: The Erasmus Bridge opened in 1996, the Markthal in 2014, and the city was named European City of the Year for 2015.
- To learn more ashore: The Maritime Museum Rotterdam, at Leuvehaven 1, was founded in 1874 and holds some 850,000 objects from six centuries of seafaring, with historic ships and cranes in its open-air harbor outside.
Families and Children
Rotterdam suits children who like boats, towers and odd buildings. A water taxi ride is a good start at any age.
- Younger children: At the Maritime Museum, the Professor Splash exhibition lets children aged 4 to 12 learn about ships and the port by playing. The museum's open-air harbor outside holds historic ships and cranes.
- School age: Look for the tilted Cube Houses and the Markthal's giant arch, then take the water taxi back across the river.
- Teenagers: The Euromast's observation platform is 96 meters above the ground.
- A longer outing: Blijdorp, the Rotterdam Zoo, in the northwest of the city, has 562 species on 34 hectares.
- Windmills: Kinderdijk's 19 windmills are about 15 kilometers east of the city, so allow time for the trip out and back.
Accessibility
The cruise terminal has a covered boarding bridge, and public transport is a minute's walk away. Ask your cruise line about the gangway and any assistance before you sail.
- Before you travel on the metro or tram, check the status updates and accessibility information from RET, the city's transport operator.
- Ask the water-taxi operator whether you can board with a wheelchair or walker before you book.
What to Buy
Rotterdam's main shopping is in the rebuilt center, starting with the Lijnbaan, a pedestrian shopping street opened in 1953. The Markthal and the Saturday Harvest Market on the Noordplein are the places for food to take home.
- The Lijnbaan was designed by Jo van den Broek and Jaap Bakema as part of the rebuilding after 1940, and its original stretch has been a national monument since 2010.
- The Markthal mixes food stalls with shops selling things other than food.
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