Designed and built between 1925 and 1931, this modernist World Heritage–listed factory northwest of the city centre is an icon of 20th-century industrial…
Must see attractions in Rotterdam
- Top ChoiceVan Nelle Fabriek
- Top ChoiceMuseum Boijmans van Beuningen
The roll-call of artists represented in the collection of Rotterdam's pre-eminent fine-arts museum is stellar and spans multiple periods and movements:…
- HTop ChoiceHuis Sonneveld
When company director Albertus Sonneveld decided to commission an architect to design a contemporary home for his family, the obvious choice was Leendert…
- MTop ChoiceMuseum Rotterdam '40-'45 NU
Good things often come in small packages, and so it is with this small but excellent museum sheltered under a bridge on the Coolhaven. An eight-minute…
- MTop ChoiceMarkthal
One of the city's signature buildings, this extraordinary inverted-U-shaped market hall was designed by local architecture firm MVRDV and opened for…
- KKunsthal
This dynamic cultural institution in Rotterdam's main museum enclave is known for its constantly changing and inevitably thought-provoking exhibition…
- Deliplein
Once home to the largest red-light district in Europe, Katendrecht is now one of Rotterdam’s culinary hotspots. The Deliplein is a small plaza right…
- NNational Jenevermuseum Schiedam
Housed in an 18th-century distillery, this museum is dedicated to the industry that Schiedam is best known for: production of the traditional Dutch gin…
- HHet Nieuwe Instituut
This design-driven cultural hub houses the Netherlands Architecture Institute, e-culture institute Virtueel Platform and the Netherlands Institute for…
- MMaritiem Museum Rotterdam
Children adore this museum overlooking Leuvehaven, whose permanent exhibits are emphatically kid-focused. The best of these is the 'Offshore Experience',…
- KKorenmolen de Walvisch
One of the highest windmills in the world, the 'Mill of the Whale' dates from 1794 and was rebuilt in 1996 after a fire. Built to grind malt for the gin…
- OOverblaak Development
Designed by Amsterdam-based architect Piet Blom and built between 1978 and 1984, this mind-bending development facing the Markthal is marked by its pencil…
- WWitte de With Center for Contemporary Art
Sharing a premises with TENT, this gallery has its finger on the pulse of breaking developments in contemporary art worldwide. Its experimental…
- LLijnbaan
Commissioned to design 65 shops in Rotterdam's central business district in the 1950s, architects Jo Van den Broek and Jaap Bakema came up with the…
- MMuseum Rotterdam
The attractive Timmerhuis building designed by Rotterdam-based Rem Koolhaas is a classy location for this museum profiling the city's past, present and…
- DDe Rotterdam
Designed by OMA, whose star architect Rem Koolhaas is a Pritzker-winning local hero, this 'vertical city' with its three interconnected towers was…
- MMcDonald's
Anyone who isn't convinced by Rotterdam's claim to the status of one of the world's most interesting cities of architecture need only check out the brach…
- HHet Park
Landscaped in English-garden style, this park was established in 1852 and is much loved by locals, who come here to jog, picnic, barbecue, cycle, kick…
- NNatural History Museum
Geared predominantly towards children, the collection at this small museum focuses on delivering facts in a fun way. The 'Uitslovers' ('Show-offs')…
- NNederlands Fotomuseum
This national institution has a collection of over five million photographic images, and its upstairs gallery highlights curated selections from this…