Built between 1925 and 1931, the modernist World Heritage–listed Van Nelle Fabriek (vannellefabriekrotterdam.com), northwest of the city center, is an icon of 20th-century industrial design. Often described as a steel and glass palace, the factory was a state-of-the-art coffee, tea and tobacco factory until the 1990s. It now houses creative industries.
Though closed to the public, architecture excursion agency Urban Guides (urbanguides.nl) runs one-hour guided tours of the building. These tours peek into the management area and electricity plant (the second built in Rotterdam) on a distinctive diagonal bridge. It ends in the tobacco factory's light-drenched spaces, twin stairways that workers separately scaled (one for each sex, preventing fraternization), and a sprawling cafeteria.
Look east from the factory and spot the De Schie Penitentiary, a 1980s low bunker with a startling orange and blue color scheme starkly contrasting with its dark function.
