Rotterdam

A city rebuilt from scratch

Rotterdam was almost entirely destroyed in the bombing of May 1940, which is exactly why it is now the most architecturally daring city in the Netherlands. There are no rows of centuries-old canal houses here as in Amsterdam, but glass towers, white bridges and buildings that look like experiments. The Erasmus Bridge, nicknamed "the Swan", links the two banks of the Nieuwe Maas and is the view behind every photo of the city. The Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen), Piet Blom's tilted cubes beside the Old Harbour, include one that opens to visitors as a show home. The Markthal, a market hall with a giant mural across its ceiling, is where you end up when you haven't decided what to eat.

Port, neighbourhoods and food

Rotterdam has Europe's largest port, and the best way to grasp its scale is from the water, by water taxi or a harbour cruise from the Erasmus Bridge. Delfshaven, one of the few districts that survived the bombs, keeps its old canals and seventeenth-century houses. Katendrecht, once a sailors' quarter, now packs Asian and North African restaurants into a few streets. Kibbeling, battered chunks of fried fish sold from market stalls, is the Dutch snack worth trying here. The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, an art storage building with a mirrored facade, wins over even people who don't usually like museums.

Seasons and getting there

April to September is the best stretch, with long days and terraces along the water; July brings the North Sea Jazz festival. Winter is damp and windy, though museums and cafés keep things going. Most visitors arrive via Amsterdam: the train from Schiphol to Rotterdam Centraal takes under an hour, so Rotterdam slots easily into a multi-stop trip. Distances between districts are longer than in the old canal towns, so trams and the metro are part of the plan, not an extra.