Rotterdam in a day: what to see

Rotterdam is the Dutch city that has made reconstruction an identity: razed to the ground by the bombings of 1940, it chose contemporary architecture as language instead of rebuilding in the old style.

Home to Europe's largest port, it today shows an urban profile made of unprecedented forms, from cubic houses to an arched covered market, that makes it a unique case among the cities of the Netherlands.

The Cube Houses, the Kubuswoningen, open the day well: over thirty tilted cubes designed by architect Piet Blom in the 1980s, each conceived as a small tree in an urban forest, can be visited inside from one of the public units.

Beside them stands the Markthal, the covered market in arch form with a completely decorated ceiling featuring a digital fresco of fruit and flowers, below which gastronomic stalls and restaurants spread.

Heading toward the river you reach the Erasmusbrig, the suspension bridge nicknamed "the swan" for its asymmetrical shape, which became the symbol of rebuilt Rotterdam.

For lunch, the Markthal stalls or nearby venues remain the most convenient before resuming the city tour.

From here the day divides into two possible directions. One climbs the Euromast, the panoramic tower built for an international exposition, from which to observe the harbour's extent and the city skyline.

The other reaches Delfshaven, the historic harbour neighbourhood that miraculously survived the bombardments, from which in 1620 the Pilgrims departed before boarding the Mayflower.

With evening, returning to the Erasmusbrig, venues on the south bank remain the most convenient for dinner, with the bridge illuminated over the water.

Cubic houses, Markthal, and Erasmusbrug make Rotterdam's reconstructed soul evident, while the afternoon choice between the Euromast and Delfshaven adds its panoramic or surviving historic side.

A harbor cruise and the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum remain chapters for a second visit. Seeing the cubic houses lean over pedestrians like a forest of concrete captures Rotterdam in a single glance.