Introduction to Rotterdam, Netherlands

Just beyond Delft lies ROTTERDAM, at the heart of a maze of rivers and artificial waterways that together form the outlet of the rivers Rijn (Rhine) and Maas (Meuse). After devastating damage during World War II, Rotterdam has grown into a vibrant, forceful city dotted with first-division cultural attractions. Redevelopment also hasn't obliterated the city's earthy character: its tough grittiness is part of its appeal, as are its boisterous bars and clubs. A nice feel for the city can be had by walking from the station (or taking #5 tram from just outside) down to the Museumpark. Here, the Boymans-Van Beuningen Museum, Mathenesserlaan 18–20 (Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–5pm; €6; www.boijmans.nl), is enormous, with a superb collection. The first floor contains works by Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Gauguin and Cézanne, while among the earlier canvases are several by Bosch, Bruegel the Elder and Rembrandt. A stroll through the Museumpark brings you to the Kunsthal (Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–5pm; €6.50), which showcases first-rate exhibitions of contemporary art, photography and design. Water taxis leave the Veerhaven and the Leuvehaven for the splendid Hotel New York, occupying the building where transatlantic cruise liners once docked. From here you can walk back to the centre over the futuristic bridge, the Erasmusbrug, an ideal spot for photos. Ten minutes' walk away is the entertaining Maritiem Museum (Maritime Museum; Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 11am–5pm; €3.50) at the Leuvehaven. Close by is the seventeenth-century mansion at Korte Hoogstraat 31 that houses the Museum Het Schielandshuis (Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–5pm; €3.50), with displays on the city's history. Another short walk away is Blaak, a pocket-sized area that was levelled in World War II, but has since been rebuilt. The architectural highlight is a remarkable series of cube-shaped houses, the kubuswoningen, completed in 1984. One of them, the Kijk-Kubus (Show Cube; March–Dec daily 11am–5pm; Jan & Feb Fri–Sun same hours; €1.75; www.kubuswoning.nl), at Overblaak 70, near Blaak train and metro station, is open to visitors, offering a somewhat disorientating tour of what amounts to an upside-down house.

If little in Rotterdam city centre can exactly be called picturesque, DELFSHAVEN, a couple of kilometres southwest of Centraal Station, makes up for it – to get there, catch tram #4 or #6 (direction Schiedam, tram stop Spanjaardstraat), or take the metro to Delfshaven. Once the harbour that served Delft, it was from here that the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for the New World in 1620. Most of the buildings lining the district's two narrow canals are eighteenth- and nineteenth-century warehouses. At Voorhaven 12 is the Museum de Dubbelde Palmboom (Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 11am–5pm; €2.70), once a jenever distillery and now a wide-ranging historical museum.

Information by Rough Guides

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