Things To Do in Rotterdam

Near Oude Haven is the geometric chaos of cube-shaped, custard-yellow Kubuswoningen (Cube Houses); they were designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom in the early 1970s and are quite a sight. One of these lopsided little abodes, the Kijk-Kubus (Show-Cube), Overblaak 70 (www.kubuswoning.nl; tel. 010/414-2285), is open for visits daily 11am to 6pm. Admission is 3€ for adults, 2€ for seniors and students, 1.50€ for children 4 to 12.

Skyscrapers glitter in the burgeoning downtown area and around the banks of the River Maas, where abandoned wharves have all but disappeared under a slew of stylish new builds. As the city’s heavy industry migrated northwest towards the North Sea, the old port district of Wilhelminapier has been revamped with innovative skyscrapers, including the Norman Foster-designed World Port Center, the 44-story Maastoren (currently The Netherlands’ tallest office building), the all-white New Orleans apartment tower, and Rem Koolhaas’ colossal glassy De Rotterdam complex; all can be seen on a boat tour of the harbor (see below).

Koolhaas designed the Museumpark’s Kunsthal Rotterdam in the 1990s, setting a precedent for stylish public buildings that has been followed by the red-brick New Luxor Theatre, the frothy bubbles of the Drijvend Paviljoen (Floating Pavilion) in the Rijnhaven, and the dynamic Red Apple apartment block. In 2014 the futuristic, tunnel-shaped indoor food market Markethal (Market Hall) opened, featuring a massive arched ceiling covered with colorful, cartoonish images of produce; the same year, the remodeled Rotterdam Centraal train station unveiled a striking angular metal-clad roof. More innovative architectural projects are slated for the city, including the transformation of the historic former post office—one of the few buildings left standing after the 1940 Rotterdam Blitz.

Delfshaven

Not all of Rotterdam is spanking new. Take the Metro to the tiny harbor area known as Delfshaven (Delft Harbor), a neighborhood the German bombers somehow missed. Historically this is one of the most important places in Europe for U.S. citizens, for it was from here that the Puritan Pilgrim Fathers embarked on the first leg of their trip to found Massachusetts in 1620. Wander into the 15th-century Pelgrimvaderskerk (Pilgrim Fathers Church), Aelbrechtskolk 20 (www.oudeofpelgrimvaderskerk.nl), in which the pilgrims prayed before departure, and where they are remembered in special services every Thanksgiving Day. The church is open irregularly, but at least admission is free. Then peek into antiques stores and galleries, and check on the progress of this historic area’s housing renovations.

Grand Harbor

The Port of Rotterdam handles more ships and more cargo every year than any other port in Europe -- 37,000 ships and 400 million metric tons of cargo. A dredged channel, the Nieuwe Waterweg (New Waterway) connects Rotterdam with the North Sea and forms a 32km-long (20-mile) deepwater harbor known as Europoort. Holland owes a fair piece of its prosperity to the port, which employs directly 60,000 people. But the port has a dark side, too: Rotterdam is a center for big-time international drug-dealers and gunrunners.

You may think visiting a harbor is boring business on a vacation, but Rotterdam's is one of the most memorable sights in Holland. Container ships, bulk carriers, tankers, sleek greyhounds of the sea, and careworn tramps are waited on by a vast retinue of machines and people. Trucks, trains, and barges, each carrying its little piece of the action, hurry into and out of the hub. You feel dwarfed by the hulking oil tankers and container ships that glide like giant whales into their berths along the miles of docks.

Windmills of Kinderdijk

The sight of windmill sails spinning in the breeze stirs the soul of a true Hollander. Kinderdijk (www.kinderdijk.nl), a tiny community between Rotterdam and Dordrecht, on the south bank of the Lek River, has 19 water-pumping windmills; that means 76 mill sails, each with a 14-yard span, all revolving on a summer day. It's a spectacular sight, and one important enough for Kinderdijk to have been placed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

By regulating the level of water, Kinderdijk's windmills guarded the fertile polders (reclaimed land) of the Alblasserwaard, which were constantly at risk of returning to the water. The Windmill Exposition Center at Kinderdijk treats its subjects as more than just pretty faces and gives a detailed explanation of windmills' technical characteristics and the part they played in the intricate system of water control. It also looks at the people and the culture that developed on the polders.

The mills operate on Saturday afternoons in July and August 2:30 to 5:30pm; the visitors’ mill is open March to October daily 9am to 5:30pm and November to February 10am to 4:30pm. The most adrenaline-thumping way to get to Kinderdijk from Rotterdam is by RET high-speed catamaran (www.ret.nl), from the dock adjacent to the Erasmusbrug; this goes to the De Schans dock at Ridderkerk for the local ferry across to Kinderdijk. If you’re driving, take N210 east to Krimpen aan de Lek, from where a small car ferry crosses over the Lek River to Kinderdijk.

Shop till you drop in Rotterdam. Cutting-edge fashion is the thing in boutiques on and around cool Witte de Withstraat. On the Lijnbaan car-free shopping promenade, you'll find dozens of small fashion boutiques. The historic Delfshaven area is a storehouse for antiques.

For sexy designer lingerie, head to Marlies Dekkers, Witte de Withstraat 2 (tel. 010/280-9184; www.marliesdekkers.nl; Metro: Eendrachtsplein), which stands out on cool Witte de Withstraat not so much for its location in a tastefully converted former bank building, as for the hot lingerie and beachwear from the Dutch designer's collection in the window.

Department stores are located on Coolsingel and Hoogstraat. The classy De Bijenkorf department store, Coolsingel 105 (tel. 0900/0919; www.bijenkorf.nl; Metro: Beurs), has five floors selling women's and men's fashions and accessories, cosmetics, household items, toys, and more. Its bright continental restaurant  is worth visiting. On one side, it opens onto the new Beurstraverse shopping mall, which runs below street level and has a mix of chain stores and small stores.

With more than 12,000 different products on its shelves, the large supermarket Gimsel, Mariniersweg 9-33 (tel. 010/404-7342; www.degroenepassage.nl; Metro: Blaak or Oostplein), takes shopping for "bio" food and drink far beyond its cottage-industry roots. This is just one of the organic or alternative stores in the Groene Passage green shopping center. Close to Rotterdam's curious Cube Houses, Bier & Co, Abraham van Stolkweg 98 (tel. 31/10-411-2879; www.bierenco.nl; Metro: Blaak or Oostplein), stocks a vast selection of beers of distinction, including all the main Dutch beers and those from microbreweries, along with Belgian, German, English, American, and more, plus seasonal, rare, and real ales.

On the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas, the Entrepot, a 19th-century bonded warehouse, enjoys a new lease on life. Here you'll find Jumbo, Vijf Werelddelen 33, the city's largest supermarket, plus colonnade of diverse restaurants that overlooks a small marina and faces a row of interior design stores.

Back in the center city, a huge general market brings alive the Binnenrotte area on Tuesday and Saturday. Part of the market (still 200 stalls!) opens from May to December on Sunday afternoon. Lovers of antiques, bric-a-brac, and old books should make their way to the Sunday market (Metro: Leuvehaven) amid the mini-Manhattan architecture on Schiedamsedijk, along Leuvehaven harbor in the center of town; the market is open mid-May to mid-September Sunday from 11am to 5pm.

Rotterdam has all kinds of nightlife, but the dance club scene leads the way -- pack your clubbing duds to wear among Holland's hottest dance venues.

The Performing Arts

The world-class Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra plays at the concert hall (and convention center) De Doelen, at Kruisstraat 2 (tel. 010/217-1717; www.dedoelen.nl; Metro: Centraal Station), which opened in 1966 and also hosts jazz, world music, and other concerts.

Jazz cats should make their way to Dizzy, 's Gravendijkwal 127 (tel. 010/477-3014; www.dizzy.nl), an informal, long-established cafe where live music is the name of the game. If you want to see a global pop star or a sports event, take a ride to Ahoy, Ahoyweg 10 (www.ahoy.nl/en). Megastars perform here to capacity audiences of 10,000.

Bars, Clubs & Cafes

Bars range from the city's most traditional watering holes at old-world Delfshaven, to shiny modern places along the river. Dating from a respectably venerable 1912, Café De Oude Sluis, Havenstraat 7 (tel. 010/477-3068; www.oudesluys.com. Metro: Delfshaven), is a slice of Delfshaven's old harbor scene, with its brown wall carvings and bric-a-brac, and at the first hint of sunshine, tables and chairs appear along the harbor wall. A few doors along, Proeflokaal De Ooievaar, Havenstraat 11 (tel. 010/476-9190; www.proeflokaaldeooievaar.nl. Metro: Delfshaven), is a jenever "sampling room," stocking dozens of Dutch and Belgian gin varieties. Its intimate surroundings merit the prized Dutch description gezellig, meaning warm, cozy and welcoming, and it occasionally hosts small-scale live-music concerts.

From converted center-city cinemas to converted harbor warehouses, Rotterdam has  techno, trance, and other contemporary dance venues. Most clubs don't get going until midnight, when bars are getting ready to close, and keep going until about 5am. Maastheater, Boompjes 751 (tel. 010/413-4091), a water-side disco where DJs dictate the music styles, is popular with students.

Other Venues

Try your luck at Holland Casino Rotterdam, Plaza Complex, Weena 624 (tel. 010/206-8206; www.hollandcasino.nl; Metro: Centraal Station). There's roulette, blackjack, punto banco, slot machines, and more. The dress code here is "correct" (collar and tie for men), and the minimum age is 18. You need your passport to get in. The casino is open daily (except May 4 and Dec 31) from 12:30pm to 3am.