Rotterdam travel guide

In the port of hipness

Ever since the bombing attacks of the Second World War destroyed a large part of Rotterdam, the second-largest city of the Netherlands lacks the cramped brick houses and picturesque alleyways that make Amsterdam and Utrecht so cozy. But the reconstruction and the constant flow of people and goods through one of the most important ports of Europe also has its upside: in Rotterdam the spirit of urbanism has taken root. The city has become a modern (multi-)cultural center, from which impulses of design, art, and architecture emanate. The city center is easily explored on foot: from the pedestrian zone and the central Eendrachtsplein it is not far to the Museumpark and the city's cultural highlights. The Boijmans van Beuningen Museum assembles old portraits and modern art and design; the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art is a prime address for radical contemporaries. A number of tour operators offer excursions through the Rotterdam harbor. Those crossing the Erasmus Bridge across the Nieuwe Maas River at the end of their trip will find one of the hippest restaurants of the city in the funky "Hotel New York" - the hotel where ex-pats once spent their last night before their journeys overseas.