הולנד

Revolutionary architect Piet Blom designed and developed Rotterdam’s collection of 40 innovative cube houses in 1984, each of which has a giant yellow and gray tilted, wooden cube balancing on top of the ground level. The houses were built to resemble trees in a forest and to present an alternative to high-density urban living. Blom took the Ponte Vecchio in Florence as his inspiration for the structures and included public areas below and private living spaces above in the cubes. These bizarre apartments are centered around a courtyard playground and lean at an angle of 45 degrees over the buzzy waterfront bars and restaurants of Oude Haven. The whole complex sits on top of a pedestrian bridge over a busy road. Inside, the houses have three stories and myriad angled walls with plenty of light pouring in from the sloping, triangular, plate-glass windows. The rooms are also triangular, which makes furniture design especially tricky.

Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen)

Better known by its affectionate local nickname of “the Swan,” Erasmus Bridge crosses the River Nieuwe Maas with its elegant white spines, constructed in 1996 to link north and south Rotterdam across the harbor. Designed by Ben van Berkel, the bridge is an iconic landmark in Rotterdam, and its 456-foot (139-meter) single pylon supports 32 steel cables from which the half-mile (800 m) roadway is suspended. The southern side of the bridge includes Europe’s heaviest bascule, which lifts in order to let shipping transport through. It’s best seen at close quarters from the water on a harbor tour, from above on the viewing platform of Euromast or from the walking and cycling trails around the Port of Rotterdam.

The Swan is beautifully illuminated at night and often provides an eerie backdrop for Rotterdam’s festivals and fireworks displays. In 2005, several planes flew beneath the bridge as part of the daring “Red Bull Air Race.”

Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge)

Designed by Dutch architect Hugh Maaskant for the 1960 Floriade flower festival, Euromast dominates the Rotterdam skyline with its futuristic shape, serving as a much-loved city landmark. Now standing 606 feet (185 meters) tall, Euromast was originally only 328 feet tall before its extra height was added in the 1970s to counter its lost title as Holland’s tallest structure. Originally built as an observation tower, Euromast is better known today as a center for fine dining and adrenaline-pumping extreme sports.From the bottom to the top, a visit to Euromast tests bravery. Speedboats depart from the foot of the tower for high-speed tours of the port of Rotterdam, getting up close to Erasmus Bridge, as well as the wharves and ships of one of the world’s largest commercial ports. Up at Euromast’s viewing platforms, which are accessible by elevator, visitors can rappel down the tower (summer only, check dates) or zip-line to the ground on the last Sunday of every month.The revolving Euroscoop elevator corkscrews its way up from the viewing platform and takes those unafraid of heights to the very top, while a brasserie serving snacks such as bitterballen (spicy Dutch meat balls) can be found perched up at 314 feet (96 meters). If you can’t bear to leave, the tower houses two hotels rooms with stupendous views from their private balconies.

Euromast

This Rem Koolhaas-designed art museum houses about half a dozen exhibits at a time in its sleek, low-slung stone and glass exhibition hall. Exhibits in the museum’s spacious white galleries have included the works of Andy Warhol, an extensive collection of objects from World War II and the avant-garde fashions of Jean Paul Gaultier. Kunsthal Rotterdam made headlines in 2012 when seven important works by the likes of Monet, Gaugin, Matisse and Picasso were stolen in a daring late-night raid of the museum.

Kunsthal Rotterdam

Please note: The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is temporarily closed for renovations. The reopening is scheduled for January 2026.Rotterdam’s premier art museum began with bequests from two wealthy Dutch art lovers: Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans donated his collection to the city in 1847, and Daniel George van Deuningen followed suit in 1955. From 16th-century paintings to contemporary glassware, the museum’s displays of western works are constantly changing; it has featured 20th-century bodies of work by German Expressionist Max Beckmann and French surrealist Yves Tanguy, as well as pieces from hundreds of years earlier.Highlights of this expansive 140,000-work collection include Pieter Bruegel’s peerless Old Testament offering The Tower of Babel (1553), which warrants close inspection for all its detailed activity; scores of delicate drawings by Renaissance artist Fra Bartolommeo; Rembrandt’s winsome Titus at his Desk; and a collection of Gerrit Rietveld’s distinct colored wooden furniture. The many other artists represented here include Rubens, Dalí, Da Vinci, Monet, Picasso, Van Eyck and Man Ray. All works are housed in a stylish red-brick building designed by Adrianus Van der Steur, now updated with airy glass galleries and surrounded by a sculpture park and fountains. Free temporary exhibitions are on display in the Willem van der Vorm gallery and Serra Hall just inside the main entrance.

יעדים פופולריים

יעדים רומנטיים

יעדים זולים