Rotterdam Landmarks: Bridges, Towers, Cubes

Rotterdam’s landmarks tell one story: a city flattened in 1940 that rebuilt itself in modern shapes. This page goes through the bridges, towers and cubes in the order you would meet them on a day in town. Prices are in euros.

Bridges and water

The Erasmusbrug is called the Swan. It was designed by Ben van Berkel of UNStudio, opened in 1996 and is 802 m long, hung from a 139 m asymmetrical pylon. It carries trams, cars, cyclists and pedestrians across the Nieuwe Maas, and walking across costs nothing.

Towers

The Euromast at Parkhaven 20 was built between 1958 and 1960 by Hugh Maaskant for the Floriade, and is 185 m tall with its later Space Tower. It is a national monument. A general ticket is from €13.50 online, and the Euroscoop lift is included in the complete ticket. The tower is open daily until 22:00.

De Rotterdam, by Rem Koolhaas and OMA, is three linked towers of about 150 m, completed in 2013 on Wilhelminapier. Hotel New York next door, at Koninginnenhoofd 1, is in the former Holland America Line headquarters.

Cubes and the market hall

Piet Blom’s Cube Houses from 1984 are tilted yellow cubes on a walkway above Blaak. The Kijk-Kubus at Overblaak 70 is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, at €3.50.

The Markthal by MVRDV opened on 1 October 2014. A 228-apartment arch frames a food hall, and the ceiling artwork is named the Horn of Plenty. Hours are 10:00 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday and Saturday, 10:00 to 21:00 on Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 on Sunday.

Museums

At Museumpark the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is a mirrored bowl of 39.5 m by MVRDV, open since November 2021 as a publicly accessible art depot. It needs an online time slot, and the roof has a birch garden. The main Museum Boijmans building next to it is closed for renovation until around 2029 to 2030. The Kunsthal and Het Nieuwe Instituut are in the same park.

Surviving buildings

The Witte Huis at the Oude Haven, from 1898, is an Art Nouveau office tower about 43 m high that survived the war. City Hall on the Coolsingel dates from 1920 and was built by Henri Evers. Delfshaven is the only old harbour district that was not bombed, and the Van Nelle Fabriek, a UNESCO site since 2014, is an early modern factory complex.

Remembering 1940

German bombing on 14 May 1940 killed roughly 900 people and left about 80,000 without homes. Ossip Zadkine’s bronze The Destroyed City, from 1953, stands near Leuvehaven. The Laurenskerk was heavily damaged and later restored. The Brandgrens marks the edge of the destroyed area with markers and lights along a loop of about 12 km. Treat these places with quiet respect.

Tips

  • Many of these sights are free to see from outside.
  • The metro, trams and Waterbus connect them, and you pay with a contactless card.
  • Check Kunsthal hours before you go, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00.

Read more: Rotterdam Day Trips goes beyond the city. Euromast tickets are at euromast.nl , and the Markthal is at markthal.nl . A guided architecture tour can be searched on GetYourGuide .