Things to do in Rotterdam

Rotterdam looks nothing like the rest of the Netherlands. A German bombing raid flattened the medieval centre on 14 May 1940. What rose after is modern and angular, still being added to.

The rebuilt skyline

• Cube Houses. Tilted cube apartments built in the early 1980s by Piet Blom; one is open as a show home.
• Markthal. A covered market under a horseshoe of flats, opened in 2014, with a fruit-and-vegetable ceiling mural inside.
• Erasmusbrug. The cable-stayed bridge nicknamed the Swan, finished in 1996.
• Delfshaven. The one old harbour quarter that survived the 1940 bombing, canals and gabled houses intact.

What people book here

Rotterdam sells its own oddity more than its history. Escape-style games built around the city's spies, ghosts and modern buildings outnumber straight walking tours.

• Exploration games. Self-guided outdoor puzzles and escape-the-city formats through the modern centre.
• Delft. A short trip out for the town's blue-and-white pottery and its own puzzle walk.
• Port and river. Boat trips through Europe's largest port sit alongside the city walks.

Practical

• Weather. Summer days sit around 21C and January hovers around 6C; the open river and the harbour add a wind chill, so bring a windproof layer.
• Getting around. Metro and tram cover the centre; the Cube Houses and Markthal are a walk from the main station.
• Euromast. A 1960 observation tower that still gives the clearest overview of the rebuilt skyline.
• Amsterdam by train. Direct intercity trains take under an hour, so the two cities pair easily in one trip.
• Tipping. Leaving small change or a few euros for good service is plenty; nobody expects a percentage.