Rotterdam: Private Walking Tour with Cube House Entry
Description
Rotterdam is unlike any other Dutch city. Bombed almost entirely to the ground during WWII, it rebuilt itself from scratch and became a laboratory for bold, experimental architecture. The result is one of Europe's most visually striking cities. On this private walking tour, you explore the highlights of Rotterdam with your own guide. You visit the Old Harbor, and see the iconic Cube Houses up close. Your tour includes entry into one of them, so you can see for yourself what it looks like to live inside one. Along the way, your guide tells the story of Rotterdam: from St. Lawrence Church, the only medieval building in the city center to survive the 1940 bombing, to the Witte Huis, the oldest skyscraper in Europe, to the spectacular modern Markthal. This is a private tour. You set the pace, and if you have a special interest in a certain topic, just let your guide know.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We start our tour on the Blaak area. This is the place where Rotterdam has its origins: a dam in the river Rotte. Nowadays, it is a lively area with a market twice per week!
This building has become an icon for the city. We will enter the impressive Market Hall (Markthal). The two sides of the building contain many apartments and inside you can enjoy different foods from around the world. And don't forget to look up and look at one of the biggest pieces of art on the planet!
We will walk towards the town hall of Rotterdam, one of the few pre-war buildings in the city. It is located on the Coolsingel, the Champs-Élysées of Rotterdam!
Close to the modern Market Hall stands a 14th century church. Its tower miraculously survived the bombing of Rotterdam. Today, it is mostly used as an event location. You will learn of the church's history, as well as that of a famous man who was born here: Erasmus.
We will see the most prominent building in to the Old Harbour area: the White House (Het Witte Huis). This is the oldest skyscraper of Europe, dating from 1898. You will learn about its significance to the city. And if you look carefully, you can see the remnants of German bullet holes! Your guide will tell you all about it.
We are in the Oude Haven (Old Harbour) area. This is now a lively recreational area with multiple terraces. See some more Piet Blom architecture and enjoy the old ships that are anchored here for restauration. Nowadays, the real port of Rotterdam is located many kilometers to the west from here.
You have probably noticed them already: the Cubic Houses. These funny apartments (by Piet Blom) are a product of the 70's, built in the 80's, and they represent a typical way of building a 'village inside a city'. We will view one of the apartments from the inside! The price is included in the tour price. After this, we will walk back towards the meeting point, Blaak station. Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(5)
Fleur was informative and entertaining! She showed us many highlights and always had a story about the history of the architecture, political climate, and social movements of the day--in an approachable and funny way, of course! Would recommend!
Thank you for your review. We are happy that you have enjoyed our tour. See you next time!
After having done one of these tours through The Hague a while back, I decided to do this Rotterdam tour with some of my colleagues. I can only say that both the city and the tour itself surpassed my expectations. Well done! Would recommend.
I did this tour with my family (me, hubby and 2 teenage kids) and we have been quite impressed by this part of Rotterdam. The guide was fun, relaxed and informed and allowed us to set our own pace. For our next visit to the country, we will certainly explore Rotterdam further!
This was a wonderful tour of an interesting, dynamic city. We had a great time and recommend this to anyone visiting Rotterdam.
This tour was a perfect way to get an extensive introduction to the highlights of Rotterdam. The guide was well-prepared and the city exceeded our expectations. Well done!
