Things to do in Rotterdam & Kinderdijk

Rotterdam's Blaak district pairs the arch-shaped Markthal, with more than 100 food spots beneath what it calls Europe's largest artwork, with Piet Blom's tilted Cube Houses, where the Kijk-Kubus show cube reveals how three floors fit into a cube standing on its corner. Ride the Euroscoop up the Euromast to 185 m for a 360° view with a glass floor, see more than 155,000 objects at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen before taking its glass lift to the green rooftop, and head to Katendrecht for Fenix, an art museum about migration crowned by the Tornado, and the SS Rotterdam, the former Holland America Line flagship with ship tours and an escape room in the old cold stores. The 75-minute Spido harbour tour leaves from the foot of the Erasmus Bridge, and Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp) keeps Asian lions and a newly formed gorilla group among 21 national heritage monuments. Nearby, the UNESCO-listed Kinderdijk Windmills combine museum mills with a boat tour, and the Gouda Cheese Experience covers virtual milking and cheese turning before a tasting.

Good to knowThe Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen sells online tickets only and, like the Fenix exhibitions, opens Tuesday to Sunday, while the Kijk-Kubus show cube is paid on the spot by cash or card. Check the Spido sailing schedule online before you go, and note that Kinderdijk keeps shorter hours in late autumn and winter and closes on Christmas Day. On Sundays the Markthal opens from midday, and individual restaurants there keep their own hours.