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Rotterdam Cube Houses and Old Harbor

Cube Houses

These cubes are actually apartments, each tipped up on a point in a striking design, tilted at a crazy angle of about 45°. It takes up very little ground area while creating living space up above a road along with a few shops.

The row of Cube Houses is on a bridge over eight lanes of a busy highway, efficiently using space that might have been otherwise unoccupied. The cubes also serve as a pedestrian bridge to help you get across the road.

The Cube House video segment is here.

You’re welcome to walk through and have a look around. One home is open to show the interior for a small admission fee, but otherwise the complex is splendid from the outside. Or you could spend the night in the little hotel or the youth hostel. Some residents have lived here since it first opened 30 years ago.

Constructed of wood, the architect Piet Blom envisioned each unit as a tree and functioning together like a forest. Inside, the floors are horizontal and yet the walls are at all angles. There are 40 apartments here, each with about 1000 square feet of floor area. Only 1/4 of that space is actually usable because of all the sharp angles of the walls, and most units are squeezed up into three floors with narrow staircases connecting them. That’s the price one pays for living inside a most unusual work of art.

The cubes are in a great location between the markets and the Old Harbor, which is a popular waterfront activity area with several restaurants lining the shore.

The adjacent Blaak rail station provides convenient access by tram, metro and bus lines that will easily bring you here, but you can walk to this neighborhood from downtown in 10 to 15 minutes.

Blaak Market

A huge outdoor market next to Markthal happens twice a week from 9 to 5 on Tuesdays and larger on Saturdays with anywhere from 400 to 500 booths, ranking it among the country’s largest outdoor markets. Here you’ll find the usual and unexpected range of goods for sale: food, clothing, jewelry, junk, shoes, knickknacks, hardware, meat, fish, veggies, sweets, luggage, Turkish, Surinamese, Chinese, all sorts of things at a good price.

See the Blaak Market video segment here.

Although it’s called the “black market,” or they say Blaak Markt, it’s not a place to purchase stolen goods. Everything here is legitimate and mostly new, along with the usual fleamarket assortment of secondhand goods.

It’s a popular shopping place for locals as well, who pick up a lot of their fresh produce here, and you can buy lunch at a price that’s going to be lower than your typical restaurant. It’s one of those authentic attractions on the edge of downtown that most visitors don’t bother with, which makes this even more appealing to the adventurous.

Because the market gets so crowded it’s a great place for people-watching, with customers of all ages and national origin in this cosmopolitan city.

If you want to avoid the crowd get here early or come at 4 p.m. It will be worthwhile no matter when you can make it. While crime levels are low in this very safe country, any time you are in a crowded situation like this with narrow aisles and people brushing against each other while moving along, you want to take all the usual precautions to prevent pickpockets from lifting your wallet. Don’t worry, just be aware.

Adjacent is the medieval Church of St. Lawrence, visible from this location, in contrast to the Blaak Tower, sometimes called Pencil Tower due to its round shape and dark, pointed tip. The Blaak Tower was designed by Piet Blom, who also built the adjacent odd-looking Cube Houses, another famous attraction, an amazing cluster of homes built on a bridge over the road.

Old Harbor

From the cube houses you can walk down a gentle ramp that will lead you to the harbor, which features a lovely restaurant terrace area right along the water’s edge. Or if you arrive at street level, look for the “Oude Haven” (Old Harbor) sign at the entrance to the easily-missed small entry lane, Siepersvest.

Old Harbor video segment here.

Conveniently located just 400 meters from Markthal and Blaak station, this small corner of Rotterdam’s vast harbor is a picturesque part of town that harkens back to the old days, unlike most sections of this thoroughly modern city. Recreational boating is always popular in the Netherlands.

You can see what a busy place this is for eating and drinking, bordered by buildings with restaurants and terraces offering lively maritime views of small boats shuttling back and forth and a flock of old houseboats on the far side. Then you can walk along a nice promenade on the harbor’s edge around to the other side for some great views looking back at the yellow cubes and terrace restaurants.

The transformation of this neighborhood is a fine example of how urban planning and development by the enlightened city government is taking excellent care of its population and visitors. It has been converted from an old neglected part of town into a vibrant popular place to eat, drink, meet up with friends and make some new ones. That red bridge towering beyond was first opened in 1878 and completely renovated back in 1981. It’s the Willem’s Bridge, with a total span of 318 meters.

People live on these old barges in the harbor with a slightly unconventional lifestyle, living afloat in boats that have the comforts of home yet offer enhanced mobility—pick up and go whenever you want.

While these houseboats do have a tourist appeal, don’t touch, they’re not open to the public. This community of people living on the barges is a private neighborhood, but if you say hello from the dock and wave you might get a friendly response.

Rotterdam has the largest harbor in Europe, 40 kilometers long, but this small portion is the oldest part built way back in the 14th century. It features a harbor museum with some historic ships on display and a little shipyard where they’re renovated.

The adjacent 10-story building with stylish château roof has got quite a distinguished history. It was Europe’s first “skyscraper” opened in 1898 and reached the record height of 43 meters. Called the White House, it is a rare example of an old building to have survived German bombardments of 1940 in World War II. It’s a national monument, also on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

They’ve created pedestrian walkways and bridges to help you get around in this inner harbor area with so many things to see—boats going by, high-rise apartments, local families out for a stroll, and the Maritime Museum we’re heading for next.

Be sure to look at our other Rotterdam pages:

Rotterdam center

Museums

Harbor Cruise