Hotels in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rotterdam's reputation for bold buildings grew out of necessity. Much of the city centre was destroyed by aerial bombing in May 1940, and rather than recreate the old streets, planners chose to rebuild in a forward-looking style.

The result is a skyline unlike anywhere else in the Netherlands, with experimental towers, distinctive bridges and inventive housing. Among them are the tilted yellow Cube Houses, completed in 1984, the horseshoe-shaped Markthal with its painted interior arch, and a cluster of high-rises along the river.

Architects from several countries have worked here, and the city continues to commission new design through events such as its biennial architecture programme. The deep-water port also drove much of the twentieth-century construction.

Rotterdam operates the largest port in Europe, and there are several ways to see it working. Boat tours leave from the city centre and pass among the docks, cranes and container ships, conveying the scale of operations; the port stretches more than 40 kilometres west towards the North Sea.

The Maritime Museum, set around an old harbour basin filled with historic vessels, covers the history of the port and the trade that built the city, with outdoor exhibits visitors can board.

Moored downstream, the former ocean liner SS Rotterdam, built in 1958 as a transatlantic passenger ship, is open to visitors, who can walk its decks and period interiors. The cube-shaped pavilion at the modern harbour and the redeveloped warehouse quarter add further points of interest.

A handful of buildings have come to represent modern Rotterdam. The Erasmus Bridge, a white cable-stayed span completed in 1996 and nicknamed 'the Swan' for its angled pylon, links the two halves of the city across the river Maas and appears in most images of the place.

The Markthal, opened in 2014, is a vast arched market hall with apartments curving overhead and a large painted interior depicting fruit, flowers and produce. The Cube Houses, tilted at angles on hexagonal stalks, remain a frequent subject for photographs.

Towering over the river, the three-tower De Rotterdam complex, finished in 2013, is the largest building in the country by floor area. The Euromast observation tower, dating from 1960, offers views over the whole skyline from around 185 metres.

Delfshaven is one of the few corners of Rotterdam that survived the 1940 bombing largely intact, so it gives a glimpse of the older Dutch city erased elsewhere.

Step-gabled merchant houses, some dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, line a narrow historic harbour where traditional sailing barges are still moored. There is a restored working windmill, cobbled lanes and small workshops set into the old buildings.

The district has long links to seafaring, including a 1620 voyage by a group of early settlers who set out from here on the first leg of their crossing to North America; a historic church connected with that departure still stands.

Rotterdam's cultural calendar is busiest in the warmer months and around a few flagship events. Summer brings a run of outdoor festivals, including a large summer carnival street parade and music events along the river, when the city is at its most active.

Earlier in the year, the International Film Festival, held over about ten days each winter since 1972, draws cinema audiences from across Europe with a wide programme of screenings.

Autumn includes a design week celebrating the city's creative industries, alongside art and architecture events. A major marathon also takes place in the spring, drawing large crowds along the route.