Old Harbour (Oude Haven), Rotterdam — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Oude Haven is Rotterdam's oldest harbour, dating back to 1350, and today it's one of the most striking spots in a city famous for bold architecture and reinvention.

The harbour was established in the mid-14th century and was the commercial heart of Rotterdam for hundreds of years. By 1900, the Port of Rotterdam was still based here. Then, on May 14, 1940, German bombing devastated the city centre. The old harbour area was reduced to rubble. Only a handful of buildings survived, most notably the Witte Huis (White House), an Art Nouveau tower from 1898 that was once the tallest building in Europe at 43 metres.

For 45 years, the area around the harbour sat largely empty. Then the city did what Rotterdam does best: it built something extraordinary. The Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen), designed by Piet Blom and completed in 1984, rise from the harbour's edge at impossible angles. The nearby Markthal, a horseshoe-shaped market hall with apartments built into its arch, opened in 2014.

Today, the Oude Haven is lined with restaurants and summer terraces, with historic boats moored in the water and the Witte Huis presiding over it all. The contrast between the medieval harbour and the modern architecture around it captures Rotterdam's spirit perfectly.

If you're on a Questo quest through Rotterdam, the Oude Haven is a stop where 700 years of the city's history, from medieval trade to wartime destruction to architectural daring, are visible in a single glance.