Hotels near Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen)

Piet Blom's Cube Houses are Rotterdam's most photographed post-war buildings - a cluster of 38 yellow cubes tilted at 45 degrees on hexagonal pylons, completed in 1984. Blom intended them as an abstracted forest, with each cube a tree and the whole ensemble a village. The residents call them Blaakse Bos (the Blaak Forest). The blocks straddle a pedestrian bridge over Blaak, turning the busy road below into part of a covered public route.

Most cubes are private homes, but the Kijk-Kubus show cube at Overblaak 70 is open to visitors for EUR 3, giving you a fully furnished look at the interior - the walls tilt away from you at 55 degrees, which is disorientating and surprisingly livable. There is also a hostel (Stayokay Rotterdam) inside several cubes if you want to actually sleep in one. Combined with the neighbouring Pencil Tower (also Blom) and Markthal, this corner is the densest concentration of Rotterdam icons in one photo.

Pro Tip: The best exterior photo angle is from the pedestrian bridge at Overblaak level, not from Blaak street below. Come at blue hour (30 minutes after sunset) when the interior lights turn the yellow cubes into lanterns against a deep blue sky.