Why Rotterdam?
People ask me that a lot, and I’m never sure how to answer. Partially, there are so many reasons to love this city, I have to choose where to start for that person.
If they already know how great the Netherlands is, especially if they’re travelers, I can mention how this is the one place that really shows what those clever, innovative, courageous, and pragmatic Dutch can do when you give them a blank slate to work with. (The city was almost entirely destroyed in a German bombing at the outset of WWII.) I love those organic medieval cities, but what can people do with a blend of massive urgency and disciplined foresight?
If they love the Netherlands for its village-towns of quaint houses, tidy canals, and tulip-laden flowerboxes, I reveal that we have those here too, complete with the affable weekly neighborhood markets we know from Paris. We just also have a thriving city center of music, museums, and cuisine.
There’s a world class weather monitoring setup on top, of course, and that’s the corner of our fantastic central train station 
The famous cube houses are an entire vision of community, not just nifty 
This one doesn’t rank on any list, I just like it. 
Where else is there a museum on the way into the parking garage? 
May not look like too much, but it was Europe’s first skyscraper. And yes, that’s a floating hot tub in front
If they are architecture fans…I don’t have to say anything, they get going, already aware that Rotterdam is where the concepts, physics, and sheer chutzpah of the modern skyscraper were worked out. They start listing interesting buildings to me, and ask if I know that the legendary Rem Koolhaas is from (and works) here. My favorite cities for architecture are Bucharest for the rambunctious European past, and Rotterdam for the potential of the future.
If they are concerned about that future, I can mention the way Rotterdam is pioneering concentrated, socially responsible architecture and urban planning, while not losing sight of the importance and benefits of beauty. The rooftops alone are worth a visit…
If they are art lovers, Rotterdam covers all the bases from the Flemish masters of the Golden Age to playful street art of today that reminds us to put beauty in our daily lives, not just behind the barrier of occasional entrance tickets. Playful and accessible sculptures are liberally sprinkled throughout the city, even outdoing Oslo.
Lots of cities have sculptures of dogs, but who else includes bronze poop? 
Dedicated to a beloved Rotterdam cartoonist, the four figures represent philosophy, politics, science, and economics 
Why not climb the art? 
Don’t worry, the car is a foam installation, the glass a momentary coincidence, and the city downright charming.
If they are history buffs, skeptical after Rotterdam’s obliteration in 1940, I can discuss the way the city cherishes and celebrates its past in the ways only possible when it has been threatened. Plus, for a city so tied to the ocean, a fire’s reach is finite.
If they are American, especially with Dutch or German roots, they often click on when they hear that the great Holland-America Line was based here. Right across the bridge from me is where their forefathers boarded the ship to sail to Ellis Island. For the kicker, the last of those great elegant ships, the SS Rotterdam, is anchored here and is a great place for a meal and citygazing.
If they are city connoisseurs, Rotterdam is a beautiful example of a working city. I love my student towns like Leiden, beach vacation spots like Domburg, and tourist hubs like Amsterdam, but a working city (like New York) has its own solidity that offers deeper appeals in endless variety. Then I mention that all the other ones I mentioned (except NY of course) are all within an hour of Rotterdam.
If they want to know my personal spark, I reminisce about my first visit, finding that within a few minutes on a borrowed bike I could reach a clean and elegant city center, various cozy neighborhoods, or wide expanses of green trees and picniclicious fields linked by canals where children paddled freely between their friend’s houses, unconcerned, salubrious, and laughing.
If they want to go deeper, I explain that when I lived in Oakland, people used to say “Why not San Francisco?” and I would carefully explain that Oakland had all the things that had made SF great, but without the sky-high prices, congestion, and let’s be honest: snobbery of the more famous neighbor. Rotterdam is the same, but for Amsterdam. I love Amsterdam (and I love SF) but Rotterdam is where the vibrancy of the present lives, and there’s room to swing your arms.
But my favorite is none of those. Or rather, it’s all of those into one, plus. Because I have so much more to discover about everything on that list, adding favorite cafes, venues, markets, bookstores, and more every week, all in a city that’s unpretentiously blooming. I’ve been to a lot of great cities where once you’ve checked off the top few names…there’s not a lot left to celebrate. Rotterdam isn’t like that. If I write this again in a year, I’ll have different things to say. Rotterdam can keep you busy developing your personal relationship with it for years.
And that’s exactly the plan.
