Walking Tour: Wilhelmina pier and Katendrecht

Looking out from the Veerhaven over the Southbank of the Meuse, you’ll see an architectural spectacle that could be best described as almost un-Dutch. There are no modest housing projects to be found on the Wilhelmina pier or on Katendrecht nowadays! You’d sooner imagine yourself standing in the docklands of London, New York or Shanghai. And the impressive skyline of Rotterdam is still growing day by day…

The high rise on the Wilhelmina pier and Katendrecht are the result of some 30 years of urban development around the former Rijn harbor. A big change was brought along by the Erasmus bridge, which made the Southbank instantly so much more accessible and caused an acceleration in progress. World famous architects, such as Rem Koolhaas and sir Norman Foster left their landmarks at the pier and soon also cultural institutions such as the Luxor Theatre and the Dutch Photo Museum would settle there. Katendrecht started its redevelopment a little less ambitious, but with the nearly finished Fenix Lofts and the plans for an emigrant museum, the area seems to be gradually adopting the shine of the Wilhelmina pier. Now that food phenomenon such as the Fenix Food Factory and the Foodhallen are touching down, it’s easy to spend a full day in the area on a high urban level.

In an architecture tour with UrbanGuides, you’ll walk along the Wilhelmina pier and Katendrecht, crossing spectacular residential towers, monumental warehouses, industrial silo’s and cargo bike neighborhoods. A professional guide will tell you everything there is to know about the historical land future developments of these areas and shows you the latest places to be.