Museumpark: the creative hub of Rotterdam

For a long time, the Kunsthal formed the final point of the various cultural institutions at the Museum Park, but a new addition has now been added: its brand new neighbor the Depot. With this new collection building of Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, the city not only has a special eye-catcher, it also adds an interesting layer to the way in which art and culture in Rotterdam are made available to the public.

The Museum Park has always been an interesting case in terms of art and cultural institutions. Such as Natural History in the old Villa Dijkzigt and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, an internationally renowned art collection in a pre-war museum building that is now closed for the construction of a renovated museum building. From Het Nieuwe Instituut, which manages the state archives for architecture and urban planning, to the Kunsthal, a 3,300 m² exhibition space in an icon by Rem Koolhaas. You will also find a modernist villa park including the ultra-modern museum house Huis Sonneveld and the Chabot Museum, a museum for International Expressionism.

Curious? Learn more about how these diverse private collections slowly transferred to well-known Rotterdam museums, and how they ensure the presentation and preservation of art and culture in their own way. During this walk you will discover how this former private property of the Hoboken shipping family grew into the most beautiful park, completely redesigned, planted and connected to new routes in 2024 by the award-winning landscape office Gustafson Porter + Bowman, with the most beautiful museum buildings in the city.

Extra detour: In the vicinity of the Museum Park, two very interesting developments, namely the renovated complex of Erasmus MC with a new Campus (2050) and the beautiful new residential area Little C on the Coolhaven, can be visited to complete the tour in this area.

Tip: If you are strongly interested in the architecture of Dutch modernism, then the walking tour from the Chabot Museum through the gardens of the modernist villa park from the 1930s is highly recommended!

Photo credit: Ossip Duivenbode