Cube Houses (Kijk-Kubus)

The Cube Houses by architect Piet Blom (1984) are Rotterdam's most iconic building — and one of the most photographed buildings in the Netherlands. 38 cube-shaped residential houses, each tilted 45 degrees and standing on concrete pillars, form a kind of abstract treetop over the street. The idea: a "forest" of houses, where each cube represents a tree.

One cube (Kijk-Kubus, "Show Cube") is set up as a model house and can be visited. Inside, you see how surprisingly livable the slanted walls are — and how crazy it must be to live there. Some of the cubes are set up as a hostel (Stayokay) — one of the most unusual accommodations in the Netherlands.