Striking architecture, maritime history and cutting

Many travellers' only glimpse of Rotterdam is through the train window en route from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. But with a palpable energy, creative spirit and urban regeneration that are cementing its status as one of Europe's hippest, most happening destinations, the Netherlands' second-largest, skyscraper-filled city makes an eye-opening stopover. Discover this irrepressible port city's highlights on a 24-hour sojourn.

Morning

Coffee hit If you've hopped off the train at the city's striking new stainless-steel-encased Rotterdam Centraal Station and are in need of caffeine, duck around the corner to Caffè Booon (caffebooon.nl). At the heart of the canal-woven Provenierswijk neighbourhood's hub of cafes, restaurants and wine bars, Booon is a light-filled space with soaring glass windows that brews seriously good coffee (it also runs its own barista workshops) and serves flaky pastries, gourmet sandwiches and bruschetta.

Culture fix Once you've had your caffeine fix get cultured at Rotterdam's finest museums, all within a short stroll of each other. Masterpieces fill one of the Netherlands' richest art repositories, the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Rembrandt, Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel the Elder are among the masters represented here, along with Van Gogh, Monet, Mondrian, Magritte and Dalí. Also check out the diverse art and design exhibitions that take place at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.

Architecture, design, digital culture and fashion fans will want to find out what's on at the Het Nieuwe Instituut (hetnieuweinstituut.nl), a merger of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, the Netherlands Institute for Design and Fashion, and e-culture institute Virtueel Platform.

Breaking developments in contemporary art are showcased in experimental exhibitions mounted by the Witte de With, Centre for Contemporary Art (wdw.nl). Its namesake street on which it's located, Witte de Withstraat, is easily Rotterdam's coolest, with an explosion of fashion and design boutiques, cafes, restaurants and bars.

Afternoon

Market lunch An instant icon since its 2014 opening, the Markthal Rotterdam's extraordinary inverted-U-shaped design incorporates glass-walled apartments arcing over the foodhall's 40m-high fruit- and vegetable-muraled ceiling. Whet your appetite by strolling around its artisan stalls and purveyors of ready-to-eat dishes before picking up lunch – there are upper-level seating areas with elevated views as well as sit-down eateries serving Dutch and international cuisines.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, you'll catch the sprawling Blaak street market out front. At any time, you'll spot two of Rotterdam's boldest architectural statements nearby, the late-20th-century's Overblaak Development's futuristic 'forest' of pylon-mounted, cube-shaped houses, and the cylindrical, cone-topped apartment building De Kolk, aptly dubbed 'the Pencil'. Both were designed by architect Piet Blom.

Maritime explorations Europe's biggest, busiest port is a defining part of Rotterdam's seafaring heritage and raw industrial appeal. Discover the city's – and country's – maritime history at the Maritiem Museum Rotterdam, where displays include model ships. To see the real thing, just south of the Maritiem Museum, wander the quays alongside the Haven Museum's historic boats. And to really get a sense of the scale of the port's colossal cranes and containers, take a fascinating 75-minute harbour tour with Spido.

Borrel Segue from the afternoon to the evening in style by boarding a water taxi from Veerhaven or Leuvehaven across the Nieuwe Maas shipping channel to the Hotel New York, the Holland-America passenger-ship line's resplendent former HQ. Enjoy borrel (drinks) at its timber-panelled ground-floor bar, its panoramic terrace lit by oversized lampshades, or in its brand-new NY Basement bar/restaurant.

Evening

Dinner with a view From the Hotel New York, it's a short stroll along the Wilhelmina Pier to the gleaming glass Rem Koolhaas-designed 'vertical city' De Rotterdam (you can't miss it; it's the Netherlands' largest building). Its street-level restaurant, HMB, is a highlight as much for its front-row views of Rotterdam's most recognisable bridge, the white cable-stayed Erasmusbrug, locally dubbed de Zwaan (the Swan), as it is for its boundary-pushing flavour combinations (sweetbreads with white beans and peanuts, for instance). Soak up more water views over a post-dinner drink on De Rotterdam's 7th-floor cocktail bar terrace.

Great entertainment For a night of jazz, head to Bird (http://bird-rotterdam.nl), an intimate venue in a viaduct arch of Station Hofplein – the former station of the disused Hofpleinlijn railway (other cultural and creative spaces here include cutting-edge restaurants, design boutiques and Dutch experimental electronic dance music label and vinyl shop, Clone). Station Hofplein is connected over the train tracks to the city centre by the wooden Luchtsingel (air canal) footbridge, which was crowd-funded by the sale of inscribed planks.

Dance and theatre take to the stage at the Schouwburg, Rotterdam's main cultural complex. If clubbing is more your thing, head to legendary clubs like the 6000-capacity Maassilo, inside a century-old grain silo.

Where to stay

Rotterdam is awash with fantastic accommodation options across all price categories. For designer digs, book into the harbourside hotel Mainport (mainporthotel.com), with amazing skyline views. Boutique jewels include the suite hotel Pincoffs (hotelpincoffs.nl) in the former customs house, and A Small Hotel (asmallhotel.nl) on uberhip Witte de Withstraat, with six Tex-, Zen- and Coco-themed rooms. Amazing Dutch-design-meets-vintage-furnished hostels, including King Kong Hostel, also on Witte de Withstraat, with artist-created rooms and a roof garden, and hip Hostel Ani & Haakien (anihaakien.nl), with a chilled, homey vibe (and adorable resident cat), just 600m from Rotterdam Centraal Station.

Getting there

Train Fast Thalys trains run to/from Paris (2½ hours), Brussels (1¼ hours) and Amsterdam (42 minutes), which also has high-speed Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) services. From late 2016, Rotterdam will also be on the direct Eurostar line to London (3½ hours).

Air Rotterdam is a breeze to reach by air. The Netherlands' huge international airport, Schiphol, is equidistant by train to both Rotterdam and Amsterdam (20 minutes each). Rotterdam The Hague Airport, serving over 40 European destinations, is less than 6km northwest of Rotterdam, accessible by bus or inexpensive taxi.

Ferry P&O Ferries operates an overnight ferry every evening (11¾ hours) between Hull, UK and Europoort, 39km west of central Rotterdam, linked by bus. Stena Line has daytime (8¼ hours) and overnight (9 hours) crossings between Harwich, UK and Hoek van Holland, 31km northwest of Rotterdam, connected by train.