People sometimes tell me they don’t like Rotterdam because “there’s no old part, no atmosphere”. They usually imply that the big rival Amsterdam of course has plenty of old charm. These people I invite for a walk to the Slotlaan in Kralingen.

With its Art Deco villa’s, its fountains in gardens and posh cars on gravel driveways this part of Rotterdam reminds me of the semester I once spent in Zurich. It’s a neighborhood where kids on lunch breaks play tennis rather than football and where the air has the distinctive scent of old money.

Nearby is another piece of Rotterdam’s history – the first ANWB sign, from which the glorious Dutch cycling infrastructure has started. Rotterdam is short on history? Just take a walk down the Slotlaan.