updated 2:27 p.m. ET May 30, 2007

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - Walking out of Rotterdam's central rail station, you have to weave your way through a giant building site just to catch a tram or reach a cafe.

Is this any way to arrive in a city celebrating a year of architecture that aims to showcase its urban landscape?

Well, actually it is.

Wrecking balls and scaffolding are as much a part of this city as the kinked pylon of the Erasmus Bridge, which towers over the River Maas, and the water taxis and freight barges that ply its murky waters.

"If a building doesn't work, we tear it down and build a new one," said Ossip van Duivenbode, a Rotterdam resident, architecture student and guide.

World War II also played a role. On May 14, 1940, a Nazi bombardment flattened buildings and sparked an inferno that destroyed most of the city center, creating an architects' playground during postwar reconstruction.

"The bombing was good for the architects," said Van Duivenbode. "They said, 'finally, we can realize our dreams.'"

The result is a Dutch city totally different from the Golden Age houses that teeter like drunken sailors over Amsterdam's canals or the stately palaces and parliament of The Hague.

While most of the country's cities are resolutely low-rise, Rotterdam reaches for the sky.

The Kop van Zuid, on the banks of the Maas river that carves the city in two, is known as Manhattan on the Maas. Its towering office and apartment blocks flanking historic brownstone warehouses have been turned into swanky homes.

If You Go Check out ROTTERDAM CITY OF ARCHITECTURE: For a full program of cultural events during Rotterdam's year of architecture. GETTING THERE: Rotterdam can be easily reached by train from any city in the Netherlands and from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. You can drive to Rotterdam in under an hour from Amsterdam if you avoid the morning and evening commutes. GETTING AROUND: The city has a network of buses, trams and a subway with the central railway station as a hub. GETTING A GUIDE: Bicycle tours can be organized through Rotterdam ByCycle, which is based next to Central Station; phone 011-31-10-465-2228. The company also rents bikes to groups of six or more people. Booking is recommended. Architectural tours with a guide can be booked through Rotterdam ArchiGuides; phone 011-31-10-433-2231. The company organizes tours by bus, bike or on foot. Call ahead for reservations and to check timings. Until October, there will be a bike tour every Sunday. GETTING A ROOM: If you want to sleep in a piece of Rotterdam's architectural heritage, try the Hotel New York. Rooms start at $142 per night. Or try the Bilderberg Parkhotel with rooms starting at $107 per night.

The mix of buildings that survived the bombing, and modern residential and office blocks like Renzo Piano's "leaning" KPN tower, combine to make Rotterdam a magnet for building buffs.

And, this being the Netherlands, the best way to see it is by bike.

Picking up rented green bikes near central station, a group of reporters recently set off led by Van Duivenbode to see the city's architectural highlights.

One of the first stops was De Unie, a cafe with a Mondrianesque facade designed in 1924 by Dutch architect J.J.P. Oud. The original building, a classic example of the Dutch movement De Stijl, was destroyed in the bombing, and a reconstruction was built in 1986.

As part of its "City of Architecture" year that has just kicked off, Rotterdam has launched a Web site - packed with information such as the "Sites and Stories" interactive map that is linked to MP3 files with descriptions and anecdotes about 40 of the city's most interesting buildings.

The sound file for De Unie includes Oud's wife recounting how she was once asked if her husband, a municipal architect, could get rid of the cafe, which was considered a monstrosity by some townsfolk.

"I said, 'I don't think so - he designed it,'" the architect's wife says.

The strangest buildings in the city must be the Cube homes designed by Amsterdam architect Piet Blom in 1978.

Intended to look like a futuristic forest linking the old harbor with downtown, the neighborhood's homes are all yellow, white and gray cubes perched at an angle on top of a central column and stairwell.

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