Rotterdam is going through somewhat of a renaissance, with some urban renewal projects featuring ambitious architecture, an increasingly nightlife, and a host of summer festivals celebrating the city's multicultural population and identity.

Well-known streets in Rotterdam are the shopping center the Lijnbaan, the Hoogstraat, the Coolsingel with the city hall, and the Weena, which runs from the Central Station to the Hofplein. A modern shopping venue is the Beurstraverse, better known by the informal name 'Koopgoot' ('Buying/Shopping Gutter', after its low-lying position, crossing Rotterdam's main street Coolsingel below street level).

Another prominent shopping center, called Alexandrium (sometimes still called by its former name Oosterhof), lies in the east of Rotterdam. It includes a large kitchen and furniture center.