--- description: Find out why Fenix is on TIME’s list of the World’s Greatest Places 2026. title: Fenix: World's Greatest Places 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d8efbb72315750c/69ae760de2697a0a1d47201a/FenixMuseumof-Migration_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Mar 12, 2026 # Fenix ## Video: The World's Greatest Places: See Every Place (FR) [Watch (HLS stream): The World's Greatest Places: See Every Place (FR)](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sDXrAxES.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2026-03-12_ Rotterdam by [Karen Burshtein](/author/karen-burshtein/) ## Karen Burshtein Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Iwan Baan—Fenix After being carpet-bombed in World War II, Rotterdam rebuilt itself as a proving ground for ambitious, often unconventional architecture—some of it grappling with contemporary social issues. Its newest showstopper, [Fenix](https://www.fenix.nl/en/ "undefined"), takes on one of the most charged of all: migration. Opening at a moment when immigration debates are roiling Europe and beyond, the museum uses art to frame movement not as an abstraction or a headline, but as a shared human experience. Fenix occupies a century-old warehouse built for the Holland-America Line in the Katendrecht district—once a departure point for millions of emigrants embarking to new lives—that has been restored by Rotterdam’s Bureau Polderman. Inside, modern and contemporary works give migration physical form: _Suitcase Maze_, assembled from thousands of donated pieces of luggage, each tied to a personal journey; and a sculpture of a person by Zimbabwean artist Mark Halter constructed from the checkered nylon “go bags” commonly used by migrants. The architecture does its own storytelling. A mirrored, double-helix steel staircase—nicknamed the Tornado—spirals upward in a deliberately disorienting climb, ending with sprawling views of the River Maas and Europe’s largest port. The experience extends beyond the galleries, with meals at Plein and a public atrium where cooks share “tastes of home.” Guests can complement their museum visit with guided walks through historically multicultural Katendrecht offered by local businesses. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/fenix/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/fenix/"},"headline":"Fenix","datePublished":"2026-03-12T10:56:48.535Z","dateModified":"2026-03-12T10:56:48.609Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/fenix/","keywords":["World's Greatest Places 2018","The Netherlands","list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d8efbb72315750c/69ae760de2697a0a1d47201a/FenixMuseumof-Migration_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Karen Burshtein","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/karen-burshtein/"}],"creator":"Karen Burshtein","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d8efbb72315750c/69ae760de2697a0a1d47201a/FenixMuseumof-Migration_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/worlds-greatest-places-2018/","name":"World's Greatest Places 2018"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/fenix/","name":"Fenix"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places: See Every Place (FR)","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sDXrAxES/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-03-12T10:15:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sDXrAxES.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/fenix/","duration":"PT1M33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/fenix/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```