Antwerp, «the diamond city»

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First city in Flanders, Antwerp has what it takes to charm a large number of visitors, whatever their expectations. Indeed, it is much diversified in many areas. It abounds in jewels of architecture in much varied styles. Vibrant, creative and eclectic, it draws numerous artists and intellectuals, but also fashion designers: it is one of the major cities fashion. Its districts have a very asserted identity, whether opulent or popular. Remarkable historic and cultural sites witness the richness of its past, but it is just as much modern and innovative. It was named European capital of culture in 1993. It is crossed by the Escaut River, which gives it an additional attraction. Gastronomy there is high quality and restaurants are numerous, as well as the inevitable beer bars, some of which are among the best in the country. As in many cities in Benelux, bicycle is much present there, and the widespread use of that mean of transport only adds to its undeniable sweetness of life. People there are relaxed, and you catch yourself feeling quickly at ease; it feels like home. Finally, it is the hub of diamond trade worldwide, hence its nickname of «diamond city».

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The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, splendid cathedral in Brabant Gothic style, proudly dominates the city from its 123 meters northern tower, which constitutes the belfry with its clock and its carillon including 47 bells. It is the highest in Benelux. Its dimensions are impressive; its construction started in the mid 14th century and spread by nearly 170 years. It houses many artworks, notably paintings from Rubens. Nearby, Grote Markt (photo) stretches in an irregular shape that makes it singular. Houses from the 16th and 17th centuries display their traditional stepped gables. The architecture of the imposing City Hall is a mix of Flemish Gothic and Italian Renaissance. On top of Brabo Fountain rises the statue of Silvius Brabo. Indeed, that Roman warrior is a historical character of the city: according to the legend, he cut the hand of the giant Druon Antigon who plundered boats on the Escaut River. Then, he threw it into the river, which could explain the name of the city («handwerpen» means «throw the hand» in Flemish).
The Steenplein is a long concrete platform that overhangs the Escaut and leads to a restaurant. The walk there is pleasant. Benches run along there, and you can sit down to admire the large river and attend the ceaseless ballet of the boats that offer a visit of the port. The Steen, the oldest building in Antwerp, is a fortress located on the right bank of the Escaut. It served as a prison from the 14th century. An extension was added in the 16th century during the reign of Charles V. It was also home to the Marine Museum, before the collections were moved to the Museum aan de Stroom, in the Docks District. Opposite rises the Vleeshuis Museum (House of Meat), a red brick Late Gothic building that housed the Antwerp Butchers’ Guild in the Middle Age. Nowadays, it is a museum dedicated to 600 years of musical life in Antwerp and in Netherlands.
The Saint-Paul Church is in Flamboyant Gothic style. However, its bell tower and its interior are in Baroque style. It houses numerous statues, as well as nice woodwork and paintings. It dates from the 16th century and its construction lasted more than a hundred years. The Saint-Andrew Church, in Late Gothic style, dates from the early 16th century and also enjoys a remarkable Baroque interior. The main attraction is its superb pulpit from the early 19th century.
The Modemuseum (Fashion Mseum), is a nice building from the 19th century on the borders of the Zuid District. Diverse exhibitions present as well period collections as contemporary items. The Plantin-Moretus Museum is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It stands in an old printing house and the former home of the famous printer Plantin. Its old decoration is lavish. Its items are invaluable, notably those from the 16th and the 17th centuries. The inner courtyard is splendid, and the visit of the foundry is rewarding. Exhibitions, whether permanent or temporary, are fascinating.
Finally, Groenplaats, rectangular square, is the heart of the city. It abounds in bars, restaurants and friteries. Many street performances take place there. It is a link between the historic city center and the Meir shopping thoroughfare.

 
See:

• Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal
• Grote Markt, City Hall & Brabo Fountain
• Steenplein
• Steen
• Vleeshuis Museum (House of Meat)
• Saint-Paul Church
• Saint-Andrew Church
• Modemuseum (Fashion Museum)
• Plantin-Moretus Museum
• Groenplaats

The Meir is a major pedestrian and cycle path lined by sumptuous buildings, where shops, bars and restaurants run along. It has an extraordinary architecture, notably the ancient Royal Palace in Rococo style, and the Stadsfeestzaal, big shopping mall housed in a ballroom. The interior decoration is as much impressive with its glass roofs and its gilding. Feel free to take the beautiful passageways in various galleries. In small adjacent streets, you can admire nice murals. In sight proudly rises Boerentoren (Farmers’ Tower), a big Art Deco building, which was the first skyscraper in Europe, and the highest in the continent until the 1950’s. Between the Meir and the central station, you will swoon over watching the buildings located between the statues of the painters David Teniers and Antoon van Dyck: a mix Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau styles. Opulent and imposing, they bear witness to the wealth of the city. Sculptures and moldings are splendid, as well as the statues perched on top of the roofs.
The Antwerp-Central Station (photo), which is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and rightly considered as one of the most beautiful in the world. Moreover, it is very long and has four floors. Its Neo-Baroque architecture is extraordinary, outside and above all inside, where its restored hall is a real jewel. It is covered with an impressive dome. Besides, the long viaduct of elevated railways is also a masterpiece. It is in front of Diamond District. Indeed, Antwerp is the global hub of diamond trade. Many jewelries and workshops run along there. Behind the station stretches the Zoological Park. The big entrance proudly displays its gates and pillars embellished with mosaics and covered with statutes of animals, the whole in a nice Art Deco style. That splendid urban zoo was built in the 19th century. Some of its specimens are very rare. A special mention to its Egyptian temple and its building dedicated to birds.
The Church of Saint-Charles Borromeo displays its superb Baroque façade on Hendrik-Conscience Square (Hendrik Conscienceplein), isolated and much pleasant place. Dedicated to the Flemish writer, the latter was the first exclusively pedestrian place in the city. Nice cafes face the Municipal Library. Its interior, dotted with arches and decorated with marble, woodwork and paintings, is much bright. The Saint-Nicholas Chapel houses a puppet theater and enjoys a small interior courtyard filled with charm and lined with old buildings with nice façades where stands a restaurant. Handelsbeurs, ancient Trade Exchange converted into a public space, enjoys a beautiful architecture: the interior in Neo-Gothic style embellished with a floral landscape is sumptuous. A superb metal frame props up the stone, and a splendid glass roof covers the building. Walls and ceilings are decorated with paintings, finely worked paneling and stained glass windows. The trading activity stopped there and it is now a place of economic and cultural activity, where stand also a bar and a restaurant in Belle Epoque style. The place is specialized in event organization and has multifunctional rooms as well.
In the Latin District, the Rubens’ House (Rubenhuis) is the former home of the famous painter. There, he made most of his artworks. That imposing bourgeois house includes a workshop. It also has a courtyard, a garden and a portico. It houses period furniture, and obviously paintings from the artist. The Bourla Theater can be easily recognized thanks to its semi-circular Neo-Classical façade dotted with columns. On the roof proudly rise statues of Apollo and his muses. The Mayer Van Den Bergh Museum is located in a nice Neo-Gothic building. It houses notably sculptures, paintings, wallpapers and ivory items. The Saint-Elizabeth Chapel mixes Brabant Gothic and Baroque styles. It is part of the ancient Saint-Elizabeth Hospital, which is now converted into a cultural center. It houses some nice paintings.
North of the Antwerp-Central Station and the Zoological Park, the Chinese District is small but exotic. The entrance gate, much colored, is superb. As in many Belgian cities, the visit of the Beguine Convent cannot be missed: there, you find the traditional red brick and the walls covered with white lime, which beautifully contrast with the greenery of the orchard and the lawn. The Saint-Catherine Church rises among houses, which discreetly run along behind brick fences. Obviously, you can feel that peace and that serenity likely to that kind of place that we never get tired of. The rare bikes leaning on walls add some charm. You feel like lingering there to enjoy that unique atmosphere.
The Saint-Anne Tunnel, which dates from the 1930’s, allows you to reach the district that bears the same name on the opposite bank of the Escaut. The varnished wood period escalators offer a real travel in time! In the 572 meters long underground, period photographs are presented, notably pictures of the visit from well-known figures on the site, or simply from the different steps of the construction. Once you reached the opposite bank, you can enjoy a nice global view of the city center from the distance.

See:

• Meir, ancient Royal Palace & Stadsfeestzaal
• Boerentoren (Farmers’ Tower)
• Statues of the painters David Teniers and Antoon van Dyck
• Antwerp-Central Station
• Diamond District
• Zoological Park
• Hendrik-Conscience Square (Hendrik Conscienceplein) & Church of Saint-Charles Borromeo
• Saint-Nicholas Chapel
• Handelsbeurs
• Rubens’ House (Rubenhuis)
• Bourla Theater
• Mayer Van Den Bergh Museum
• Saint-Elizabeth Chapel & ancient Saint-Elizabeth Hospital
• Chinese District
• Beguine Convent & Saint-Catherine Church
• Saint-Anne Tunnel

LondenbrugIt is the modern district in the city. It is very well refurbished, and bars and restaurants are numerous. It is hard to miss the Museum aan de Stroom, a big museum that rises in front of the Bonapartedok basin. It is more than 60 meters high and it is dedicated to Antwerp and its place in the world. Made of red sandstone in avant-gardist architecture, it represents containers stacked on one another, and the large undulating bay windows form vertical waves. The interior is much bright and ceilings are high. Each floor offers a panoramic view of the city under a different angle. Diversity is the key word: each room has its character, and items are numerous and varied. Many of them come from the former Maritime Museum, formerly housed by the Steen in the historic city center. Temporary exhibitions are much enriching as well. Behind the museum stands the Willemdok basin, where some boats are moored to the quays, notably nice period sailboats.
Londenbrug is a lift bridge with an impressive mechanism. East of that one, Park Spoor Noord is a wide area fitted out on a former sorting station. There are kindergartens, a skate and BMX park, water gardens, and a covered hall complemented with a terrace. North of the lift bridge, a dirt path stretches along the Kattendijkdok basin. Many bars run along there: they are fitted out in numerous row warehouses with gables decorated with perforated wrought metal panels. Decorations are much varied and offbeat. Deckchairs, folding chairs, wrought iron chairs, shrubs, fishing nets… nothing was forgotten. But the most unusual thing is the old yellow van with an old-fashioned charm perched on a container. Three superb murals stretch at the beginning of the path, as a way of welcoming and getting us in the mood. The place creates much enjoyable carefree attitude and sweetness of life. On the other side of the basin rises the Red Star Line Museum (photo), which traces the history of that company that would transport by sea the numerous migrants who fled from various misfortunes in Europe to reach the U.S.A. - notably New-York – and try to make their American dream come true. At least they aspired to a better life. Let us keep in mind that Antwerp is one of the largest ports in Europe. The visit of the museum allows you to relive their crossing.
On the northern part of the basin, a sculpture that represents a gigantic diamond covers the roof of the amazing Nieuw Havenhuis building, former fire station: a surprising mix of old and modern. The panoramic view of the port and beyond is breathtaking. As you head west, you take a bridge over the Royers lock (Royerssluis) to reach Noordkastel, ancient fortress built on that place to protect the Oosterweel extinct polder village. It was demolished in two steps: in the late 19th century in order to enable the extension of the port, and in the early 20th century to build the ring, main road encircling the city. Now, only a small part of the ramparts remains, as well as a kind of wild green and wooded space by the Escaut river: it faces Sint Annastrand, the small beach of Saint-Anne district. Old abandoned wooden piers bring the place a touch of nostalgia and an old-fashioned charm. On the other side of the lock, Droogdokkenpark is an 11 hectares urban green space landscaped on the bank of the river, designed with the utmost respect of the site. It includes a 2 hectares hexagonal panoramic viewpoint. 
 
See:

• Museum aan de Stroom
• Londenbrug
• Park Spoor Noord
• Red Star Line Museum
• Nieuw Havenhuis
• Noordkastel
• Droogdokkenpark

South of the center, Zuid, the trendy neighborhood, is really not popular for tourists. Taking a walk there is much pleasant and you do not meet many people by day. The M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art) was housed in a former grain silo. It is much spacious, which is necessarily an advantage for its numerous exhibitions. It also allows the holding of conferences, documentary films screenings and diverse shows. The FOMU (Museum of Photography) offers exhibitions that are regularly renewed. That art is presented in all its aspects, as well as artistic as professional. It has three floors and most of its rooms are spacious. It also houses a gallery, a store and a bar & restaurant. The KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine-Arts) stands in an imposing building erected in the 19^th century in an ostentatious architecture: its façade with Corinthian columns is beautiful. Sculptures are splendid. Allegorical statues each represent an art form. The New Courthouse (Nieuw Gerechtshof) astounds you with its resolutely avant-gardist style that completely clashes with other buildings: metal sails with angular outlines rise on its roof. The Saint-Michael-and-Saint-Peter Church, which has no less than three aisles, enjoys a nice Neo-Roman and Neo-Byzantine architecture. Still, Art Nouveau buildings are well and truly the ones that stand out in that district: the House of the People displays its façade adorned with sculptures and mosaics, as well as its large horseshoe arch bay window. Nevertheless, the most impressive is the Five Continents Building: you can see from the distance the prow of a boat at the corner of the second floor that serves as a balcony, covered with a circular loggia with its beautiful glass canopy. It is simply amazing for its daring and its creativity! Opposite, you can admire the bow-windows in a row that form a superb perspective.
You get off at Anvers-Berchem station to visit the extraordinary Zurenborg district, far away from the beaten track of tourism as well. It is located south-east of the center. Huge and magnificent buildings (mainly private mansions) proudly display their Art Nouveau façades, testimony of the greatness and the splendor of the Belle Époque, notably in Cogels-Osylei street (photo), Transvaalstraat and Waterloostraat. Neo-Classical and Eclectic styles also have their place there, thus composing a breathtaking architectural ensemble. In Waterloostraat, the «Battle of Waterloo» house, which therefore gave the street its name, is particularly worth seeing, as well as the «Les mouettes» house. At the crossroads with General van Merlenstraat, four houses face each other on either side: the architecture is similar and each one deals with the theme of a season of the year with a different color. Belgium is definitely THE country of Art Nouveau!