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ANTWERP-Shopping streets to Groenplaats

Antwerp Zoological garden

Antwerp by foot, its insolent and secret treasures

Introducing the walk Keyserley-Leysstraat-Meir

Meir shopping, slowly loitering to Rubens house

Rubens, his life and his house

Bird market-Bourla theatre - more shopping

Shopping streets to Groenplaats

Area around Antwerp Cathedral     

Cathedral of Our-Lady

Grote Markt and Town hall

Guild houses-Vlaaykensgang  

Hoogstraat and Grote Pieter Potstraat

Printers museum Plantin-Moretus

Museum Mayer van den Bergh-Maagdenhuis

Strolling to the Carolus Borromeus church

Rockoxhuis- Rubens tomb at St.Jacobskerk

Cogels-Osylei area, unique in the world (1)

Cogels Osy area, unique in the world (2)

Return to the pedestrian street, the Korte Gasthuisstraat, until the small intersection called “Wilde Zee”. This whole area, buzzing with activity the whole year is full of delicious specialty shops, as well as clothing as food, delicacies, fish shops and bakeries you can only dream about in your deep provinces or states. Cross the Lombardenvest where you will start to make acquaintance with one of Antwerp’s latest world famous export products: Antwerp fashion trend. The grates names are represented in the street until the Nationalestraat. Names like Anne de Meulemeester, Dirk Bikkemberghs, Dries Van Noten and many others have earned since years their nobility titles in the Paris fashion shows. Make a right at the Nationalestraat and you will come out at the Groenplaats.
Just look right and notice the skyscraper (in 1932 the highest in Europe) from the KBC bank. Its located on the Schoenmarkt where you can have the best cup of coffee or capuccino, with our without Chantilly in Antwerp at “Cuperus”, sympathetic tea-parlour. You can buy here the best coffee and the Antwerp specialty of butter biscuits, called “Antwerpse Handjes”, chocolates, fruit pastries and other sweets.
At the right corner of the Groenplaats used to stand a hideous parking building, built in the fifties. It disappeared when the building of the old department store Grand Bazar was transformed into a prestigious Hilton hotel. A shopping centre completes the ensemble.

 

We are now on the GROENPLAATS.  Beginning of the century the “All-Antwerp” came here to listen to memorable band concerts. But it used to be a cemetery surrounded by a high wall until Joseph II declared it was forbidden to bury any more at this place. Groenplaats was baptized “Place Bonaparte” under the French regime and Napoleon rearranged the nice square by planting tile trees. The square was enhanced by a statue of Rubens 

by Willem Geefs, on the 200 years anniversary of the death of Rubens in 1840. Now an immense parking is hidden below, leaving the square entirely for the pedestrians and the numerous terraces of all the cafes surrounding the place when the sunny days are there. You should come on a sunny day  in April, May or whenever during the summer. Not a single place to find on the terraces, people drinking the good Antwerp specialties. New tree have been planted, the statue of Rubens was cleaned (birds have no pity!) and even his thumb wasfixed.  The Hilton hotel enhances the Groenplaats with its classified façade, and a majestic dome, the one belonging to the old department store Grand Bazar who had to close its doors in July 1990. The Groenplaats has always been, especially in summer, the place to chat. No need to tame the pigeons that come and eat out of your hands. Punks are lying at the foot of the Rubens statue while the elderly, sitting on the new benches discuss the latest soccer match or political stupidity of this or that politician.  Cynical, bitter, they regret the new design of the Groenplaats that will never be like they used to know it.