| Antwerp
main page
Main
Belgium page
Diamonds
in Antwerp (1)
Diamonds
in Antwerp (2)
Underestimated
Antwerp
Antwerp
Zoological garden
|
Describing
my city is rather an impossible task. Antwerp has so many aspects that
mentioning a few of them would do injustice to all the others. In more than one way
Antwerp is the diamond in the Flemish crown. Apart from the gothic
splendors of the Cathedral of Our Lady,
dating back to the fourteenth century, whose 123m spire dominates the
skyline, the city is the diamond center of the world.
Antwerp
was the home of Rubens, and his "princely" house and workshop
containing many canvasses can still be seen and admired. More of his
work can be appreciated in the cathedral, especially his magnificent
"Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross".
Art
abounds in Antwerp and after sauntering past its renaissance-style
terraces in the Grote Markt, or
investigating its pubs and cafes you may like to visit the Royal
Museum of Fine arts which houses a comprehensive collection of
Flemish and Dutch masters, as well as a selection of contemporary
Belgian art, or the Plantin Moretus Museum,
with its hand-operated printing presses, engravings and tapestries.
And
springing out of this rich past, Antwerp's present buzzes with all kinds
of smart shops, cafes and entertainment for the modern visitor. There is
the Zoo, as well as the slow-moving River
Scheldt where boat trips will guide you gracefully through the bustling
harbor that is also part of Antwerp' present. A
place housing more than hundred nationalities, with the highest
concentration of polyglots in the world, with the countless restaurants,
pubs, beers, discos and cafe terraces, with its medieval heart, its rich
cultural heritage. A place where doing business is always combined with
the finest gastronomy and with proud and free city but tolerant,
cosmopolitan and a little bit exotic and whose inhabitants (the "Sinjoren",
from the Spanish senores) know better than any other people what
Burgundian lifestyle really means. Antwerp is a melting pot of cultures,
a hospitable and safe haven. Over the centuries the City-on-the-Scheldt
has turned the 'sinjoren' into cosmopolitans. This is wonderful if you
are a visitor. You will always meet with a friendly reception and, if at
all possible, in your own language. Antwerp
is a metropolis and yet small-scale. That is undoubtedly one of its
charms. So put on your walking shoes and start exploring !
A
port of world stature, a history of unusual freedom, a treasure chest of
art, architecture, learning and music, Antwerp lends itself to
exploration. With the exception of Brussels, Antwerp, with its half
million inhabitants is the largest city in Belgium and is, moreover, at
the center of a metropolitan area of 1,150,000 inhabitants. Nevertheless
Antwerp is intimate : a web of squares and winding streets, of shops and
art galleries, of churches and statues, warehouses and wharves, it
presents corners to be
turned, alleys to be penetrated and the bustle of resilient, confident
townspeople to be enjoyed. The
imposing Meir and the De Keyserlei link the
medieval and the 19th-century areas of the city centre. These wide
shopping streets and pedestrian areas are lined with department stores,
trendy boutiques and chic fashion shops. The Sunday
bird market is famous far beyond our borders, partly because it
sells absolutely everything but mainly because of the way goods are
presented and sold. Collectors
of knick-knacks, collectibles and curios can go treasure-hunting in the
little shops along the Hoogstraat and the Kloosterstraat or visit the
Saturday market near the Cathedral. With a little luck, they will
find something that catches their eye amongst the bric- -brac at the Friday
market. Those looking for valuable antiques or objets d'art will
stand a better chance in the Leopoldstraat and
Schuttershofstraat area.
Antwerp
is past and future. The many Antwerp museums and churches house an
immense artistic patrimony. The Museum of Fine
Arts has more than 2,500 old and modern works on show. Rubens' House,
where the great baroque master painter lived and worked, should not be
missed and the Cathedral is the home of three of his most celebrated
paintings. The baroque churches of St. Charles Borromeo and St. Paul
are also steeped in the artistic opulence which characterized
17th-century Antwerp. You can make a journey through time to the
'golden' 16th century by paying a visit to the Vleeshuis
(Butchers' Hall), now a museum of applied art, or to the
world-famous Plantin-Moretus Museum, then
one of Europe's leading printing works. And you absolutely have to see
the National Maritime Museum, the Ethnographic
Museum, MuHKA (Museum of Contemporary Art), Middelheim( Open-Air Modern
Sculpture Park)....And
don't forget the Art Nouveau and Jugendstil area
around the Cogels-Osylei, world famous for it's uniqueness.
Hundreds of houses will astonish you by their architecture, rarely seen
in other cities and grouped here in one big quarter.
The
city is the diamond center of the world. Grouped around the Pelikaanstraat,
are innumerable shops, their windows glistening with gems and gold. Many of the proprietors are
orthodox Jews whose
traditions give an individual character to "the Jerusalem of the
North". You can also take an organized trip round the Provincial
Diamond Museum.
A
CITY THAT DELIGHTS THE TASTE BUDS
Eating
and drinking is a real delight here. Take your time and enjoy it! There
are restaurants by the hundred. From refined gastronomy, to exotic
cuisines or 'grandmother's cooking', it's all here. And, of course, we
mustn't forget the famous mussels with Belgian fries. The
cafes are far too numerous to count and yet each has an atmosphere all
of its own. They all offer an impressive list of beers to choose from,
but if you want to try the only true Antwerp beer, order a 'bolleke'
in customary cafe jargon. Some cafes have hundreds
of different beer brands. The « Kulminator
café » has 450 Belgian and 250 foreign
beers for your taste ! There
is plenty for those with a sweet tooth, too! You'll find delicious 'Antwerpse
handjes' (Antwerp hands) at the baker's and the best
pralines you've ever tasted.
|
