Best Dining Bets

Sir Anthony Van Dijck (tel. 03/231-61-70): You can't go far wrong in a place whose owner/chef once voluntarily turned in his Michelin star and decided to do what he, rather than a bunch of Paris-based restaurant inspectors, liked best. The result on the plate is invariably delightful, as is a location in an atmospheric 16th-century courtyard in the city center.

The Best Cafes & Bars

De Engel: There are cafes in town with a lot more action, but for a genuine Antwerp brown-cafe-style bar, it's hard to beat De Engel (The Angel). Its location on a corner of the Grote Markt adds to the attraction, but to experience De Engel's crowning glory, order a glass of Antwerp's own, lovingly poured De Koninck beer -- a golden-brown liquid in a glass called a bolleke (little ball) that glows like amber in the sunlight streaming through De Engel's windows.