Things To Do in Antwerp

The most colorful part of Antwerp is the medieval town center that fans out from the Grote Markt in a warren of winding streets. South of the town center is a fascinating district of shipping warehouses renovated into trendy bars, restaurants, and art galleries. Head to the streets around Vlaamsekaai and Waalsekaai.

Antwerp is a good walking city. Its major sightseeing attractions are easily reached from one major street that changes its name as it goes along: Italielei, Frankrijklei, Britselei, and Amerikalei. Most sights are within easy walking distance of the town center, but if the cobblestone streets start to wear through your shoes, you can always hop onto a tram.

The sightseeing treasures of Antwerp are best seen at a leisurely pace -- after all, who would want to gallop through Rubens's home at a fast clip? But if time is a factor or if you'd like a good overview before striking out on your own, the city makes it easy by providing guides for walking tours, regularly scheduled coach tours, and a series of boat trips to view Antwerp from the water, as so many visitors through the centuries have first seen it.

If you're a dedicated do-it-yourselfer, you can get maps and sightseeing booklets from the tourist office to guide you. Walking trails marked within the city will lead you through typical streets and squares to find the main points of interest. There's even a free ferryboat ride across the Scheldt.

Many of Antwerp's museums and churches are open to the public either for free or at a minimal charge. Notice that nearly all museums are closed on Monday.

Warning: The area around Centraal Station, east of De Keyserlei and Koningin Astridplein, is somewhat seedy and has drug and prostitution problems.

Note: For many of the museums and churches in Antwerp, you can get information on the Web by visiting their common sites, respectively http://museum.antwerpen.be and www.topa.be.

Antwerp's Port

The city's prime location just above the point where the river meets the Scheldt Estuary made it an important Gallo-Roman port in the 2nd century B.C. For many centuries after that, Antwerp attracted a bevy of covetous invaders. Antwerp was a trading station of the powerful medieval Hanseatic League, but unlike Bruges, did not have the status of a full-fledged league Kontor.

In the port's early days, ships moored at the city itself. But the Scheldt is a tidal river, with a depth that varies twice daily from 9m (30 ft.) to 14m (45 ft.). Nowadays the port has moved 13km (8 miles) downstream to the huge excavated Zandvliet docks that jam up against the Dutch border, protected by tidal rise and fall by a series of locks. Napoleon began the process of transformation in 1806 -- he viewed Antwerp as a "pistol aimed at the heart of England" -- and 5 years later the first vessel moored in the Bonaparte Dock.

The port is well worth a visit, if only to appreciate its vast size. The entire harbor/dock complex covers 65 sq. km (40 sq. miles). Each year 16,000 ships visit, transporting 100 million metric tons of cargo. Port enterprises employ 57,000 people and add more than $6 billion to the national economy. You'll soon understand why an age-old local saying is that "Antwerp has God to thank for the Scheldt, and the Scheldt for everything else."

The Flandria boat cruises and coach tours offer the best view, but the tourist office can also furnish detailed information for those who wish to drive the plainly marked Havenroute (if this includes you, keep a sharp eye out for the hazards of this busy workplace, such as open bridges, rail tracks, moving cranes, and so on).

The Diamond Quarter

The raw facts and figures are sparkling enough: Some 85% of the world's rough diamonds, 50% of cut diamonds, and 40% of industrial diamonds are traded here annually -- together they're valued at more than $12.5 billion and account for roughly 7% of total Belgian exports. The diamond cutters of Antwerp are world-renowned for their skill, which you can admire in the Diamond Quarter, a surprisingly down-at-heels-looking area, only steps away from Centraal Station. More than 12,000 expert cutters and polishers are at work in the Diamond Quarter, at 380 workshops, serving 1,500 firms and 3,500 brokers and merchants. The trade is supervised by Antwerp's Hoge Raad voor Diamant (Diamond High Council).

Many dealers and traders belong to the city's Orthodox Jewish community, which has a long tradition of handling diamonds and is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a reticent group. But the business is becoming ever more multinational, with Indians another prominent group. A code of honor and trust underlies business. Even today, when e-commerce is a fact of international business life, most deals in Antwerp are still sealed with a handshake.

There's a downside to the trade. Miners and gleaners -- many of them children -- in Africa and Asia might be paid just a dollar a day for their labor. And so-called conflict diamonds are fueling wars and internal conflicts on those continents.

In addition to perusing the stores and visiting a workshop, a good place to get close to the city's diamond trade is the Diamantmuseum Provincie Antwerpen (Antwerp Province Diamond Museum), Koningin Astridplein 19-23 (tel. 03/202-48-90; www.diamantmuseum.be; Métro: Centraal Station). Exhibits here trace the history, geology, mining, and cutting of diamonds. Diamond-cutting and -polishing demonstrations are on Saturday afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30pm. The museum is open Thursday to Tuesday from 10am to 5:30pm. Admission is 6€ ($7.50) for adults, 4€ ($5) for seniors and visitors ages 12 to 26, and free for children under 12.

Especially For Kids

Close to Antwerp Zoo and working in cooperation with it, another great attraction for kids is Aquatopia, Koningin Astridplein 7 (tel. 03/205-07-40; www.aquatopia.be; Métro: Centraal Station), which opened its doors in 2003 in the Astrid Park Plaza Hotel building, just across the square from Centraal Station. The futuristic facility's 40 aquaria, set on three floors, are together filled with around a million liters (264,200 gal.) of salt water, and house some than 3,500 marine creatures, ranging from sea horses to sharks. Tropical rainforests, mangroves, wetlands, coral reefs, the ocean floor -- all, and more, are featured. No doubt the biggest thrill will come from walking through the clear-walled "shark tunnel," while watching smallish examples of these toothy denizens of the deep swimming around you. Multimedia applications and interactive computer displays complement the live action; even Nemo puts in an appearance. If you're visiting with children, you may want to spend at least 2 hours here. Aquatopia is open daily from 10am to 6pm. Admission is 9.45€ ($12) for adults, 7.45€ ($9.30) for seniors and students, 4.95€ ($5.20) for visitors with disabilities, and 6.45€ ($8.05) for children under 12.

Antwerp yields not an inch to Brussels in the style wars -- in fact, Antwerp is by far the more fashion conscious of the two. During the 1980s and 1990s, youthful local fashion designers, graduates of the city's Fine Arts Academy, made a major and enduring impact within Belgium and established a substantial international reputation.

The long shopping street of Meir has mid-range international chains and department stores, while the upmarket stores and boutiques have colonized the area south of the Grote Markt between Steenhouwersvest and Komedieplaats; here you’ll find Diane von Furstenberg, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Filippa K, and many others. For lace, scour the streets surrounding the cathedral and for diamonds, head for Appelmansstraat and nearby streets around Centraal Station.

A top Belgian fashion designer keeps shop at Ann Demeulemeester's, Verlatstraat 38 (tel. 03/216-01-33; tram: 8 to Leopold de Waelplaats), in front of the Royal Fine Arts Museum. Demeulemeester, one of the "Antwerp Six," turned down an offer from Naomi Campbell to model her clothes on the grounds that Campbell, though admittedly beautiful, was glamorous rather than elegant. This is the only place in the world where you can buy her complete lines of clothes, shoes, and accessories for both men and women. Space for displaying them is not a problem at this former seaman's academy, a 19th-century listed building. It's open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm. Also on the cutting edge of fashion:  Dries van Noten (Nationalestraat 16; www.driesvannoten.be; 📞 03/470-2510), whose quirky prints have become legendary.

Get in touch with your inner child at Piet Konijn, Steenhouwersvest 42 (tel. 03/226-84-07), where many of the toys are made from wood and don't blink, bleep, or run out of battery juice.

English-language books are available from FNAC, Groenplaats 31 (tel. 03/231-2056), and Standaard, Huidevetterstraat 57 (tel. 03/231-0773).

Antwerp remains the world’s leading market for cut diamonds and second only to London as an outlet for raw and industrial diamonds, despite intense competition from India, Dubai, and Israel. The raw facts are sparkling enough: 84 percent of all the world’s diamonds pass through Antwerp at some point on their journey from rough stone to polished, set gem. There are four diamond-trading houses in Antwerp and together they comprise an industry that turns over 147 million euros for the city each year. The trade, with its diamond cutters and polishers, workshops, brokers, and merchants, is centered on the few heavily guarded streets that form the city’s Diamantkwartier (Diamond Quarter), located steps away from Centraal Station. It is regulated by the Antwerp World Diamond Center (www.awdc.be) and mostly run by members of the city’s Hasidic Jewish community, who found a niche market when they arrived in Antwerp in the 15th century.

To buy diamonds or watch them being cut, visit the constellation of jewelry stores in the Diamond Quarter. Diamondland, Appelmansstraat 33a (www.diamondland.be; tel. 03/369-0780) is the city’s biggest diamond salesroom and offers free guided tours of its workshops as well as trustworthy, personalized, and knowledgeable service for serious buyers (all tax-free for non-E.U. visitors).

Antwerp is as lively after dark as it is busy during the day. To check what's going on while you're in the city, pick up a copy of Antwerpen, a monthly publication available at the tourist office. You can get information about and purchase tickets for concerts, theater, and other cultural events from Prospekta, Grote Markt 13, 2000 Antwerpen (tel. 03/203-95-85; fax 03/203-95-97; www.prospekta.be). The desk is in the same building as Antwerp tourist office's main office and is open the same hours.

Main entertainment areas are Grote Markt and Groenplaats, which both contain concentrations of bars, cafes, and theaters; High Town (Hoogstraat, Pelgrimstraat, Pieter Potstraat, and vicinity) for jazz clubs and bistros; Stadswaag for jazz and punk; and the Centraal Station area for discos, nightclubs, and gay bars. The red-light district here, concentrated in Riverside Quarter, is much seedier and less tourist-oriented than the one that's a big visitor attraction just a few hours drive up the road in Amsterdam, in neighboring Holland.

The Performing Arts

Antwerp takes pride in being a citadel of Flemish culture. Two of the region's stellar companies are based here: the Vlaamse Opera (Flanders Opera), Frankrijklei 3 (tel. 03/233-66-85), and the Koninklijk Ballet van Vlaanderen (Royal Flanders Ballet), Kattendijkdok-Westkaai 16 (tel. 03/234-34-38).

To house its vibrant cultural life, the city has no shortage of performance venues. Top of the line for theater and classical music is the Stadsschouwburg, Theaterplein 1 (tel. 03/227-03-06). For music and ballet, there's the classically orientated Koningin Elisabethzaal, Koningin Astridplein 23-24 (tel. 03/203-56-00); and the more modernist deSingel, Desguinlei 25 (tel. 03/248-28-28).

Antwerp has more theaters than any other Flemish city, as well as two excellent theater companies: Jeugdtheater and KNS, the Royal Flemish Theater. Though most plays are in Dutch, you can often understand the plot regardless of language difficulties, and the quality of these shows merits attendance. For current information and reservations, contact the Cultural Information Desk, Grote Markt 40 (tel. 03/220-81-11).

The Belgian Muppets--Take the kids to the delightful Van Campen Royal Puppet Theater, Lange Nieuwstraat 3 (tel. 03/237-37-16), where the plot lines are always easy to understand (even if the language isn't).

Music Clubs

Along De Keyserlei and its side streets, there's a conglomeration of disco and strip bars -- some very classy, others (obvious at a glance) frankly smutty or vulgar. If you're looking for a respectable disco, check the area between Groenplaats and Grote Markt. Look out for De Blokhut, Lange Herentalsestraat 6 (tel. 03/226-90-79); Le Caveau, Frankrijklei 18 (tel. 03/231-53-42); Griffy's, De Keyserlei 19-21 (tel. 03/233-19-22); Hans Christian Andersen, De Keyserlei 25 (tel. 03/226-48-63); and Café d'Anvers, Verversrui 15 (tel. 03/226-38-70).

Bars

Antwerp just about bursts at the seams with great bars. When the sun goes down, the people of Antwerp head for their favorite cafe or bar for an evening of Belgian beer and good conversation -- and you'll be very welcome to join their circle. If you don't spend an evening in this manner, it's safe to say that you haven't really seen Antwerp! Street cafes are generally found in Groenplaats and Grote Markt; "brown cafes" (traditional pubs) and bistros are clustered on Hoogstraat, Pelgrimstraat, Pieter Potstraat, and the surroundings; beer cellars are on Stadswaag; taverns and boulevard cafes are strewn along De Keyserlei; artists' cafes and bars are in Quartier Latin near the City Theater; and gay bars are mostly in the Centraal Station area.

No city watering hole has a better outlook than De Engel, Grote Markt 3 (tel. 03/233-12-52), an old-style cafe in the main square, beside the fountain-sculpture of Silvius Brabo, where a bolleke (little ball) of Antwerp's very own De Koninck beer becomes a work of liquid art. Paeters Vaetje, Blauwmoezelstraat 1 (tel. 03/231-84-76), below the cathedral's soaring spire, is a great place for listening to the Monday evening carillon concert, and serves up 100 different brews. Get the abbey habit at De Groote Witte Arend (The Great White Eagle), Reyndersstraat 12-18 (tel. 03/226-31-90), a cafe in a 17th-century former monastery, where customers are serenaded by classical music. Go underground to De Pelgrom, Pelgrimstraat 15 (tel. 03/234-08-09), in a candlelit, brick-arched cellar, where you can get convivial at long wood benches. A huge selection of beer, including virtually every Belgian brand, is displayed behind glass and served at candlelit tables in Kulminator, Vleminckveld 32 (tel. 03/232-45-38). Hot and cool at the same time, Het Zottekot, Vlaamse Kaai 21 (tel. 03/237-99-07), a wide step away from old-Antwerp style, is a wild, youth-oriented den where anything can happen -- and generally does.

An altogether different kind of drinking experience is to be had at De Vagant, Reyndersstraat 25 (tel. 03/233-15-38). It deals exclusively in jenever, and has 220 varieties of this stiff grain spirit. An upstairs restaurant specializes in dishes with jenever-based sauces and its walls are a gallery of jenever memorabilia.