Claudio.Ar
By Jessica Langan-Peck
The port city of Antwerp, on the banks of the River Scheldt, is a design-minded metropolis that carefully preserves its history without sacrificing its forward-thinking spirit. Its cobblestone city center evokes the past, while its innovative designers, architects, students, and developers have a global appeal. Sample fresh mussels and De Konink beer, visit the city's museums, and revel in its easygoing vibe.
Photo Caption: Town Hall and Grote Markt in Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp is serious about chocolate, and you should be, too. Even if you're not a connoisseur (yet), consider taking a chocolate tour with Culinaire Wandelingen (www.culinarywalks.com). Not only will you sample chocolate in all forms, you'll get an inside look at Antwerp's top chocolatiers. At Burie (www.chocolatier-burie.be), check out liquid milk chocolate ready to molded into signature diamond-shape pralines. You'll also see scaled-down replicas of cuddly looking ladybugs and fire-breathing dragons, as well as certain iconic buildings (including the brand-new MAS museum).
At celebrity chocolatier Dominique Persoone's super-hip The Chocolate Line (www.thechocolateline.com), try unlikely combinations like white chocolate ganache with fresh peas and almond praline.
Photo Caption: The Choc-tail: Costa Rican 64% bitter chocolate ganache with lime pipette filled with tequila silver and crystal salt at Dominique Persoone's Antwerp store, The Chocolate Line
Antwerp's proximity to the North Sea allows for an abundance of fresh seafood. Try tiny grey shrimps, herring, cod, and mussels, served (most traditionally) in garlicky white wine broth. If you're lucky enough to be in Belgium during white asparagus season in the spring, order it the Flemish way, with butter and soft boiled eggs. This region also takes great pride in its fries, traditionally served in a paper cone with a dollop of mayonnaise.
Wash it all down with a local beer. Though there are many to choose from, the local favorite is the Brewery De Konink's amber Bolleke.
Photo Caption: Brewery De Konink Bolleke, Antwerp
Antwerp's newest addition, the waterfront Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) features 10 boxy stories stacked on top of one another, evoking the industrial storehouses that have populated the Elindaje section of Antwerp for centuries. As you climb the twin escalators from floor to floor, the wall to your left is a curtain of undulating glass, affording a panoramic view of the city.
On the exhibit floors themselves, video footage, audio tracks, varied lighting, and even original musical accompaniments work together to create the mini-worlds, and many artifacts are right out in the open, allowing visitors to get as close as they please. The "Visual Storage" exhibit, a temperature-controlled area of the museum where some 180,000 objects in its collection are stored, offers a unique look into the belly of the museum.
More Info: www.mas.be
Photo Caption: MAS Museum's boxy exterior, Antwerp
Don't miss the opportunity to ogle Peter Paul Rubens' work in what is widely considered (especially by locals) to be the Flemish Master's hometown. Though Rubens was born in Germany, he spent most of his life in Antwerp. Visit the Rubenshuis (www.rubenshuis.be) for an inside look. Rubens' technical skill is evident in his bright, realistic oil paintings, which most often depict religious or mystical scenes. Though you can see Rubens' work in several locations throughout the city, the masterpieces he installed in the gothic Cathedral of our Lady (www.dekathedrall.be) are particularly luminous.
Photo Caption: Rubenhuis in Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp's compact center makes it an ideal city for walking. Explore the narrow streets and open squares, including the city's Grote Markt, or Market Square, which is surrounded by 16th-and 17th-century guild houses.
Look out for highlights, such as City Hall (Stadhuis) and the Museum Plantin-Moretus (www.museumplantinmoretus.be), a Renaissance-era publishing house that contains an extraordinary print collection.
And of course, Antwerp is a shoppers' paradise. Whether you're looking to expand your wardrobe or simply find the best frietkotten (outdoor fry vendor), the city's effortless style is contagious. The seriously fashionable should head to ModeNatie and the surrounding area (the center of Antwerp's fashion scene) to check out Antwerp native Dries Van Noten's Modepaleis (fashion palace), or track down Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester's clean lines and sophisticated simplicity at her store in the trendy Het Zuid, or southern area of the city.
Photo Caption: Grote Markt, Antwerp
The port city of Antwerp, on the banks of the River Scheldt, is a design-minded metropolis that carefully preserves its history without sacrificing its forward-thinking spirit. Its cobblestone city center evokes the past, while its innovative designers, architects, students, and developers have a global appeal. Sample fresh mussels and De Konink beer, visit the city's museums, and revel in its easygoing vibe.
Photo Caption: Town Hall and Grote Markt in Antwerp, Belgium
At celebrity chocolatier Dominique Persoone's super-hip The Chocolate Line (www.thechocolateline.com), try unlikely combinations like white chocolate ganache with fresh peas and almond praline.
Photo Caption: The Choc-tail: Costa Rican 64% bitter chocolate ganache with lime pipette filled with tequila silver and crystal salt at Dominique Persoone's Antwerp store, The Chocolate Line
Wash it all down with a local beer. Though there are many to choose from, the local favorite is the Brewery De Konink's amber Bolleke.
Photo Caption: Brewery De Konink Bolleke, Antwerp
On the exhibit floors themselves, video footage, audio tracks, varied lighting, and even original musical accompaniments work together to create the mini-worlds, and many artifacts are right out in the open, allowing visitors to get as close as they please. The "Visual Storage" exhibit, a temperature-controlled area of the museum where some 180,000 objects in its collection are stored, offers a unique look into the belly of the museum.
More Info: www.mas.be
Photo Caption: MAS Museum's boxy exterior, Antwerp
Photo Caption: Rubenhuis in Antwerp, Belgium
Look out for highlights, such as City Hall (Stadhuis) and the Museum Plantin-Moretus (www.museumplantinmoretus.be), a Renaissance-era publishing house that contains an extraordinary print collection.
And of course, Antwerp is a shoppers' paradise. Whether you're looking to expand your wardrobe or simply find the best frietkotten (outdoor fry vendor), the city's effortless style is contagious. The seriously fashionable should head to ModeNatie and the surrounding area (the center of Antwerp's fashion scene) to check out Antwerp native Dries Van Noten's Modepaleis (fashion palace), or track down Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester's clean lines and sophisticated simplicity at her store in the trendy Het Zuid, or southern area of the city.
Photo Caption: Grote Markt, Antwerp