Antwerp Travel Guide

Antwerp OVERVIEW

Art lovers, culture vultures, fashionistas, club queens and diamond dealers - all agree that Antwerp is the place to be. Belgium's second-biggest city, with a self-afflicted inferiority complex towards Bruges and Brussels, in fact boils with sophisticated charm, metropolitan feel and gently swinging seaside resort flair. There are big and inspiring names to call this city. First, there's the ‘City of Rubens' as the great baroque painter is Antwerp's genius son and his spirit and masterpieces are present in churches and museums dotting the city. Then, there is the ‘City of Diamonds' with the globe's largest diamond industry cutting and trading 70% of the world's sparkling gems behind well-guarded façades in the Jewish district. The ‘City of Fashion ' is yet another label which has been used to call this fashion hub since the 1980s after a number of Antwerp-trained designers conquered the world with experimental styles and top-class workmanship. And above all the prominent names there is a city of cobbled alleys, stunning Flemish Baroque and Italian Renaissance architecture, relaxed riverside restaurants and a myriad of atmospheric places to savor the world-praised Belgium pralines and waffles.