From Wikitravel

Antwerp (Flemish: Antwerpen, French: Anvers) [1], is a major destination of Belgium in the region of Flanders. Antwerp claims to be the "world's leading diamond city". It has every right to claim this, as more than 70% of all diamonds are traded in Antwerp. More than 85% of the world’s rough diamonds, 50% of cut diamonds and 40% of industrial diamonds are traded in the city.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By train 2.3 By bus 2.4 By car 3 Get around 3.1 Districts 3.2 Public transportation 3.3 Taxi and cars 3.4 Bicycle 3.5 On foot 4 See 4.1 North of Antwerp 4.2 South of Antwerp 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Learn 8 Eat 8.1 Any time 8.2 Lunch 8.3 Diner 9 Drink 9.1 Clubs 10 Specialities 11 Sleep 12 Contact 13 Get out 13.1 Belgium 13.2 The Netherlands 13.3 France 14 Stay safe

Understand

Antwerp is a very old city. There have been excavations from the Gallo-Roman times. It's name probably comes from "aan de werpe", which is Dutch for "at the throw" referring to where the river throws its sand. The name also has a funny anecdote saying it comes from "Hand werpen", which translated is "throwing (a) hand(s)". In the official flag, the castle "het Steen" and the hand of Antwerp are shown.

In the 16th century, Antwerp was one of the most important financial centres of the world, where traders from all over Europe and Asia sold and bought their goods. After the siege of Antwerp in 1585 by the Spanish, this role as a financial centre was taken over by Amsterdam. Nevertheless, since the 19th century and especially the 20th century, Antwerp has made a serious economic comeback. At present it is the second largest city in Belgium (appr. 450.000 people), and it has the second largest port in Europe.

Due to its long and culturally rich history, the city of Antwerp houses many interesting historical buildings from different historical periods, as well as a lot of interesting museums. On top of that, during the last years it has become kind of a trendy city, attracting a lot of Flemish and foreign artists, writers, intellectuals and actors. This is reflected in the city's many trendy bars and shops. Antwerp is a city with many faces. It may not be historically preserved as fully as other Flemish medieval cities like Bruges or, to a certain extent, Ghent, it is first of all a very dynamic city, offering a perfect mix of history and present-day modern life.

Get in

By plane

• Antwerp airport, ANR, [2]. There are very few airlines serving this airport. There is a regular bus to the centre, and a taxi costs around 10 Euro.
• Every hour there is a direct bus from and to the national airport Zaventem (Brussels), it costs 8 Euro, and has two stops in Antwerp, at Hotel Crowne Plaza and in the city centre, in front of Central Station. Taking the train from Zaventem is also an option to arrive in Antwerp. (tickets at around 4 euro, change trains in Brussels-North)

By train

There are good train connections from and to the national airport Zaventem (Brussels). International trains from France and The Netherlands (Thalys [3]) stop in Antwerp- central (during the re-make of the station many international trains stop in Antwerpen-Berchem). To plan your trip you can consult the website of the NMBS for national and international travels.

By bus

Antwerp has a Eurolines [4] (at Rooseveltplaats) and Ecolines [5] (at Berchem station square) office with busses coming from all over Europe (and a bit more sometimes).

By car

In 2004-2005 and probably a big part of 2006 many streets are interrupted. Works on the ring around Antwerp have caused many problems, but those works are at their end. Inside Antwerp, the main road ("de Leien") are still undergoing a rebuilding. It may be suitable to leave your car on the outside of Antwerp and enter the city on your own (by public transport for example)

Get around

Districts

Amandus Atheneum, Brederode, Dam Eilandje, Diamant Stadspark, Haringrode Zurenborg, Justitie Harmonie, Kiel, Linkeroever, Schoonbroek Luchtbal, Stadhuis St. Jacob Hessenhuis, St. Andries Bourla, Stuivenberg, Tentoonstelling Den Brandt, Zuid Museum

Public transportation

The public transportation company De Lijn has a dense network of bus, tram and pre-metro connections in the city and wide area around it. You can buy cards of 10 euro at fixed points in town, or buy them inside buses. If you don't have a card you pay more inside the bus. The prices vary around one euro for one and a half hour transportation only limited in distance. The central public transportation point is the Franklin Roosevelt plaats near the central trainstation. Most busses leave from there or from the trainstation.

The trams and pre-metro (underground tram) also cross through the whole town.

Taxi and cars

Taxis are available too, but quite expensive. They await customers at specific locations around town (waving your hand will seldom work) like the Groenplaats or the railway station. You can recognize these places by an orange TAXI sign. The prices are fixed in the taximeter.

It is common practice in Antwerp to use your cell phone to call a taxi when you need one. If you're in need for a taxi, ask a local for the number of a taxi company, or ask it in a pub or at your hotel desk before going out.

If you go out to party, you can also buy a TOV ticket: Taxi en Openbaar Vervoer ("Taxi plus public transport"). It costs 50 cent more, but you get a two euro reduction on the taxi price when you want to go home.

Driving in Antwerp is not as difficult as many big cities in the world but crossroads can seem very chaotic for foreigners. There are few free parking spaces but many spaces where you have to pay (on the street or on underground parkings). Underground parkings are well-indicated. The prices vary around 2 euros per hour.

There are many one-way roads, that can make it difficult to get to a specific place. Try parking your car as close as possible and go on foot.

Bicycle

The city has many special areas for cyclers and most 1-way roads can be accessed in both ways for cycles. It's very easy and comfortable. Make sure to lock your bike to a fixed object or the bike will be stolen! Around town there are a few places that are specialy prepared for hosting bicycles for free like at the Groenplaats.

Bicycles can be rented at several places in town like ligfiets, windroos or Fietsdokter (verschransingsstraat).

On foot

Try it. Antwerp is relatively small and offers many small things to see. You can get maps from various information points over town.

See

North of Antwerp

• Rubenshuis: Rubens' house is now a museum of his life and artwork.
• Plantin Moretus museum: the home of 16th century bookbinder and printer Christoffel Plantin
• One of the oldest zoos in the world, with over 4000 animals and lots of 19th century design and architecture.
• Cathedral of Our Lady: one of the most impressive and biggest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe. It also houses some of Rubens' most famous paintings.
• Carolus Borromaeus Church: unlike the cathedral, this is a Baroque church. Pretty unassuming when seen from the outside, but beautiful decorations (done by Rubens' studio) within.
• City Hall/Old Market Square (Oude Markt): this is the historical centre of town. The market square is surrounded by the typical medieval guild houses you can find in most Flemish historical towns.
• Vleeshuis: literally, this is the "Flesh house"! I think it used to be a trading place for cattle, but the architectural style of the building also reminds one of bacon in a certain way.
• Het Steen ("The Stone", literally): This a rather small medieval castle on the banks of the river Schelde. It used to function as a city fortification, now it houses a naval museum.
• Boerentoren ("Farmers' tower"): now called "KBC-tower" after the company that owns it, this skyscraper in the historical centre of town is said to be the oldest one on the European continent. It was built the beginning of the 1930s. It is located at the end of the Meir shopping street.
• Bourla theatre: 19th century neo-classicist theatre building. Nice from the outside, even nicer if you manage to get in for a theater show or a concert.
• Red Light District: like other cities such as Amsterdam and Hamburg, Antwerp also has its own red light district. It's pretty small and right in the centre of town (near Falconplein). If you want to visit just to do some sightseeing, consider going during the day. Although it's not as bad as it sounds, the district might be a little less safe at night.
• Diamond District: This is the district south and southwest of the central station. As the name already indicates, this is an area where you will find countless jewelry shops, as well as the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, arguably the most important financial centre of the world's diamond industry. The district is also interesting from an ethnic and cultural perspective, since the diamond industry is for at least 50 % in the hands of the city's Jews. Antwerp has a rather large population of Jews (about 50,000 people), a lot of them orthodox. You might want to walk around a bit in this area and just take a look at the people. But remember: on Sabbath day, everybody stays inside their houses, and all the jewish shops are closed.
• Aquatopia, [6].
• Antwerp Zoo One of the oldest Zoos in Europe. Home to more than 5000 animals.

South of Antwerp

Since the restoration a couple of years ago, the south of the city is known as the trendy part.

• MUHKA : museum of contemporary art
• Fotography museum : renovated in 2004
• Fine Arts Museum : Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten boasts of an excellent collection of paintings from the 15th century right up to the 20th century. The museum's permanant collection has masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Brueghel, Van Eyck, Anthony Van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens and James Ensor to name a few.
• Zuiderpershuis is located on the "kaaien" and is a center for intercultural art.
• Het Muntplein, a place where grafitti artists can make artworks without being chased by police. There are often very nice creations and there are grafitti contests on a regular basis.
• Palace of Justice (Justitiepaleis): there are actually two of these. The old one is a 19th century red brick building on the Frankrijklei. The new one is a dominant, modern, white building in the south of Antwerp (Bolivarplaats). You can really hardly miss it once you're there. The architect of this building was Richard Rogers, who also built the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Millennium Dome in London.

• Zurenborgh neighbourhood: this is a little off the beaten track. This neighbourhood in the south east of Antwerp (near the railway station Antwerpen-Berchem, look for 'Cogels-Osylei' on the map)is known for its eclectic, sometimes rather bizarre 19th century architecture. Consider taking a tram or bycicle to get there.
• Middelheim Park: The center of Antwerp is not so very big, and once you cross the ringroad, you will mainly see suburbs. There are some nice parks outside the ringroad, though, and the Middelheim Park is one of them. It houses a permanent open-air exhibition of modern sculpture, including work by famous artists such as Rodin, Hans Arp, Henry Moore, and many others.

Do

• Simple boat trips around the city.
• Take a tour of the port of Antwerp. One of the largest in the world.
• Visit the city with the official guides.
• Take a tour of the places where tourists don't often come with Antwerpen Averechts.
• In summer there is the Zomer van Antwerpen (summer of Antwerp) an event that takes places during the whole summer in the whole city. Cheap or free activities such as dancing, theater, performances, circus, movies in open air and much more are organised. Reserving is often a must (specially on free activities)
• Take the pedestrian tunnel (St. Annatunnel) to the left bank of the river Schelde. On the left bank, you have a beautiful view on the city centre. You can also take a walk up north alongside the river, and you might be surprised to eventually end up on ... the beach. Yes, there is actually a beach in the river bend, and it's quite popular with the local people. I wouldn't recommend swimming there, though.

Buy

At Ploegstraat 25 you can find a give-away shop, where you can bring and take stuff as you please, without any monetary interaction. Open Mondays to Fridays from 14:00 to 18:00.

The main shopping area is the Meir a street that stretches out from the Keyserlei (close to the central station) to the Groenplaats. It is one of the most famous shopping streets in Belgium. The streets Hopland and Schuttershofstraat are the shopping terrain of the rich and famous with exclusive fashion shops like Cartier, Hermes, Scapa, Armani etc.

Purchasing a diamond at one of the many tourist jewelry shops around the Central station can be an unpleasant experience. Like any bigger diamond city in world there are many tourist trap diamond shops located around the actual diamond district centre. Wealthy diamond buyers should do their investigative shopping online prior to visiting Antwerp. If you're less wealthy and someone asks you to bring back some diamonds from Antwerp, buy diamond-shaped chocolate pralines at e.g. Burie (Korte Gasthuisstraat 3) or Del Rey (Appelmansstraat 5).

Trendy shopping can be done in the Kammenstraat and surroundings. In this area, you will also find the Fashion Museum and many shops of famous Antwerp fashion designers such as Walter van Beirendonck and Dries van Noten.

The Kloosterstraat is chockfull of antique shops, with often bizarre items for sale.

Learn

Antwerp has several highschools (college) and a university. Some of them are

• UA University of Antwerp.
• HA Hogeschool Antwerpen
• Lessius Hogeschool
• Plantijn Hogeschool
• KdG Karel de Grote Hogeschool

Eat

Any time

• As most Flemish towns, you can find many fritkotten in the city. These are places where you can buy french fries and other fried food for a reasonable price. They usually have no place to sit so you must eat standing.
• Pitta/Shoarma: these shops are often open through the day and are the last ones to close.

Lunch

• People often go eat a "smos", a bread with several layers of garniture in it. The name refers to the mess you make when trying to eat it. You can find them in several stores like Panos or foodmaker. The most famous "smoskes" acording to students are found at "Jean-Pierre". You can find it opposite of the university (Grote Kauwenberg 41).

Diner

• De Keyserlei is a street with a varied choice of restaurants. Also check out the sidestreets, they offer even more choice. This is the perfect opportunity to try out South-African or Lebanese cuisine!
• Da Giovani is a cheap italian restaurant. It is popular among students because of their 20% discount. A second "Da Giovanni" is located on the Keyserlei, near the central station.
• Tropicos at Tabakvest-Hopland corner is known for its lively south-american atmosphere, caipirinha cocktails and tasteful Brazilian - Mexican kitchen.
• The Hilton hotel has a restaurant overviewing the Groenplaats.
• De wok en het tafeldier is a show-restaurant serving wok-food. It is prepared in front of you by cooks in a spectacular ways. It's an all you can eat buffet with very reasonable prices (22 euros per person at the end of 2004) It is located in the south of Antwerp
• Govinda's garden (Amerikalei 184) is the restaurant of the Krishnas. They serve healthy macrobiotic food for a small price. Only open in the evenings.

Drink

• 't Waagstuk. A famous Belgian Beer Cafe
• Berlin trendy place to be in the centre of town
• De Muze, a jazz café located in Melkmarkt. Relaxed atmosphere, and live (jazz) music played in a regular basis. Beyond typical Belgian beers, coffee lovers can enjoy a true Italian Expresso or, if willing to drink something bigger, a "Koffie Vertreek".
• In the Paeters Vaetje, in the Cathedral Square, you can order more than one hundred different kinds of beer. In summertime you can also sit outside.
• If that's not enough, go to Kulminator, which has more than five hundred different beers, if you count different vintages as different beers. (Vlemickveld)
• De Pelgrom a cafe that is located in an old underground storage place. They have a medieval touch as decoration. (Pelgrimsstraat)
• Kassa4. Very popular student pub with a good choice of alternative music. Could be very crowded at times. Located in the student neighbourhood, on the Ossenmarkt.

Clubs

• De Cinema, [7]. Very popular among students
• Boozoo.
• Café D'Anvers, [8].
• Petrol, [9]. The most trendy club and concert venue at the moment. Located on a deserted industrial terrain south of the city, somewhat away from the city center. You might need a bicycle or a taxi ride to get there, unless you don't mind a long walk.

Specialities

• De Koninck (commonly called "Bolleke"), beer brewed in Antwerp.
• Antwerpse handjes: Little biscuits or chocolates in the shape of a hand. Invented by a jewish backer in 1932.
• Elixir d'Anvers: a liquor based on plants.
• Clothes designed by the Antwerp Six (Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dries Van Noten, Marina Yee en Dirk Van Saene)
• Waffles at Désiré de Lille [10] (Schrijnwerkersstraat 14-18). Try the Lacquemant or Smoutebollen.

Sleep

• Scoutel, [11]. A scouting youth hostel that is open to everyone and offers affordable accommodations in the center of the city, just around the corner of the central train station.
• Camping Vogelzang, (Vogelzanglaan 7-9). Located at 10 minutes by tram from the heart of the city and perfect for low-budget travelers.
• Boomerang, [12]. A hostel close to the city center.
• Heksenketel, [13]. A hostel close to the city center with very welcoming and homley atmosphere. Dorm beds avalible only (no single or double, etc) in rooms between 4 to 8 beds. tel.: +32 (0)3 226.71.64
• Ibis Hotel Antwerpen Centrum is located in city centre, near the Stadschouwburg theatre and the Vogeltjesmarkt. Contact: (+32)3/2318830
• Elzenveld, Lange Gasthuisstraat 45, [14]. A former hospital that advertises itself as a conference centre, but also offers accommodation.

Contact

There are many places in Antwerp with unprotected WAP access. If you have a portable computer with wireless internet, you can always take a ride on those networks. Some cafés have wireless internet too with prices around 5 euro for an hour. A grab in the possibilities: Café Zurich (Verlatstraat 2), Bozart (Leopold De Waelplaats) and Ultimatum (Grote Markt 8).

• 2Zones [15] has a very good service. they ask 4,5 euro an hour but you can do everything you might need to do (printing, scanning, cd-burning, reading camera's, ...)
• Poolplanet [16] 6 computers, 1 euro for half an hour. Printing is possible.
• In the library you can have internet for pretty cheap. Many options are disabled and printing is not possible.

Get out

Since Flanders (and Belgium) is not big, it's very easy to take the train and go visit another city. It's very well possible to make a daytrip to every city. Try to organise yourself beforehand because finding good information can sometimes be difficult.

Belgium

• Bruges: Very nice old town. Often called "Venice of the North" because of the many rivers that flow through and under it.
• Brussels: The capital of Belgium.
• Ghent: a medieval town.

Getting to Wallonia is also very easy from Flanders.

The Netherlands

• Amsterdam: You can take a direct train to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. There is about one train an hour and it will take you about one and a half hour to get there.Amsterdam is well-known for it's grachten, many bicycles and cofeeshops.

• Zeeland: where the Schelde reaches the ocean. It's about one hour by train and you will have to change in the Netherlands.

France

• Lille: is very famous among others for having a the largest bookstore in Europe ("Le furet du Nord"). Lille is in the French part of Flanders. The trainride is pretty long (over 2 hours) making it less easy for a daytrip.

The dutch name is Rijsel and the town is not to be confused with another flemish town called Lille in Dutch!

• Paris: With the Thalys you can be there in about two hours.

Stay safe

Most parts of Antwerp are pretty safe. Some neighbourhoods are to be avoided in the evening. All touristic areas are safe at night. The warnings that are used in every city have to be observed here too of course.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!