Belgium’s second city (after Brussels) is a buzzing town, with several claims to fame. Antwerp (Antwerpen) has been the
diamond capital of the world for centuries. Armed guards and traders with handcuffed briefcases announce that you are in the Diamond Quarter, while a museum tells you all you need to know and dozens of shops sell discounted ’rocks’.
Although Peter Paul
Rubens was German by birth, it is in this city that he spent his adult life, and to which he bequeathed some of his greatest works.
Antwerp’s
port is Europe’s second
(after Rotterdam), one of the 10 largest in the world, and principal source of the city’s wealth. The importance of the city’s
maritime heritage will be celebrated from 2010 with opening of a major new museum dedicated to the topic.
More recently in its history, the city gained fame during the 1980s through the efforts of the ’Antwerp Six’, as they are known in the
fashion world. Their legacy is very much alive today, not just in the Fashion Museum, or in the Antwerp Fashion Academy school, but on many streets, where it seems that every other shop window is a designer statement.
A weekend in this laid back, stylish and confident town (with its handsome main squares, cobbled alleyways, many excellent bars, restaurants and smart shops) will show you just why a recent poll concluded that the citizens of Antwerp are the
happiest city dwellers in Europe.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Belgium Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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