Please welcome today's guest blogger Victoria from www.Pommietravels.com
Even though Belgium is Europe’s capital, this tiny country often gets overlooked and skipped out altogether by travellers on a trip around Europe. However, as they always say, “good things come in small packages” and there’s certainly a lot of appeal and culture crammed into a country of this size. Whilst the capital, Brussels, attracts the most tourists, I would argue Antwerp has the most appeal. Antwerp is small enough to walk around without needing to take public transport, plus it has a laid-back vibe and oozes historic charm. Belgium’s second-biggest city is arguably the coolest, with numerous restaurants, cafes, designer boutiques, art galleries, museums, luxury chocolate shops and diamond stores. Antwerp has cobbled medieval streets lined with stunning archit
ecture and its main attraction is the impressive Cathedral of our Lady. You can shop-till-you-drop in Antwerp’s stores and trendy boutiques, eat mussels in a street side café, ride bicycles round the city, marvel at world class artwork, watch diamonds being cut or try one of the numerous Belgian beers.
Here are some of the top sights and my favourites to see in Antwerp:
Centraal Station- When you step off the train in AntwerpenCentraal, you may not realize it but you are about to step into one of Antwerp’s most famous landmarks. Centraal station is a
masterpiece in its own right and is considered one of the grandest train stations in the world. The ornately decorated station was designed by Louis Delacenserie at the beginning of the 20th century and has a huge glass dome with three levels of platforms.
Rubens House- The famous painter Pieter Rubens bought this baroque house on Wapper Street in 1610 and in subsequent years he had the house extended in his own design, giving it the air of an Italian palazzo. After Rubens’ death his second wife, Helena Fourment, lived in it for several more years before renting it out to William and Margaret Cavendish, the future Duke and Duchess of Newcastle. In 1660 they left and the house was sold by Rubens’ heirs; it remained intact until the second half of the 18th century, when it underwent major remodelling. The house was eventually acquired by the city in 1937 and today the house is
open to the public as a museum, although the only authentic parts that remain are the portico and the garden pavilion. You can walk around his famous home and studio and see some of his art work as well as a collection of works from artists and painters he admired.
Grote Markt- Grote Markt is a huge, pedestrianized square lined with beautiful Renaissance-style buildings; the houses of the Guilds. In the centre of the square is the Brabo fountain, which was created by JefLambeaux in 1887 and shows the legend of how Antwerp got its name. The statue shows a Roman soldier, SilviusBrabo, holding the severed hand of a giant as he throws it into the river. Legend has it that a horrible giant lived on the banks of the river Scheldt and when sailors refused to pay him a toll to cross the river, he cut off their hand. Brabo eventually killed the giant, cut off its hand and threw it into the Scheldt. Antwerp means “to throw a hand”.
Antwerp Zoo- Antwerp Zoo is conveniently situated right slap bang in the centre of the city next to Centraal station. It’s one of the world’s oldest zoos, having stood there since 1843. If you go there for an afternoon it offers a peaceful and open green space in the city with plenty of exotic zoo animals. Tourists and locals flock here to see the Indian elephants, including Kai-Mook, Belgium’s most famous elephant. This young elephant was the first elephant ever to be born in Belgium and there was a big deal made about it in the media.
Diamond District- If diamonds are your best friend then pay a visit to the diamond district south west of Centraal Station. Antwerp is the diamond-cutting centre of the world and if you take a visit to Diamondland you can see them being cut and set. Walk through the streets of the Jewish quarter and observe the amount of diamonds being traded.
Cathedral of Our Lady- The gothic Cathedral is the largest in Belgium and is the central focus in the city of Antwerp. Its sheer size makes it difficult to miss- the spire stands 123 metres from the ground and is visible from miles around. It took 169 years and the work of several architects to build it. There is an incredible story surrounding the cathedral- you may notice as you look up at it that it only has one tower- in the 16th century the city decided to stop working on it and hence it never got a second tower. Inside you can see some of Ruben’s famous works including the Raising of the Cross and the Descent of the Cross.
Het Steen Castle-Head to the waters of the River Scheldt to take a look at the castle known as the ‘Steen’, which translates as “the Stone”. It is Antwerp’s oldest building, a historic medieval fortress built in 1200 which controlled access to the Scheldt. It almost looks like the sort of castle you would see in a Disney movie although it was actually used as a prison from the 14th to the 19th centuries, where horrible executions and tortures took place. The castle is now heavily different because large parts of it were demolished to make way for the development of the quays. Recently it housed the Belgian maritime museum but that has now moved to another location and the Castle is closed. The giant in front of The Steen Castle is Lange Wapper, a tyrant who supposedly lived on the banks of the river and features in folklore tales told by the residents of Antwerp.
Antwerp Ruien- If you don’t mind the smell, you can take a tour through Antwerp’s underground sewer system. It sounds a little odd, but it’s now sanitized and it’s a fascinating tour. You’ll see ditches and canals beneath the streets of Antwerp that are a thousand years old. The three hour tour will take you through the ditches hidden beneath the city and your guide will tell you everything there is to know about their history.
Victoria Brewood is a writer, travel addict and author of Pommie Travels, a site offering tips and advice for independent travellers. Originally from Manchester, Victoria packed her Journalism degree in her suitcase to travel the world and work remotely. She has been to Antwerp four times and Belgium is one of her favourite countries in Europe.
