Antwerp

Legend says that Druon Antigoon, a giant once lived at the bend of river Scheldt. He forced all passing ships to pay a toll and those who refused, lost a hand. Things continued this way until a Roman warrior by the name of Silvius Brabo arrived. He killed the giant and threw his hands in the river. Hand werpen (or Hand throwing) later evolved into Antwerpen. And that is how the city of Antwerp got its name. Those of a less fanciful bent say that the name comes from the remains of an ancient Gallo-Roman settlement on a mound or aanwerp along the riverside castle, Steen.

Fortunately enough, no sign remains of hands being chucked into the river and the ruins have long since disappeared, but Antwerp remains a city well worth visiting. It is one of those lovely cities where one can pretty much walk everywhere to see the important sights when visiting a city for the first time. It is dynamic and lively, fashionable almost to a fault and because it is a Belgian city, there are chocolate shops everywhere!

The lively Grote Markt is where all visits inevitably begin. It is a large triangular pedestrianized market square (now there’s an oxymoron!) that is dominated by its Cathedral. The Cathedral is dedicated to our Lady of Antwerp and it is the largest and finest Gothic cathedral in all of Belgium. There are at least 4 Rubens paintings inside so it’s a definite must-see.

Also worth seeing is the Stadhuis (Town Hall) with its impressive facade.

I shouldn’t forget to mention that Antwerp, for a city of such relatively small size, is impressive for its cultural landscape. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts is a treasure trove of Flemish masters led of course by Rubens. It has such an extensive collection that paintings are often rotated. One Museum that we absolutely adored is the Plantin-Moretus which houses the world’s first industrial printing works. It has got to be one of the most interesting museums, I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. In fact the mansion alone is well worth the admission price. It’s really beautiful and the garden inside is delightful. Little wonder that it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The exterior of the Plantin-Moretus museum does a good job of hiding the wonders inside

No less interesting is the Mode Musee which is housed within the complex of the Flanders Fashion Institute and fashion department of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibitions change every 6 months but they are always incredibly interesting, well done exhibitions. Thus, it makes sense that the Mode Musee is the start of the Antwerp fashion walk. During our first visit, they had an exhibit on Maison Martin Margiella. This time around, it was an exhibition on Black. (But more on that in a separate post.) I love that fashion in Antwerp is both accessible and avant -garde. And I love that there are vintage shops everywhere. There is one part of town where I counted at least 3 vintage stores within a square mile.

I'm normally not a great fan of waffles but we discovered what has to be the yummiest waffles in all of Antwerp. Its a tiny place, just a hole in the wall really, but you order your waffles and its made on the spot. You eat it right there and then and its absolutely delicious.

And if that wasn't enough, we also discovered a wonderful little restaurant tucked away on a quiet street close to the river. It may have been a discovery for us but De Kleine Zavel is apparently one of the country's most sought after and reliable restaurants. It deserves such status as the food is excellent and the wine list is impressive. We liked it so much, we had dinner there for every night of our stay. We came away wonderfully satiated each time.
Here you can see the warm interiors of the restaurant...definitely an address worth keeping