Antwerp City Guide

Adjust font size:

Check out The Scene's recommendations for the Flemish fashion capital and send us your ideas and suggestions.

SEE: The best way to arrive in Antwerp is on a train into the city's domed Centraal Station, an opulent monument to the age of steam commissioned by Leopold II in 1895. Once marked for demolition it has now been fully restored to its original gilded glory. Step outside the station and you'll find yourself in Antwerp's famous Diamond District, which handles around 80 percent of the world's rough diamonds and packs the armed guards to prove it. For a taste of the old Antwerp pay a visit to the Rubenshuis (Wapper), the former home of the 17th century Baroque painter and now a museum dedicated to his life and work, and then head to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Leopold De Waelplaats), which features work by the likes of Rubens, Brueghel and Fouquet. For a more contemporary take on the city, check out MuHKA (the Museum of Contemporary Art of Antwerp, Leuvenstraat), housed in a former grain silo and featuring works by the likes of Luc Tuymans. The museum is also at the heart of the revived Zuid district, an up-and-coming area renowned for its bars, galleries and general hipness. One gallery worth visiting before it leaves its current dockside space later this year is Extra City(Kattendijkdok). Fashionistas should also pay a pilgrimage to the ModeNatie building (Nationalestraat) -- home to both the MoMu fashion museum and the Antwerp's celebrated Flanders Fashion Institute.

BE SEEN: If you've spent any time at all clubbing in the past 15 years, you're probably as familiar with Belgian techno as Belgian beer and Tintin. Antwerp is where it all started at the legendary Cafe D'Anvers (Versersrui) in the heart of the Red Light District -- it's brash, expensive and loud and probably past its prime. If you're a purist, try instead Club Industria (Indiestraat), a converted warehouse that only opens on a Saturday and mixes vaudeville performers such as fire-eaters and stilt walkers with superstar DJs from around the world. With its riverside terrace and cocktail crowd, Hanger 41 (Sint-Michielskaai) is a popular summer party spot while the Velvet Lounge is as sumptuously and studiously laidback as its name suggests. If you prefer your entertainment a little more edgy, check out Schipperskwartier, the Red Light District, for its democratic mix of sailors's cafes and gay bars. Red and Blue (Schipperskapelstraat) is described by some as the best gay club in Flanders. If you'd rather just take in a few Belgian beverages, Antwerp is perfect for a pub crawl, with countless old-fashioned brown bars to explore. One of the oldest and most famous is Den Engel (Grote Market) on the main square. Make sure you visit De Vagant (Reyndersstraat) early on -- with 200 Belgian gins (jenervers) to choose from you may not make it much further.

EAT AND DRINK: The genuine Flemish food experience is, of course, frites, served up in a paper cone and splashed in mayonnaise, or alongside a steaming bowl of moules in countless brasseries around the city. For more cosmopolitan fare, try the Swedish-influenced Absoluut Zweeds (Wijngaardstraat) or the Mediterranean-themed Lux (Adriaan Brouwerstraat) -- two of new crop of restautants that have helped establish Antwerp as one of the best places to eat out in Europe. You'll need to book ahead if you want to eat at Gin Fish (Haarstraat) but you'll enjoy a unique dining experience in exclusive company. Chef Didier Garnich -- who gave up a Michelin star to pursue his own more idiosyncratic culinary experiments -- cooks up a delicious seafood feast each night from ingredients picked up at local markets. There's no choice, but why should you care when the food is so good? Given the emphasis that Antwerpenaars place on looks, it's no surprise that good food goes hand-in-hand with good design at some of the city's best restaurants. Check out Horta (Hopland), MoMU's Brasserie National (Nationalestraat) and Confituur (Volkstraat).

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

---

• Dubai shock after debt standstill call
• Feds: Couple crashed Obama's state dinner
• Orphan finds new life in Israel
• Politician charged over Philippines massacre
• German army chief quits over airstrike claims

• Irish PM to quit over payments scandal
• NATO chief: Afghan troop increase likely
• Militants hunted as calm retuns to Basra
• Pressure on Bush to skip Olympics
• BA sending misplaced T5 baggage to Milan

• Recruiting suicide bombers (2:50)
• London was lucky (2:36)
• Cars in London rigged as bombs (3:48)
• Second explosives-packed car foun (2:32)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)