Tour of Antwerp

Antwerp is a city in the Flemish region of Belgium. The second (after Brussels) city of the country, the largest city in Flanders. Antwerp is located on the picturesque banks of the Scheldt River and is one of the largest ports in the world, the world capital of diamonds and the city of Rubens.
There is an interesting place for researchers with any interests. There are so many interesting places in this ancient city that you need to use the services of a guide to explore it. And to get started, I offer you a sightseeing tour of the city in the Flemish region of Belgium.

This tour of Antwerp may seem like an attempt to “embrace the immense.” In fact, such a number of attractions concentrated in a single city will make even the most sophisticated traveler confused. Your guide to Antwerp will not let you get lost in the intricacies of the city streets.

We arrived by car...

A leisurely walk through the city center will take us about 4 hours. During this time we will get acquainted with the Cathedral, the town hall, the stock exchange of the 16th century, the house in which the butchers guild was located. And Antwerp itself began with Stein Castle or Stone Castle. An impossible building from the 12th century. Here at the unhurried waters of the Scheldt River we will stop in a cozy cafe for tasting Belgian beer. Why is his label showing a hand? So listen to this. . And closer to the evening you will find a table in a cozy restaurant. After a walk around the city, a rabbit marinated in beer and prunes is unusually tasty.

You came by train...

Central Railway Station

A traveler who arrives in Antwerp by train is greeted by the brilliance of diamonds. The acquaintance begins with the “pride entrance” to the city – from the Central Railway Station, built in 1905 and ranked fourth in the list of the most beautiful railway stations in the world. This station can rightly be called “diamond”, because it was specially built where there are shops selling jewelry.

Journey through the Diamond Quarter

Antwerp, being the diamond capital of the world, offers you to immediately plunge into the luxurious shine of the most beautiful stones in the world. You won’t find the best price-quality ratio anywhere. Yes, yes! Antwerp is the central international market for diamond valuation and trading. It has long been engaged in their cutting, turning them into diamonds, which are then sold at very attractive prices. To make it easier and safer for sellers and buyers to come and go, the railway vocals were built right in the center of the diamond quarter. This walk will appeal not only to those who are not indifferent to the brilliance of diamonds, but to everyone who is interested in history in all its manifestations.

City of Fashion

For those who can not imagine their lives without following all fashion trends, we remind that Antwerp is one of the centers of European fashion. We are waiting for the main shopping street of Meyer. Designed as a gateway to the city, it seems to take you into the arms of its eclectic architecture and shops with famous world brands, which with their signs make this street look like all the central streets of European cities. But it's easy to fix by swerving to nearby neighborhoods where boutiques of local fashion designers are waiting for you.

Antwerp is the city of shopping in Belgium and the legislator of Belgian fashion. The famous Antwerp six Belgian fashion designers, which in 1986 in London made a splash in the fashion world, is represented by boutiques of Dries van Noten, An de Molenmeister, Walter de Beraydonck and other fashion designers. This quarter is the MoMU Fashion Museum, where you can get acquainted with the world trends in fashion for several centuries.

However, on Meyer Street in Antwerp there are shops of all international brands in a variety of price categories. It is important to remember that Belgian shops do not work on Sundays, and on weekdays are open until 19-20 hours.

Rubens Town

If you move away from the material and immerse yourself in the spiritual world, then you will meet with the best works of Anton Van Dyck, Jacob Jordans, Frans Snydres, David Teniers, Peter Bruegel Sr. and other prominent representatives of Flemish art.

And of course, the most striking of them is Maestro Rubens, it should be noted that Antwerp is a city of Rubens, whose spirit and creations literally permeate the whole city. Many houses and streets of the city are closely connected with the moments of the life of the great painter. Therefore, a tour of Antwerp is unthinkable without visiting the places where Maestro Rubens lived and was buried. We will see the monument to the painter, talking about whether he wanted to appear before descendants in a similar form.

In the Cathedral of the city, where we will visit, there are four paintings belonging to the brush of the great painter: Exaltation on the cross, Removal from the cross, Ascension of the Virgin, Appearance of Christ to the people. We will learn why his canvases and paintings by other great artists adorn the altars of the cathedral and discuss why the bell towers of the cathedral have different heights. In addition, we will visit the place where Tsar Peter I rose, whose monument still stands in the city.

Culinary journey

During the tour of Antwerp, we will not only delight the look, but also enrich the taste sensations. Cafes and beers in Antwerp work late. We will try local chocolate and taste local beer.

We will see the former residence of the King of Belgium, in which both Napoleon and Alexander I visited, and now the most delicious praline in Belgium from Dominic Person is sold, the Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady is the largest Gothic temple in the entire territory of the former Lowlands, the Renaissance Town Hall, the first international exchange, the Gothic office of the Butchers Guild, Steen Castle ...

Not just people.

Antwerp is the only zoo in Belgium. Once he was the record holder for the number of hippos - there were 18 individuals. And although there are only three left, this zoo invariably attracts many visitors, the number of which has already exceeded 100 million.

And that’s not all you can learn on a guided tour of Antwerp. This city is so diverse that you will want to come back here again and again to learn more about every attraction of the city.