TRAVEL
PLANNER - 24 HOURS IN ANTWERP
If you have just a day to go
around this Flemish city, here's a map to help you make the most of it...
The diamond city of Belgium
is blooming in a million forms from cuisine to culture, art to architecture,
ideas to innovation. The infrastructure here makes it easy to reach most places
on foot or bike; and to uncover the city's true essence. Here are the 5 stops
you need to make.
CENTRAL STATION
For a gorgeous start to
your day and a grand first impression, arrive in the city by train. With its
soaring glass ceiling, massive stone walls, elegant hall, palatial stairway and
ornate turnof-the-century architecture, the dimly lit central station is an
architectural gem that finds mention in books and guides.The station looks more
like a palace or church than a train terminal. Dubbed as the `Railway
Cathedral', it is the fourth-most beautiful station in the world. Once you are
out of the gate, to your immediate right is the animal kingdom a zoo that
shelters some exotic species, and to the left is the diamond quarter with shop
windows packed with glittering gems and precious metal.
CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY
A two-minute walk south
will take you to one of the city's most celebrated landmarks Cathedral of Our
Lady (entry: 6 ), which stands tall, gleaming golden in the night lights.It
took 169 long years (1352-1521) of labour to raise this 123-metre heavenward-reaching
steeple of grace, the highest Gothic building in the Low Countries (coastal
region in western Europe). Feast your eyes on its art and architecture, which
includes models by some of the greatest 17th-century Flemish masters.
GROTE MARKT
Near the Cathedral is Grote
Market, the heart of the old city, rich with twisted cobblestone streets,
immaculately-restored guildhalls dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries,
and pretty art galleries and antiques shops. Beer lovers will absolutely love
this area that houses many qui et as well as bustling terrace cafes and bars.
Some of them pour around 1,000 different kinds of beer. Order a mug, bask in
the wafting aroma of strudel and let the splendid sur roundings work their
magic!
WHERE ART MEETS SHOPPING
Treat yourself to culture
and shop ping at the Meir, the wide, traffic-free shopping boulevard that links
Central Station to the historic city centre. At the street level, you have
enticing win dow displays of famous brands and designer boutiques. Look up and
you the Art-Deco Torengebouw Europe's first skyscraper built in 932, the New
Stock Exchange re constructed in an intricate Neo Gothic style and some
handsome Rococo-style buildings. Don't miss the Osterrieth House, Napoleon
Bonaparte's Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace) and the former royal resi dence of
the Belgian Kings! Walk a little more and you reach a square known as Wapper
that connects the two shopping areas. This was where Antwerp's greatest Baroque
painter, Peter Paul Rubens, spent most of his life. Travel back in time by
visiting his former mansion and studio, now called Rubenshuis (entry: 8 ),
which functions as a mu seum filled with brilliant pieces by the artist and his
pupils.
BEER CHEER AT DE KONINCK
When you are at a place
where beer is cheaper than water, you can't miss visiting the speciality
brewery that makes this frothy drink. Explore 10 interactive rooms and discover
the history De Koninck Brewery. Learn what happens behind the scenes and sample
`bolleke' local slang for a glass of ambre-coloured ale served in goblets. You
can register for a private tasting session and learn the art of pairing beer
with some amazing arti sanal foods cheese, meat and chocolate. It's a
deliciously educational way to end a perfect day.
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