The Stadsfeestzaal
Shopping Center in Antwerp, formerly a city banquet hall
We had been to Antwerp before, briefly, (the Belgians call it Antwerpen, the French call it Anvers), and I didn't remember much about it. So when we decided to go there to meet up for a day with some old friends, and then added a few more days onto our trip, I wasn't all that excited to spend time in the city. After all, the French, as you may know, have a sort of ongoing distain for the Belgians, who are the brunt of many a joke. The stereotype is that they are a bit simple and all they eat are french fries.
Example:
Q: Comment fait-on pour rentrer douze Belges dans un coffre de voiture ?
A: On jette une frite à l’intérieur.
( Q: How do you get twelve Belgians in the trunk of a car?
A: You throw a french fry inside.)
The Belgians, by the way, can give it right back to them, usually based on the stereotype that the French think they are superior to all.
Example:
Pour devenir riche, achetez un français au prix qu'il vaut, et revendez-le au prix auquel il s'estime.
(To get rich, buy a Frenchman at the price that he's worth, and resell him at the price that he thinks he's worth).
But I digress. What I want to tell you is that, in spite of myself, I was totally charmed by this Belgian city, both edgy and elegant. The architecture is fabulous. It seems there are more pedestrian streets than auto ones, all connecting charming little squares.
A tantalizing glimpse of a bistro off a narrow alley
This gorgeous building was on our favorite small square, Hendrik Conscienceplein
As far as I can tell, the main occupation of the citizens is DRINKING. Day drinking, night drinking, anytime drinking. The city is brimming with bars and their outdoor terraces, and they are packed with locals all day. Do these folks ever WORK?
Primed with alcohol, everyone is quite friendly. This is the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The Dutch are a fun-loving group, and some of their esprit seems to have spilled over the border, which is close by. Including the tradition of going everywhere by bike, with the whole family aboard. Amazingly I don't think we met a single person who didn't speak fluent English.
It helped that we had a hotel that we loved, the Hotel Franq. The lobby used to be a grand bank, and the vault now holds their wine collection. There was a surprise inside the internal courtyard: a historic Belgian bungalow.
The lobby at the Hotel Franq
The walled courtyard, with its little maison
We dined on the river, climbed to the top of the iconic city museum, visited gardens, and peeked into the luxury hotels that were out of our budget. Come along for the tour, and you may be inspired to put Antwerp on your travel list too!
(There is one other special place we visited on our trip. But that is a post for another day).
We started each day at this tucked-away breakfast place. If you go, you must try this Antwerp specialty: a "pecan plait"–basically a croissant with a pecan pie filling.
We had a pecan plait every morning
First stop, Antwerp's famous MAS museum, with its theme of global connectedness. One can ride a series of escalators to the top, and the views just keep getting better. One thing I liked: pix of Antwerp residents of all ages lining the escalator walls, showing off the things they loved.
A little detour to the Cat Café. Gotta love a city that has a busy cat café on one of its main streets. Take that, JD Vance!
Cat: I'm in your lap, you ARE taking me home, aren't you? Me: How I wish!
Next, off to the Botanical Garden. Here are some pix of the statuary, and the tearoom:
Man emerging–or descending?
Next to the gardens was the Botanic Sanctuary, a new 5-star super luxury hotel in a renovated abbey complete with chapel, which we could only dream over:
the Foyer
The restaurant
The Lobby
Street Scenes:
Madonnas on buildings were a reoccuring theme; they protect the city
We passed this restauraneur at the
Caramba several mornings, and he kindly became our de facto tour guide
Pick out your tattoo, from this storefront window
Whimsy was everywhere:
In a square, a
famous statue of a boy and his dog, from a beloved children's book
Statues climb a building
Bye-Bye! We left from the "World's Most Beautiful Train Station".
I took this photo of the train station from the
Grand Duca restaurant
Favorite READS: Natalia likes a new book by Jodi Picoult, By Any Other Name. Did Shakespeare write all of his own work, or was a woman behind it? She explores the question in this novel. A book that's on my list that seems to be closely related is Shakespeare's Sisters, by Ramie Targoff, which follows the lives of four women writers in the English Renaissance–a time when women were not supposed to be writers. By the way, this author will speak at the Charleston Literary Festival in November. Book lovers, you will want to check out this festival! Or if you don't want to leave your armchair, peruse their schedule to discover the hot books du jour.
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18 thoughts on “So Hip, So Urban, So ANTWERPEN”
I would go there for the pecan plait. I noticed the flowering vine in the botanical garden seems to be the same as my morning glory which my mother gave to me. Where to next? I love your traveling in France and around. Enjoyed the blog! Take care.
I would go there for the pecan plait. I noticed the flowering vine in the botanical garden seems to be the same as my morning glory which my mother gave to me. Where to next? I love your traveling in France and around. Enjoyed the blog! Take care.
I would go there for the pecan plait. I noticed the flowering vine in the botanical garden seems to be the same as my morning glory which my mother gave to me. Where to next? I love your traveling in France and around. Enjoyed the blog! Take care.
Lynn,through these fantastic pictures,(and the fact that you are just an expert tour guide–arm chair or otherwise!–) we really feel like we’ve had a lovely visit to Antwerp.Rod and I somehow always missed having it on our itinerary,and I totally agree with you,it is unexpectedly charming(and honestly, not at all what I had pictured in my mind’s eye).The obvious thing here that really speaks out to me,though,is their love for their cats and dogs.What was it Gandi said?”The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. YES!!!!
My book suggestion this time is one(or two) for the coffee table:Monet’s Table( and its–what I dubbed- companion volume for me,Renoir’s Table).I had purchased these (on Amazon,where they are still available) sometime ago,just strictly out of curiousity.(They did not–and do not–disappoint.What menus!Wow!)
I confess I had quite forgotten about this duo,and then after a friend made a memorable trip to Giverny, I found myself digging them out of our library and enjoying all over again.
Lynn,through these fantastic pictures,(and the fact that you are just an expert tour guide–arm chair or otherwise!–) we really feel like we’ve had a lovely visit to Antwerp.Rod and I somehow always missed having it on our itinerary,and I totally agree with you,it is unexpectedly charming(and honestly, not at all what I had pictured in my mind’s eye).The obvious thing here that really speaks out to me,though,is their love for their cats and dogs.What was it Gandi said?”The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. YES!!!!
My book suggestion this time is one(or two) for the coffee table:Monet’s Table( and its–what I dubbed- companion volume for me,Renoir’s Table).I had purchased these (on Amazon,where they are still available) sometime ago,just strictly out of curiousity.(They did not–and do not–disappoint.What menus!Wow!)
I confess I had quite forgotten about this duo,and then after a friend made a memorable trip to Giverny, I found myself digging them out of our library and enjoying all over again.
Lynn,through these fantastic pictures,(and the fact that you are just an expert tour guide–arm chair or otherwise!–) we really feel like we’ve had a lovely visit to Antwerp.Rod and I somehow always missed having it on our itinerary,and I totally agree with you,it is unexpectedly charming(and honestly, not at all what I had pictured in my mind’s eye).The obvious thing here that really speaks out to me,though,is their love for their cats and dogs.What was it Gandi said?”The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. YES!!!!
My book suggestion this time is one(or two) for the coffee table:Monet’s Table( and its–what I dubbed- companion volume for me,Renoir’s Table).I had purchased these (on Amazon,where they are still available) sometime ago,just strictly out of curiousity.(They did not–and do not–disappoint.What menus!Wow!)
I confess I had quite forgotten about this duo,and then after a friend made a memorable trip to Giverny, I found myself digging them out of our library and enjoying all over again.
Alors, qu’est que Bunny Bowling? j’espère qu’il n’est pas dangereux.
Alors, qu’est que Bunny Bowling? j’espère qu’il n’est pas dangereux.
Alors, qu’est que Bunny Bowling? j’espère qu’il n’est pas dangereux.
Thanks for this virtual visit to Antwerp; I especially love the art work, particularly the climbing statues and am salivating with the thought of pecan plaits. I always enjoy your posts.
Thanks for this virtual visit to Antwerp; I especially love the art work, particularly the climbing statues and am salivating with the thought of pecan plaits. I always enjoy your posts.
Thanks for this virtual visit to Antwerp; I especially love the art work, particularly the climbing statues and am salivating with the thought of pecan plaits. I always enjoy your posts.
J’adore! Un grand merci. Francine
J’adore! Un grand merci. Francine
J’adore! Un grand merci. Francine
Enjoyed the highlighting of this city. Upon reading the unnecessary political comment on a current candidate decided to skim through the remaining photos and eliminate reading any other commentary. The photos provided enough information to know this is a city to add to my want-to-see list.
Enjoyed the highlighting of this city. Upon reading the unnecessary political comment on a current candidate decided to skim through the remaining photos and eliminate reading any other commentary. The photos provided enough information to know this is a city to add to my want-to-see list.
Enjoyed the highlighting of this city. Upon reading the unnecessary political comment on a current candidate decided to skim through the remaining photos and eliminate reading any other commentary. The photos provided enough information to know this is a city to add to my want-to-see list.