Bonjour, and welcome to Antwerp! Well, to my Antwerp guide but I’m afraid that’s as close as I can get you to the actual place. I think I mentioned a couple of posts back how much I fell in love with the city – I had absolutely no expectations going there and didn’t know anyone who’d been there either who could give me the low-down, but within the first 24 hours I was totally and utterly in love. In fact, make that within two hours. I’ll start with the hotel, because that was our first port of call and played a big part in how deeply I fell for ole Antwerp.
The Hotel
The Hotel
So, De Witte Lelie. I’d looked at lots of photos before we’d arrived – as you do – so already had a rough idea of what it looked like but was totally unprepared for how lovely it was going to be in real life. As well as its incredible décor – which, seriously, is second to none – it’s one of the most welcoming hotels I’ve ever been in. There are only twelve rooms but there’s no sense of claustrophobia or being kept an eye on, it’s very much like staying with a very laid back host family who just so happen to have the house of dreams. The rooms are gorgeous, some have wooden spiral staircases in the middle of them (I know, amazing) and are quite dark and rustic and cosy whereas others, like the Presidential Suite, are more modern and airy. Breakfast was, much to my delight, heaven. There’s everything from meats and cheeses to pastries and croissants to eggs cooked to order. There are two beautiful lounges in the hotel as well which make for the perfect place to relax and read a book; we actually sat up late one night and had a wee cup of tea by the fire and talked for hours. Honestly, I don’t have a single bad thing to say about it and couldn’t recommend it more as a base for any Antwerp adventures! I, as always, found them through Small Luxury Hotels of The World - truly, you need to get your butt on there if you haven't already if you have a penchant for quirky, beautiful and all round wonderful hotels.
WHAT TO DO
What to do, what to do, what to do. We did a lot of wandering on foot, which is the best way to get to know the city for sure. Going up and down all the little streets, in and out of all the shops, down Vlaeykensgang - a little alley which dates all the way back to 1591 - with many, many cafe stops thrown in along the way. We walked down to the riverfront one day to see Steen castle and, whilst we were there, made a wee stop off at St Anna's Tunnel which goes right under the river to connect the left and right banks of Antwerp and is definitely worth a look, especially for the old wooden escalators - which have been there since it opened - that take you down to it (and take you back in time simultaneously). Of course, no visit is complete without a visit to Grote Markt which is home to the city hall, lots of beautiful traditional 16th century Guildhalls, Brabo Fountain and an ice rink in Winter. Just off of the main square is The Cathedral of Our Lady which dates all the way back to 1352 and has beautiful views across the city. We didn’t get the chance to visit whilst we were these – which I will live to regret – but The Chocolate Line is a chocolate shop that sells every kind of chocolate under the sun and is meant to be up there with the tastiest in Belgium. Ooh - also - make sure and visit Central Station which is a truly breathtaking building! The weather was very much against us when we were there and, although we still had lots to do, I’d really love to go back in the Summer. One lovely lady told us that the streets are filled with food carts, live music and performances and people sitting outside in the sun drinking; "if you live in Antwerp, there’s no desire to go anywhere else in Summer", which I thought was truly lovely.
WHERE TO EAT
I have so much food fomo from our time there. Not that I regret anything we did eat, I just wish I had the ability to eat six meals a day instead of three as there were SO many lovely looking restaurants we couldn't squeeze in a visit to. One I will definitely definitely recommend to you is Falafal Tof. We ate there on our first night as it was recommended as being good for gluten free (it is) with me having a falafel salad box and Kirsty having a wrap and oh my god those FALAFELS. I still think about them now. It’s hard to imagine a falafel that’s anything but, well, falafel-y but these were something else. And the wedges, oh those sweet sweet potato wedges, please promise me you’ll get some if you go. So that meal, including drinks and sides, came to a grand total of 15e. Wonderful, huh? We loved it so much that we actually went back the next day for round ii. Right next door is Sultan's Coffee Shop which serves up all my favourite specialty drinks – matcha lattes and turmeric lattes, you know the kind – which I’d been struggling to track down. I know, I’m such a little asshole seeking out a matcha latte but I think I have a slight addiction to those green mugs of goodness. They also do lots of vegan food and cakes there too FYI! Another amazing, and really well priced meal we had was at Super Natural, which is just along the street from De Witte Lelie, and served up lots of delicious Thai and Japanese food - there were a few vegan and gluten free options here too. And Bubble Waffle Cafe! Newly opened and serving up some amazing waffle creations for your pleasure. The Hong Kong bubble waffles are a lot lighter than your usual waffle so you don't feel too naughty/bloated after eating them. We didn’t get to try it ourselves but we’ve also been told Het Gerecht, Meat Factory and Fish A'Gogo are great!
WHERE TO SHOP
And, of course, we shopped. There are SO many amazing
independent shops and boutiques that are filled to the brim with unique and verrrry exciting products. You
know sometimes once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all? Not here! They were
all completely different and just as good as each other, much to the dismay of
my already bulging suitcase. I’d recommend a visit to Mme Bovary for unique
jewellery, plant pots, gifts and cards (make sure to say hello to the lovely Barbara whilst
you’re there), The Other Shop for great books and for cards that are completely different to the
usual, IMS for more magazines than you
could ever dream of from all around the world and to Monique Stam for interiors. I’m not kidding, I think – big claim
– that it’s one of my favourite shops I’ve ever been in, I could easily have
spent another hour in there. The décor is out of this world - it’s
like walking around someone’s house admiring everything and secretly wishing it was yours, except this time you
can actually pick things up and buy them. Believe me, I’ve tried that at
friends houses and it’s not as socially acceptable as you'd think. There are a whole number of other great interiors shops – Bazar Bizar and Sissy Boy (which I think might be a chain but does amazing, well-priced interior goodies) are two more worth
noting - so make sure to take the time to have a browse around as many as you can, even just to
window shop as they put so, so much time and effort and creativity into their displays!
And there we have it, a whistle stop tour to Antwerp! It’s
one of the most excited I’ve been about a place in a long time and I honestly can’t
wait to go back. I hope this mini guide helps if you ever decide to go there
yourself!
