How to spend a weekend in Antwerp: the hot new design destination

Antwerp is truly is an underrated city, punching well above its weight culturally. It’s a place where fresh ideas and cutting-edge design inhabit grand, centuries-old architecture. But unless you’re operating in the top rungs of the design industries, it may well have flown under your radar.

Small and perfectly-formed, it is home to design titans such as Dries Van Noten, Axel Vervoordt and Pieter Mulier — the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts is known for churning out the next generation of notable designers. It’s also well known for its diamond trade and the docks along the river Scheldt that bought in all those 16th century riches still rattle and clank.

Its compact layout makes it a glorious weekend city break, whether floating through the antiques markets and shops in Kloosterstraat, sampling chocolate and marvelling at Rubens House in the historical centre or cycling through Zurenborg’s striking Art Nouveau architecture.

All can be achieved on foot or by bike, and some of the best spots sit hiding down Mediaeval cobbled lanes or in secret courtyards smothered in ivy. And with a slew of intriguing restaurants and hotels jazzing up various neighbourhoods, and the long-awaited re-opening of the KMSKA, The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, there’s never been a better time to visit.

Stay

Botanic Sanctuary

Once a 13th century labyrinthine monastery and hospital, Botanic Sanctuary is now Antwerp’s first sprawling 5* hotel, with grand, botanically-inclined interiors speaking to a tasteful, well-heeled clientele. As such, not only has this painstaking renovation project transformed the neighbourhood lacking vim (thanks to the visionary duo designer Maryse Odeurs and real estate magnate Eric De Vocht), it’s put this often overlooked gem of a city firmly on the map.

As well as being mercifully more affordable than the top rung Amsterdam or Parisian hotels, the hotel offers so much more: a spa high up in the tree canopy which pulls in all that Godly sunlight; calm, tech-competent terracotta and ochre bedrooms that promote rest; and serious foodie credentials (three of their five restaurants are Michelin starred).

Henry’s Bar and Bistro spills onto a whimsically beautiful courtyard, where couples giggle and chatter on topiary-backed benches and families dissect langoustines and shrimps under candlelight. Then there’s the Michelin hat trick: Joachim Boudens and Gert de Mangeleer’s experiential Japanese Hertog Jan; Thomas Dierpersloot and Jacob Jan Boarma’s right-on, culinary alchemy at Fine Fleur and star pastry chef, Roger Van Damme’s intricately crafted morsels in a Hansel & Gretal-style cottage wrapped in greenery. The hotel’s culinary ambitions go well beyond this with new openings in the mix, as well as similarly haute coffee shops, restaurants and wine bars cropping up in the near vicinity (courtesy of the owners’ vision and wallet).

While seizing on an organically refined design brief, there’s nothing remotely modish or hipster about this hotel. Staff exhibit an immaculate professionalism of a bygone era, always a step ahead of guests without smothering or interrupting good conversation. Interiors are sumptuously homely and varied, with a reverence to monastic simplicity being a common thread, lifted here and there by largely contemporary works from the couple’s private art collection.

It’s worth dragging yourself out of the divinely comfortable beds for breakfast — a holy feast of a buffet which contains all 48 of the hotel’s kitchen garden herbs (framed in orderly fashion above the smoked herring, superior granola and Belgian cheeses and charcuterie). And, having zigzagged through Antwerp’s warren of architecture, design shops and museums, weary muscles are well seen to in the spa, a sort of steamy, Babylonian realm where a vast, green house encased pool is elevated high above the landscaped courtyards and Mediaeval architecture.

Book it: Doubles from £385 per night. botanicantwerp.be

Do

KMSKA, The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp

The museum’s imposing 19th century exterior belies the extreme minimalism inside, with each space conceived as an intriguing canvas for a multitude of Flemish works. It took all of 11 years to bring it to this thrilling point, exemplifying the city’s knack for meshing old with new, and creating walls and rooms worthy of Dalís and Rubens. Linger at the Madonna Café for its striking, velvety interiors and artist-inspired treats. The museum runs lates every Thursday evening, which can include curator lectures, live music and dance performances, beyond simply ogling at the old and modern masters; and walk-in, artist-led workshops in summer on Wednesday afternoons. kmska.be

The Middelheim Museum

The composition of the landscaped gardens and the statues peppering them at the Middelheim Museum’s gardens is captivating and unequivocally beautiful. Sculptures span works from Rodin and Calder to Ai Wei Wei, toying with the resplendent Belgian landscape and shifting handsomely through the seasons. Come here to walk off any waffle excess then hunker down in the cafe after for more tea and cake. middelheimmuseum.be

Vlaeykensgang Alleyway

This cluster of Medieval houses, all hidden down a cobbled alleyway, were saved from demolition and artfully renovated by Antwerp’s design maestro Axel Vervoordt. Now a warren of restaurants and bars, the buildings’ original characters have been deftly preserved — one remains in the grip of a thick, centuries-old vine and windows blink out through dense ivy. Sir Anthony Van Dyck (one of Antwerp’s most beloved restaurants) inhabits one of these 15th century buildings, and it’s worth combining a walk through it (or a table) with a peak inside Antwerp’s Gothic icon, the Cathedral Of Our Lady.

Antwerp Antiques District

For a small city, Antwerp is riddles with flea markets and Antiques shops – you’ll likely pass a live auction during a saunter around Mechelsesteenweg and Leoppoldstraat, with punters pulling up, vans filled to the brim with gilt wares and old oil paintings. At the end of Kloosterstraat, Sint-Jansvliet Sunday Market is a pocket-sized trove of silverware, pieces seemingly plucked from the grand estates surrounding, and don’t miss the Sint-Anna Tunnel – a retro underground station whose wooden escalators would make Wes Anderson blush.

KANAAL

Just 20-minutes outside the city, KANAAL is a former distillery refashioned by Axel Vervoordt as a cultural hub, where big players exhibit thought-provoking works and Verveoordt’s signature blend of brutalism and heritage is at its finest. From inspecting contemporary Cuban Artists Tatsuo Miyajima’s Spirits in the Water in the distillery’s former silos to climbing the steely stairs leading to Axel Vervoordt’s gallery, fall into the grip of these artists and the designers worlds who are restitching the very fabric of Antwerp for future generations. kanaal.be

Eat

Henry’s Bar & Bistro

Inspired by Henri-Ferdinand van Heurck, the famous 19th century botanist directing Antwerp’s Botanical Garden, this svelte drinking den-cum-bistro feels at once relaxed and refined. While the bar is dressed in lavish velvets, Art Deco lighting and statement contemporary artworks, with cosy nooks to nurse drinks in, the restaurant pulls in the daylight and courtyard greenery through an orangery-style space, then spills onto it in white tablecloth and silver service formation.

Evenings here are a candle-lit affair, with tables devouring steak frite, spaghetti vongole, foie gras and other elevated spins on the bistro classics over good conversation. And while the service and culinary standards may be sky high (with an extraordinary wine list plucked from the Bar’s own cellars), there’s no stiffness or insufferable ‘scene’ that you’d find at this sort of joint in other cities.

Ciro’s

This Belgian institution pulls you in with its brassy, white tablecloth old school charm and classic Flemish fare. The no-frills menu feels equally nostalgic, with mushrooms-on-toast, home-made shrimp croquettes, and all sorts of steak cooked in all sorts of ways. It heaves with locals most evenings, especially in winter for its traditional wooden-panelled embrace and cockle-warming beef casserole. Book ahead (and don’t be put off by the prolific use of brain dishes on the menu). ciros.be

Osaka

If you’re in need of a brief hiatus from the rich, meaty Flemish fare, tuck under one of the aggressively minimalist tables at Osaka (their industrial interiors as cold and clean as the sushi and deftly-curated natural wines). The menu changes with the seasons, though there’s usually some inventive ice cream or cream puff pudding to round off the kimchi croquettes and shrimp and ginger dim sum. osaka-camino-tapout.com

Restaurant Veranda

Embodying Antwerp’s low-key sensibility despite its lofty standards, Restaurant Veranda is a no-frills bistro that hones in on vegetarian and seafood plates. Chef Davy Schellemans menu feels authentic and substance-driven, shifting with Belgium’s seasonal bounty and finely tuned to a wine list, with plenty of intriguing labels. Look forward to plates such as white asparagus and sardines, baked celeriac with ham, and pared down interiors that match the elevated simplicity of the food. restaurantveranda.be

Coffee and Pastries

Caffeination

Antwerp’s original third wave coffee joint, Caffenation can be lauded for bringing specialty coffee to the city. Shortly after Rob Berghman opened his trailblazing coffee shop right in the city centre, he began roasting Ethiopian and Kenyan beans at PAKT (Antwerp’s reimagined Industrial site). Come here for richly flavoured, beautifully-textured coffee and a young, digital nomad scene (a great, casual spot for bashing out a few emails). caffenation.be

Butchers Coffee

Occupying a former butchers, this is where a young, stylish crowd (courtesy of its proximity to the KMSKA) start their weekends on tea-infused granola with yoghurt from local brand Hollebeekhoeve and ‘old school’ BLTs on brioche. The coffee alone is enough to bike or bumble to this hip Zuid neighbourhood spot for, and the fun baristas and understated, white-washed interiors keep it free of any formalities. butcherscoffee.be

Cafe Storm

An alternative style of cafe to those in Antwerp’s central neighbourhoods, Cafe Storm is found on the bottom floor of the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom). It’s dark, wood, leather and concrete interiors spill onto a sunny terrace, with views over the Antwerp Eilandje (more of a Scandinavian waterfront scene than one most visitors will associate with Belgium). The city has only just begun experimenting with swimming areas (which require booking ahead to use and can be found a few metres from the terrace). Wash down cheese and charcuterie boards with cool Belgian beer, or come here for coffee and freshly-baked cake before scaling the museum stairs for a birds eye view of the city. cafe-storm.com

Drink

Tazu

One of Antwerp’s coolest cocktail bars, Tazu is found down a Medieval alley and fills out the building’s old bones with design flare, courtesy of the prodigious Axel Vervoordt. Amid the gnarled wooden beams and flagstone floors, well-informed punters sip sake martinis and Ginza Stars in a cosy lounge area, or hoik themselves up to the sushi counter for more imaginative japanese cocktails with flawless slivers of sashimi and nigiri. tazu.be

Dogma

You could easily visualise Ernest Hemingway or Oscar Wilde propped up at the bar of this under-the-radar drinking den. You could equally as easily float past its old town address, forgoing the energetic mixologist theatrics and their off-beat creations. And like a Russian doll, there’s a speakeasy within a speakeasy — you just need to figure out which bookshelf, before moving into the third Navy Grog. dogmacocktails.be

Marigold

A compact cocktail bar with highly Instagrammable interiors, Marigold hits all the right design notes, and gently lifts its nibbles and cocktails with a touch of La Dolce Vita. Interiors feel quietly glamorous, in a powdery, nostalgic way — and the heavy drapes and vinyl only add to the retro appeal. marigold.bar

Shopping

The best way to ‘shop Antwerp’ is to wander aimlessly with a credit card and, preferably, some empty shelves at home. The Flemish city’s original concept store Graanmarkt 13 (graanmarkt13.com), paved the way for all its cool, independent brand-stocked disciples and remains worth of a visit, for its whimsical townhouse settling as well as its one-of-a-kind ceramics, niche knitwear brands and objets d’art. For Belgian chocolate (a must), slip into Napoleon's Palace () in the city centre where The Chocolate Line by Dominic Julius fills the old kitchens and resplendent rooms with divine wafts of melted chocolate (compile your own box of truffles and pralines, with every flavour imaginable). And for fashion, beeline for Dries Van Noten (one of the Antwerp Six) where a 19th century Modepaleis has received a tap from the notorious designer’s magic wand — the ultimate canvas for his offbeat designs and head-turning print combinations.