Antwerp: Belgium’s creative pulse

Antwerp is Belgium’s best-kept, lesser-trampled city, home to neighbourhoods that each exude a dynamically distinct character. It’s a city rooted in taste: the 1833-brewed, De Koninck, is a recurrent pub pour, street-side food stalls fry Flemish gray shrimp into golden, garnaalkroket (croquettes) to be served fresh with a glass of bubbling white wine, and Verloren Maandag (Lost Monday) ushers bakeries to prepare trays of golden-baked sausage rolls and apple fritters in a tradition originating back to the 18th century. More distinctively still, in the Diamond District, Beni Falafel loads pittas with sauerkraut, tahini, hummus, and a side of latke potato cakes, from an unprepossessing joint that first opened down the street by in 1967. 

Botanic Sanctuary is Antwerp’s prime check-in where history is preserved inside a former 15th-century monastery. It rubs shoulders with a host of creative, lively hangouts; a spritz of perfume from La Maison du Parfum, a hunt through the archives at Antiques by Domm, and a browse through the mindfully crafted, story-driven clothing at Store Acrai, results in a pastry tray from Bakkerij Funk. Here, a queue builds down the street from opening, as a quest for pistachio cruffins and cinnamon-biscoff swirls begins. Wooden boards of glutinous, plant-based pastries are  sandwiched alongside gloriously baked sourdough loaves. The menu is attached to a wooden serving counter, a white spiral staircase is tucked in one corner, and bold-blue, moveable stools randomly scatter the bakery floor.

The same buzz radiates in the next-door, walk-in only Spiridon, a bar for drinks and anything fermented. Here, bio-dynamic wines and sharing plates are scribbled down on white masking tape and plastered to concrete pillars. A large, circular-shaped textile light fitting hangs above miniature tables, and a French, wooden butcher’s fridge, now adorned with glass doors, is home to numerous bottles of natural wine. 

Antwerp’s walkability, or cyclability – provided you dodge the tram lines – means that hopping from the historical heart to the more residential, calm of the hip Berchem is essential. Here, terraced-lined houses, cobbled streets, and colourful front doors show off a familial charm. The candlelit glow and local feel permeates in the best addresses: there’s eppo for creative re-imaginings of the old-school classics, Repasse for generous portions of Belle Flamande, and the coffee-time favourite, Cafe Betty, for cortados and croissants by day and terrace drinks by night. Speciality beans from Andy Roasters are ground and brewed as trays of sourdough loaves, miso sesame swirls, and krentebol (raisen buns) from Antwerp-based, Keith Bakery are hand-delivered each day. 

Straddling Berchem is Haringrode, a block that pivots about a bunch of intimately packed, design-driven addresses. Apo’s, is a Japanese-Belgium inspired restaurant that serves steaming bowls of ramen, onigiri, and buckwheat noodle salads amongst a gentle hum of Antwerpian locals. And fusing the block’s corner-side bistro with a more sophisticated edge, Café Service draws the hip, hungry youths inside for grilled brill dipped in beurre blanc, and an exquisitely sweet sticky toffee pudding served with a generous dollop of buttermilk gelato. A baby blue bar is adorned with Studio Schik bouquets, a smooth oak counter surrounded by mahogany bar stools, and the original mosaic floor tiles now topped with deep green tables laid with chunky silver cutlery and shimmering candlesticks.

Within neighbourhood Haringrode is the pedestrian-only Groen Kwartier, home to the tree-filled oasis that is PAKT: a sustainably-driven architectural project where old-warehouses are revamped into creative-start-ups and a rooftop plant greenhouse. A place that in the weekend slumbers, draws in families and friends to its inner courtyard for Antwerp’s most beloved caffeine fix, Caffenation. Here, beans are freshly roasted day-by-day, the blend specified to the exact percentage, and filter coffee emanates water as it pours from free-standing, steel taps. Grab a garden chair and settle in for the occasional farmer’s market, clothing swap, and live-music performance. 

Antwerp’s charm remains through its old-school, less-manicured lens. Pockets of nature are surrounded by grand, baroque architecture, cyclists weave through cobbled residential patches, open squares are punctuated by marble statues, and the historical docks are transformed with brutalist, modern developments. There are oodles of hip addresses – the wine bars and snack bars, the antique emporiums and fashion houses – although it’s the persisting neighbourhood feel that transitions from hood-to-hood that prevails. The result is a city where tradition is preserved, and continues with a creative, comforting march.