Antwerp adventuring: a new museum for May
Posted by Caroline on April 26th, 2011We might have been ramming our faces with chocolate all weekend, but we could never be sick of the stuff. And so to Belgium, dream home of the chocolatier, and Antwerp, its second-largest city, home of the shiny new MAS museum as of next month…
Why go Opening on 17 May, the much-anticipated Museum aan de Stroom will showcase almost half a million precious pieces, collected from the old National Shipping Museum and the Ethnographic Museum, among others. The imposing red sandstone structure is set to become an iconic part of the cityscape, and from its roof, visitors get a panorama of Antwerp’s harbour. Inside, artworks span classical to contemporary.
What to do Wander the diamond district around Rijfstraat: there are armed guards in the streets protecting some 1,500 dealers and a trade worth more than £15 billion a year. Visit the Diamantmuseum on Koningin Astridplein, just north of the Central Station, before browsing the jewellery shops. A short distance from the Grote Markt and the cathedral, Vlaaikensgang is a maze of 16th-century alleyways in the heart of the city centre. Hidden behind a small entrance at Oude Koornmarkt 16, this tucked-away oasis of calm is a great place to listen to carillon concerts drifting over from the cathedral bell tower.
Where to eat There’s no shortage of fancy fine-dining of the Michelin-starred variety, including the reopening of the two-star T Zilte, which is moving from the suburbs to the MAS; Dôme is a former teahouse on Grote Hondstraat where 
reasonably priced tasting menus are served in elegant art-nouveau surroundings (+32 (0)3 239 9003), and Gin-Fish on Haarstraat has no menu – just whatever was sourced at the market that day, prepared to perfection (+32 (0)3 231 3207). Elsewhere, try De Kleine Zavel on Stoofstraat, once a refuge for seafaring merchants in need of shelter, and now a distressed-chic brasserie serving to-die-for food.
Where to stay Charming and centrally located, Hotel Julien employs a winning formula: Eames plus antiques divided by clever interiors equals relaxed Belgian elegance. The owner has brought modern styling to a handsome pair of renovated 16th-century townhouses; crisp starched linen contrasts with rich oak panelling, Modernist pieces with jugs of country-garden flowers. The light is dazzling, the atmosphere magical and the city is right on your doorstep.
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