Since the restoration a couple of years ago, the south of the city is known as the trendy part.
The centre of this piece of the city is a huge square called 'de gedempte zuiderdokken' which simply means, 'the filled-up southern docks'. In the sixties, this was an abandoned trade dock. They filled up the dock in an attempt to expand the city. The high crime rate in the region made it a very cheap place to live. This was a blessing for the local art world, which started to flourish, making the region trendy and safe over the years. Today, it is known as a "yuppie stronghold".
MUHKA, ☎ +32 (0)3 260 99 99 (), . Museum of contemporary art. �
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Fine Arts Museum), ☎ +32'' (0)3 238 7809, . Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten boasts of an excellent collection of paintings from the 15th century right up to the 20th century. The museum's permanent collection has masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Brueghel, Van Eyck, Anthony Van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, and James Ensor to name a few. NOTE: the Museum was closed from October 2010 for heavy reconstruction work. Some of the collection will be temporarily displayed at the new Museum an de Stroom in the port area when it opens in May 2011. �
Zuiderpershuis, ☎ +32 (0)3 248 7077, . It is on the "kaaien" and is a center for intercultural art. �
Het Muntplein. A place where graffiti artists can make artwork without being chased by police. There are often very nice creations. Graffiti contests occur on a regular basis. �
Palace of Justice (Justitiepaleis). There are actually two of these. The old one is a 19th century red brick building on the Britselei. The new one is a dominant, modern, white building in the south of Antwerp (Bolivarplaats). You can hardly miss it once you're there. The architect of this building was Richard Rogers, who also built the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Millennium Dome in London. �
Zurenborg neighborhood is a little off the beaten track. This neighborhood in the south east of Antwerp (near the railway station Antwerpen-Berchem, look for 'Cogels-Osylei' on the map) is known for its eclectic, sometimes rather bizarre 19th century architecture. Consider taking a tram or bicycle to get there.
Middelheim Park — The center of Antwerp is not very big, and once you cross the ring road, you will mainly see suburbs. There are some nice parks outside the ring road The Middelheim Park is one of them. It houses a permanent open-air exhibition of modern sculpture, including work by famous artists such as Rodin, Hans Arp, Henry Moore, and many others.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Antwerp
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Antwerp - updated May 2024
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Antwerp Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
