While Antwerp (pop. 466,000) was once known for its avant-garde fashion and jet-setting party hoppers, the hipster scene has since calmed down. But an afternoon of window-shopping in the city’s diamond quarter or along the Meir reveals that Antwerp still holds an attraction for the backpacker fashionista.
Transportation And Practical Information. Antwerp has two train stations: Berchem, which handles most of the city’s international traffic, and Centraal, the domestic-centered station. Trains leave from Berchem to: Amsterdam, NTH (2hr., 1 per hr., €21-29); Brussels (45min., 4 per hr., €6.10); and Rotterdam, NTH (1hr., 1 per hr., €13-18). Centraal ticket office is open daily 6am-10pm. Lockers are available in Centraal. The tourist office is downstairs. To reach Grote Markt from Berchem, take tram #8 (€1.20, €1.50 on board) to Groenpl. From Centraal take tram #2 (dir.: Linkeroever) or walk down Meir, the main pedestrian thoroughfare, to Groenpl. (☎03 232 0103. Open M-Sa 9am-5:45pm, Su 9am-4:45pm. English-language historical tour picks up from Grote Markt 13 Sa-Su 11am. €5.) Postal Code: 2000.
Accommodations And Food. The well-worn New International Youth Hotel , Provinciestr. 256, is a 10min. walk from Centraal Station, on the corner of De Boeystr. and Provinciestr. Turn left out of the station onto Pelikaanstr., which becomes Simonsstr.; turn left Van Den Nestlei, walk under the bridge, then turn right onto De Boeystr. (☎03 230 0522; www.youthhotel.be. Breakfast included. Reception 8am-midnight. Dorms €19-21, under 26 with sleeping bag €15; singles €34; doubles €49-61; triples €70-79. MC/V.) Take the metro to Groenpl. for Guesthouse 26 , Pelgrimsstr. 26, in the heart of the city. Inventive decor keeps guests returning. (☎03 289 3995; www.guesthouse26.be. Breakfast included. Reserve ahead. Singles €55-75; doubles €65-85. AmEx/MC/V.)
More than 400 religious figurines accompany your meal at ’t Elfde Gebod , Jan Blomstr. 8, off Groenpl., serves hearty pizzas (€4-10) bringing Italy to Belgium with a traditional, rich decor of wine bottles and grapes hanging from the ceiling. (☎03 226 7450; www.dagiovanni.be. Pasta €7-13. Meat Entrees €13-18. Fish €13-20. Open daily 11am-midnight. 20% student discount. AmEx/MC/V.)
Sights. Antwerp’s main promenades, De Keyserlei and the Meir, draw crowds to their elegant department stores and avant-garde boutiques. On the western edge of the shopping district, the Cathedral of Our Lady, Groenpl. 21, holds Rubens’s Descent from the Cross. (www.dekathedraal.be. Open M-F 10am-5pm, Sa 10am-3pm, Su 1-4pm. Tours 1-3 per day. English tours at 3:45pm. €4, students €2, seniors and children €1.50.) Take in the busy exterior of the nearby Stadhuis (city hall), then hop on tram #11 (dir.: Eksterlaar) to see the opulent mansions that line Cogels Osylei. A stroll by the Schelde River leads to the 13th-century Steen Castle, Steenplein 1. The Museum Voor Schone Kunsten (KMSKA; Royal Museum of Fine Arts), Leopold De Waelpl. 1-9, possesses one of the world’s finest collections of Flemish paintings. (☎03 238 7809; www.kmska.be. Open Tu-Sa 10am-5pm, Su 10am-6pm. €6, under 19 free.) The RubensHuis, Wapper 9, off the Meir, was home to Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens, and its well-preserved rooms are filled with his works, including The Annunciation. (☎03 201 1555. Open Tu-Su 10am-4pm. €6, under 26 €4, under 19 free.) The Diamant Museum, Kon. Astridplein 19-23, chronicles Antwerp’s historic importance in the diamond industry through interesting audiovisual displays. (☎03 202 4890. Open M-Tu and Th-Su 10am-5:30pm. €6, students €4.)
Nightlife. Café d’Anvers, Verversrui 15, north of Grote Markt, used to be an old church but is now a palatial club located smack in the center of the red-light district. The club features popular DJs and caters to a young crowd. (☎03 226 3870; www.cafe-d-anvers.com. Cover: Th free; F €5, €8 after midnight; Sa free, €10 after midnight. Open Th 11pm-6am, F-Sa 11pm-7:30am.) Bars behind the cathedral and in the trendy neighborhood around the Royal Museum of Fine Arts offer an alternative to the club scene. (☎03 234 0809. Open daily noon-late.) Gay nightlife clusters around Van Schoonhovenstraat, north of Centraal Station. Head to the Gay and Lesbian Center, Dambruggestr. 204, for more info.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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