The 500 Hidden Secrets of
ANTWERP D E R E K B LY T H
Map 1 CENTRAL ANTWERP 12
24
320 338 351 410 467
498 352
184
360
2
288
248 194
85
262
183
465 500 379
363
427
176
416
Schelde
300
80
Grote Markt
158 33
180
ka
ai
35
Ern est 408
454 299
14
aa i ink
321
139
260 70
nde
211 217 286 227
213
444
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295
Na
327
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226
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ters traa t
215 252 331
240
209
81 243
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Kloo s
475
177
75 22
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292
250 263
224
218
228 237
388
137
31 253
168 155
383
232 238
262
arkt
73
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142 254
233
199
65
348
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337
397
18
418
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Scho
355
206
138
rsst
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323 110 258 245
127 285
78
235
103 Rey
477
186
178
471
Pla nt
52
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357
185
269
318 261 290
234
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247
291
156
398
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322 105
58 59
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124
Ho o
Va n
154
401
27 281 306
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Dij
430
405
79
98
148
68
Rosier 255
219
293
251
244
407
152
96 311 249 208 382 67 104 229 346
Sint-Katelijnevest
324
341
496
314
181
Kipdorp 8 354
392
189 131
308
160
Lange Nieuw
straat
173 190
313
231
317 445
Meir
230 119 107 297
242 165 384 72
174
108 112 87 117
114
241
212
16
64
236
Hopland
4
19
Oudaan
365
220 319 373
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246 387 377 381
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396
403
380 210 29 195 204
51
203 275 151
69
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303 347
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197
101
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340 128 162
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Map 2 HET ZUID
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Pla
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Schelde
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Map 3 UNIVERSITY QUARTER
lstraa Winke
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Brouwersvliet
Oude Leeuwenrui
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Sint-Katelijnevest
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443 Sint-
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355 77
Lange Nieu
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175
Map 8 HET EILANDJE
Groenendaalla
an
Oos
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tee
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3
Kattendijkdok
Schelde
349
453
470 283
270
Londenstraat Noorderlaan 179 153
43
448
45
411
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laan
125
1 99 10
282 188
Willemdok
lei
71
Italië
466 334
417 21 307 469
Map 9 ANTWERPEN-NOORD 115 129 144 476
gel
ersin
rd Noo
332 Park Spoor Noord
41 42
150
at stra
nje
Ora
359
371 SintJansplein Dambruggestraat
273
134
Stuivenberg Hospital
167 200 Lange Beeldekensstraat
333 362
259
Carno
tstraa
t
The 5 best INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOPS
176
DE GROENE WATERMAN Wolstraat 7 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 232 93 94 www.groenewaterman.be
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COPYRIGHT Nationalestraat 28 Central Antwerp ➀ + 32 (0)3 232 94 16 www.copyrightbookshop.be
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’T STAD LEEST Steenhouwersvest 16 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 233 08 80 www.tstadleest.be
100
A beautiful bookshop with a mysterious name (The Green Waterman) that no one seems able to explain. Most books are in Dutch, but it has some English fiction, including Flemish literature in translation. They also stock Believer, McSweeny’s and indeed anything with Dave Eggers’ name attached. Children’s books are kept in a room at the back. Here is a seriously stylish bookshop designed by the Antwerp architect Vincent Van Duysen in 2000. Located in the same building as the fashion museum, it has a striking interior with white walls, black bookshelves and two low tables piled with gorgeous art and architecture books. This spacious, independent bookshop opened in an Antwerp townhouse in 2011. It stocks beautiful Taschen art books, cookbooks and children’s fiction. It also has Moleskine notebooks, quirky games and unusual postcards.
179
ALTA VIA Nassaustraat 29 Het Eilandje ➇ +32 (0)3 293 87 33 www.altaviatravelbooks.be
180
OTHELLO Handschoenmarkt 3 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 689 23 53
Here is a bookshop in the docks quarter where you can equip yourself for a globetrotting adventure. As well as a large stock of travel guides, it sells hiking maps, illuminated globes and trekking equipment. The furniture was made using recycled wooden crates. This new bookshop opened in 2012 on a little square facing the Cathedral. Occupying the ground floor of a design hotel, it has black walls and large display tables. The stock includes a large section of English fiction, along with art books, travel guides and postcards.
177 COPYRIGHT
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The 5 best INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES 181
TUNE UP Melkmarkt 17 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 226 84 11 www.tuneuprecords.com
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COFFEE & VINYL Volkstraat 45 Het Zuid ➁ + 32 (0)3 337 77 93 www.coffeeandvinyl.com
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FAT KAT RECORDS Lange Koepoortstraat 51 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 232 09 41 www.fatkat.be
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Here is a serious little record store hidden away above a magazine shop. The records are neatly arranged in old crates according to genre, while the walls are crammed with posters and art. The two owners are fanatical about music. They also serve coffee and things to nibble. A nostalgic record shop which also serves coffee. The owner Lars Cosemans sells vintage records in the back room and coffee in the front area, which is furnished with colourful metal chairs and school desks. The paintings on the wall are by young Antwerp artists. Here is a shop where you can find recordings by the most obscure alternative bands. The stock includes new releases and vintage vinyl. And if you can’t find what you want, the owner is happy to order it. You can also buy concert tickets here.
The 5 best shops for UNUSUAL GIFTS
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PLANTIN MORETUS MUSEUM SHOP Vrijdagmarkt 22-23 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 221 14 50 www.museumplantinmoretus.be
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LENA & ZASA Transvaalstraat 75 Zurenborg ➅ +32 (0)3 218 50 24 www.lenazasa.com
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MAS SHOP Hanzestedenplaats 1 Het Eilandje ➇ +32 (0)3 337 59 48 www.masshop.be
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The Plantin Moretus Museum opened a new shop in 2010 where they sell postcards, books, maps, prints and notebooks. You can pick up some unusual gifts here, including miniature globes, framed botanical illustrations and bookmarks illustrated with a 16th century view of Antwerp. This bright corner shop is the place to come if you are looking for something different. It sells jewellery, bags, computer gadgets and odd accessories. You can also find interesting children’s toys like a wooden robot kit. The museum shop next to mas occupies a low building on the waterfront clad in the same livid red sandstone as the museum. Here you can buy art books, nautical maps, docklands guides, amusing postcards, Antwerp T-shirts and branded mugs.
189
AKOTEE ➀
Akotee and its two sister shops on Melkmarkt sell bright childish stuff, like floral-print bike saddle bags, wooden reindeer wall mounts and kitsch laptop bags. Nothing is too serious.
Sint-Katelijnevest 52 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 336 35 36 www.rooms-shop.be
A vintage caravan is parked in the window of this quirky shop where they sells fun utensils for the home and garden. You will find sophisticated fish tanks designed to look like modern houses, eccentric clocks and colourful gadgets.
Melkmarkt 28 Central Antwerp +32 (0)3 213 23 13 www.akotee.be
190
ROOMS
189 AKOTEE
105
194
FIXERATI Lange Koepoortstraat 13 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 227 33 13 www.bikeproject.be
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DYNAMO Kasteelpleinstraat 57 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 232 87 08
Daan Terclavers runs a friendly bike shop in the city centre with the latest bikes, clothes and locks. He has everything from solid city bikes to cool racing models. He also sells second-hand bikes and does repairs in his workshop right in the middle of the shop. You can’t miss the bright orange façade of this friendly bike shop. It sells sturdy bikes for daily commuting on the Antwerp cobbles as well as racing models and kids’ bikes. You can also pick up accessories like saddle bags, bells and locks.
191 DE GEUS
107
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MARKT VAN MORGEN Kloosterstraat Central Antwerp ➀ www.marktvanmorgen.be
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BOEKENMART De Coninckplein Antwerpen-Noord ➈ Every third Sunday of the month, 10.00 to 16.00
Young Antwerp designers set up stalls at the south end of Kloosterstraat on certain Sundays in the summer. It’s worth coming just to wander around listening to some cool band playing in the background while nibbling on a cupcake from a brightly-painted caravan parked on the street. A relaxed monthly market on the square outside the city library where stallholders sell old books, vinyl records and street food. A pleasant place to spend a Sunday morning browsing among dusty books.
197 VOGELENMARKT
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What are the 5 most stunning restaurants in Antwerp? What are the 5 most surprising sculptures in the Middelheim open-air museum? What are the 5 best swimming pools in the city? What are the 5 best tram rides? Where can you discover the 5 most secret streets? The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp reveals these goodto-know addresses and many more. It is an affectionate guide to the city, written by the Belgium-loving journalist Derek Blyth, about the 500 places and details that few people know, like the secluded garden of the Rockox house or art cinema Klappei. This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets. D E R E K B L Y T H is a writer and journalist who has
lived in Belgium for more than 20 years. He has written countless articles and books on Belgium, as well as giving guided tours and talks. In 2012 he published The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels. An instant bestseller, it was praised for showing people a side of the city they never knew existed.
ISBN 978 94 6058 1106