City tour
Antwerp has always held a great attraction for creative and commercial professionals. To name but a few, there’s Mercator, the man whose book of maps was actually the first one to be referred to as an ‘atlas’, the Plantin and Moretus families who made the art of printing thrive at the Vrijdagmarkt and Pieter Paul Rubens, who founded an art empire. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp is the fourth oldest art academy in Europe, where even the likes of Vincent van Gogh, Henry van de Velde, Dries van Noten and Luc Tuymans once walked in and out through the monumental gates.
Our architectural diversity also makes us particularly proud. We can boast the largest Gothic cathedral in the Low Lands, the very first skyscraper on the European continent, our Central Station that is among the three most beautiful in the world, the best preserved Art Nouveau district in the Benelux, and the mother of all commodity exchanges: the Bourse of Antwerp. All in one city.
Last year, the Bourse of Antwerp was given back to the community. The much-needed and very successful restoration has made this jewel in the Antwerp crown shine again. The 19th-century palace was successfully converted to meet the demands of the 21st century.
In short: a lot has been happening on the banks of the Scheldt for centuries, and that will never change.
Tanguy Ottomer
BeroepsAntwerpenaar, your personal guide to Antwerp
