Antwerp, Belgium's hidden gem
Antwerp, Belgium's hidden gem
My dear followers and visitors, today we are going through beautiful Belgium again and I want to discover together a hidden gem (as I like to call it), Antwerp.
But before we get to the streets and vibrant atmosphere of Antwerp let me show you how we got here.
As I've written before in my posts from Belgium our trips here were mostly by train.
That's how we got to Antwerp central station, honestly the station looks amazing, it can definitely be listed as a tourist attraction, it took us a while to get out (that's because of the dozens of pictures taken) it was completed somewhere around 1905 and is structured on four levels of which two are underground, I don't know how well it stands out from the pictures but the station is amazing.
After literally visiting the central train station, we headed to the accommodation and it was great, but not up to the standard we had in Ghent.
Here we used the most rudimentary lift I have ever been in.
Now that we've shown you how we got here and our accommodation, let's take a walk through the cobbled streets of the city and discover its beauty.
After the first few steps on the very crowded streets we got a bit hungry so we didn't have to look too hard and went into a place where we asked for traditional food, and here we got this, which cost about 10 euros a portion, but was very tasty.
We set our main focus on the Grote Markt knowing that we would find other interesting sights here, including the town hall.
Before reaching the proposed goal we visited a chocolate factory, it wasn't a very big one but it was a family business, exactly where I like to be, a sweet place.
We had the opportunity to see how chocolate is made, how from some simple ingredients after processing come out so sweet goodies, on the way out we bought some chocolates, Belgium is famous not only for diamonds but also for chocolate.
Walking through the streets of Antwerp my throat already started to hurt so much I looked up at the buildings and of course their amazing architecture, I felt like I was on a desperation mission.
Also here on the streets of the city I heard the story of an orphaned child named Nello, he was a good child but had no one until one day he met a puppy named Patrasche, these two became inseparable, so strong was the bond between them that they remained friends for life, as a conclusion is that true friendships last forever.
Finally we reach the Grote Markt where the town hall (Stadhuis) welcomes us with its grandeur and a few steps away we find the statue of Brado.
From here you can see how imposing is also the tower of the Cathedral of the Mother of God (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) which if you are interested you can visit.
We stayed here for a while and then we decided to visit the places on the banks of the Scheldt river and here I can say that we had a surprise, we discovered a medieval fortress (Het Steen) and a giant wheel (The View-Giantwheel), I did not hit the wheel because I am afraid of height.
This medieval castle is very similar to the one I presented in a previous post, the Count's Castle.
My dear friends, my exploration of Antwerp has come to an end and I hope that the ones I have presented will be to your liking and if you happen to be in Belgium I advise you to visit it.
If you liked what you saw and read here please don't forget to give a LiKe, Follow, reBlog or a Comment, for all this I thank you, and until the next post I say goodbye.
P.S. The attached pictures you have just seen are taken by me with my mobile phone, and the text is also designed by me.
Yours @triplug😉
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There is a very interesting place to visit ;))
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping by.
Magnificent buildings, everywhere. It smells like history
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping by.
I will always stop by, hopefully
Thank you very much.
You're welcome
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Thank you very much for this post. I lived in Belgium for 5 months and visited Antwerp several times. I am not sure if it is a really a hidden gem. Of course its beauty is not as obvious as the beauty of Gent or Bruges, but Antwerp welcomes you with an astonishing train station.
Have you been to Mechelen? I would call that a hidden gem.
I had heard of Mechelen but unfortunately I didn't end up here although it was somewhere between Brussels and Antwerp.
I loaded myself with specific beauty through Ghent and Dinant 😉
Thank you very much for stopping by.
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Wow! Indeed, it is a hidden gem in Belgium. I have never been to a place as beautiful and amazing as this along with the extraordinaory architectures. I hope to visit this place one day. Have a nice time my friend!
Thanks so much for stopping by and if you ever visit Belgium put this place on the map.
Antwerpen is one of my favorite cities in Belgium, but I would not exactly call it a hidden gem 😂 It's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country..
I haven't been there since so many years, so thank you for showing me the city again 😍
I called this city a hidden gem for the simple fact that there were not so many tourists when we visited, here comparing with Ghent, Dinant, Brussels or Dinant.
And yes I found it an amazing city.
If I had to choose where to go back I would definitely choose Ghent, Antwerp and Dinant, no way Brussels (this city left me with a bitter taste) apart from the fact that I encountered protests, lots of police, I haven't written anything about Bruges because I didn't get to go there.
Don't get me wrong, Belgium has other amazing places, but I haven't managed to visit them all yet, maybe on another visit.
I'm glad that for a few moments I was able to remind you of this city.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Brussels is not very charming. Actually, I was surprised when I came there for the first time as it's so different to the rest of the country.. oh, of course you were not able to visit them all. Even in one year I was not able to visit them all 😉
Have a wonderful week too!
I agree with you about Brussels, but I still have a few more posts I want to share with you here😉
The architecture is gorgeous! This elegance of buildings is beautiful. Especially this white tower with a clock. And I was also very surprised by this statue of a boy with a dog lying under a blanket. It looks very unusual. I have never seen so many different interesting places in one city!
This city surprised me too which is why I called it a hidden gem and to my surprise there were not many tourists.
Thanks for stopping by.
As I live in a village between your previous article of Ghent and tbis one, I definitely like it that you enjoyed both cities!
As already pointed out by others, I wouldn't really call Antwerp a hidden gem, though it's definitely a nice city to walk around!
Not sure if you've visited 'Mechelen' already? In my opinion it's much more a hidden gem! ;D
Unfortunately I didn't get to visit Mechelen, maybe next time.
Hello triplug!
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