Antwerp City Guide

The second largest city in Belgium in the region of Flanders, Antwerp has gained its place in the eyes of tourists becoming one of the most visited places in the past years. Come to be known as the "city of diamonds", thanks to the fact that more than 70% of all diamonds are traded here; Antwerp offers its visitors many architectural highlights, mainly dating from the 16th and 17th century.

If you are searching for a modern city, or you are a history lover, Antwerp offers you the perfect mix of these two. On one hand, due to its culturally rich history one can find many interesting building from different eras. On the other hand, it is a very dynamic city, reflected by its trendy bars and shops, becoming a trendy city attracting many foreign artists, actors and intellectuals.

There are some speculations about where the name ‘Antwerp’ comes from, and most probably it originates from the Dutch "aan de werpe" ("at the throw") denoting the place where the river throws its sand. The name also has a funny anecdote saying it comes from "Hand werpen", which translated is "throwing (a) hand(s)". In the official flag, the castle "het Steen" and the hand of Antwerp are shown.

You will find here pretty temperate climate with mild winters and cool summers. The words ‘cloudy, humid and rainy’ might pop up quite often when it comes to the weather. Anyways which ever season you choose to visit this splendid city you will surely find enough things to visit and enjoy, so getting bored is not an issue in this city.

Do not be surprised if you notice more than one language being spoken around you, because here people speak Flemish, French, Dutch and German. A widely known fact is that all locals like if tourist speak a little of their language and in Antwerp you have the luxury to choose from four languages.

Other cities you may like: Amsterdam - Ankara - Antwerp - Barcelona - Berlin - Cologne - London - Pamplona - Paris

Antwerp guide