Discovering
Antwerp by Joushua James
Located in Flanders, Antwerp
is a historically and culturally important city in Belgium. It's Belgium's
second largest city and Antwerp's port is the country's chief commercial
port.
 It's
a place where you can just sit and wonder at the many architectural marvels
that surround you, ranging from those designed and built in the sixteenth
and seventeenth century to the modern day buildings. Some of the important
places to visit in Antwerp are "The Town Square", "The Town Hall", "The
Steen", "The Meat Hall", "Groenplaats", "Meir", "The House of Rubens" and
the "Central Station".
Antwerp is also world famous
for its diamonds and it is also known as the diamond centre of the world.
Diamonds being a girl's best friend, tourists often seen to visit the diamond
district around the Railway Station. This area is in the Jewish part of
the city and it's place with it's Jewish inhabitants, give the city a unique
flair not to be found in other cities of Belgium. Important streets where
the Jewish 'Hassidic' community is settled are Pelikaanstraat (Diamond
District), the City Park, Belgiëlei and Charlottelei.
Antwerp owes its popularity
to the existence of the Scheldt river, which enabled Antwerp to become
the second-largest harbor in Europe (after Rotterdam), and the fourth largest
harbor in the world. Antwerp port was enlarged in the 19th century with
an artificial dock, the so-called Napoleon Dock and it is now the eight
largest container port in the world.
A favorite spot for tourist
in Antwerp is the "Antwerp Zoo". It's is one of the oldest and, most famous
zoos in the world and houses more than 4,000 animals. The Royal Society
for Zoology has helped to ensure that numerous animals in the zoo are well
taken care of and has been actively involved in protecting threatened species
for more than 100 years.
Antwerp is also a place for
fashion. It's been in the spotlight of international fashion because of
the glamorous works done by Flemish fashion designers like Walter Van Beirendonck,
Nadine Wynants, Ann De Meulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Kaat Tilley and
others. A visit to the Meir shopping street is a must for fashion lovers
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About the Author - Joushua
James - Discovering Antwerp - www.travels-belgium.be |
