Koen created
Antwerp is usually immediately connected with the diamond trade, its famous fashion designers, the vibrant nightlife and the big harbor. Historically speaking it is one of the key places of the 'low lands', and it is also very well known as the hometown of painter PP Rubens. But even today it still is much more than just a quick stopover for tourists on their way from Amsterdam to Paris. To start with, not so many people know that it has the 2nd largest number of different nationalities living in one city (164, only topped by Amsterdam by the way). Antwerp is precisely interesting because it offers this hybrid mix of a 'little bit of everything': a true melting pot of people, their cultures and customs, of 'glocal' activities and events. Rather ironic of course that it has chosen a right wing city council for the next 4 years that swears by a falsely founded Flemish identity and protectionism. But then again, this inconsistency is also quite typical for a town that is built on strange coincidences and attracting contradictions between beautiful and ugly, big and small, and especially between (a bit) sunny and (often) grey and rainy. Sorry, can't change much about that. This tour offers a pleasant and interesting dive into the miniature melting pot it is, more than anything else. It combines visiting some of the more touristy (but not to be missed) highlights like the train station and the cathedral with totally off the grid things like a cool beach next to an industrial river and even a police station right in the middle of brothels (no kidding!). Because admit it, this is what you probably want the most if you are here for just a short time: to experience the city like if you were a local. To taste all the great goodies it has to offer, to see the best or at least most of it in half or a full day, and then continue with your busy travel schedule again on your way to Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Paris, London or wherever it might be... What a life! 55.0 USD
