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Photo: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This is south and southwest of the central station. You will find countless jewellery shops, as well as the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, one of the most important financial centres of the world's diamond industry. Majority of the world's rough diamond transactions take place here. The district is interesting from an ethnic and cultural perspective, for at least 50% of the diamond industry is in the hands of the city's Jews. Antwerp has a large population of Jews (about 50,000 people), a lot of them Orthodox.
Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter (Diamantkwartier), and dubbed the Square Mile, is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. While as of 2012, much of the gem cutting and polishing work historically done in the neighborhood had moved to low wage centers elsewhere, about 84% of the world's rough diamonds passed through the district, making it the largest diamond district. In 2011, it had a turnover of $56 billion dollars. Each year, approximately 50% of the rough diamonds return to Antwerp for cutting and polishing such as The Black Falcon, the world's largest cut diamond.
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One of the oldest zoos in the world, with over 4000 animals and lots of 19th-century design and architecture.
ECK is an art space for contemporary visual arts, based in an old bottling factory. Its shows are mostly experimental, but always intriguing.
Van Den Nest synagogue
The main synagogue of Antwerp.
The house of painter Peter Paul Rubens is now a museum of his life and artwork. Many of his paintings and artworks and his contemporaries are installed in the rooms, as well as furniture of his period. Paintings include his early Adam and Eve (c. 1600) and a self-portrait made when he was about fifty.
Bourlaschouwburg
19th-century neo-classicist theatre building. Charming from the outside and even nicer if you manage to get in for a theater show or a concert. It houses a spectacular pastry salon inside the large cupola above the theatre. Great place to have tea with cake or waffles, of course.
A sort of medieval monastery for women. The well-kept gardens are great photo opportunities.