The Begijnhof (beguinage)

Unlike the cathedral, this is a Baroque church. With a safe and minimal exterior, you would not know the beautiful decorations (done by Rubens' studio) are inside. It is on the picturesque square Conscienceplein.

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.

Now called KBC Tower after the company that owns it, this 97-m skyscraper in the historical centre of town is said to be the oldest one on the European continent. It was built between 1929 and 1932. It is at the end of the Meir shopping street. The tower is renowned for its typical art-deco sculptures. It is not a skyscraper on the same scale as some that were erected in North America; for example the Empire State Building in New York, built at the same time, is 381 m.

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 beautiful mixed gothic and baroque church formerly part of a nunnery. Noted for its Calvary monument. It is a short distance north of the Grote Maarkt on Zwartzustersstraat.

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.