The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp

The 500 Hidden Secrets of

ANTWERP D E R E K B LY T H

Map 1 CENTRAL ANTWERP 12

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The 5 best INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOPS

176

DE GROENE WATERMAN Wolstraat 7 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 232 93 94 www.groenewaterman.be

177

COPYRIGHT Nationalestraat 28 Central Antwerp ➀ + 32 (0)3 232 94 16 www.copyrightbookshop.be

178

’T STAD LEEST Steenhouwersvest 16 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 233 08 80 www.tstadleest.be

100

A beautiful bookshop with a mysterious name (The Green Waterman) that no one seems able to explain. Most books are in Dutch, but it has some English fiction, including Flemish literature in translation. They also stock Believer, McSweeny’s and indeed anything with Dave Eggers’ name attached. Children’s books are kept in a room at the back.

Here is a seriously stylish bookshop designed by the Antwerp architect Vincent Van Duysen in 2000. Located in the same building as the fashion museum, it has a striking interior with white walls, black bookshelves and two low tables piled with gorgeous art and architecture books.

This spacious, independent bookshop opened in an Antwerp townhouse in 2011. It stocks beautiful Taschen art books, cookbooks and children’s fiction.

It also has Moleskine notebooks, quirky games and unusual postcards.

179

ALTA VIA Nassaustraat 29 Het Eilandje ➇ +32 (0)3 293 87 33 www.altaviatravelbooks.be

180

OTHELLO Handschoenmarkt 3 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 689 23 53

Here is a bookshop in the docks quarter where you can equip yourself for a globetrotting adventure. As well as a large stock of travel guides, it sells hiking maps, illuminated globes and trekking equipment. The furniture was made using recycled wooden crates.

This new bookshop opened in 2012 on a little square facing the Cathedral.

Occupying the ground floor of a design hotel, it has black walls and large display tables. The stock includes a large section of English fiction, along with art books, travel guides and postcards.

177 COPYRIGHT

101

The 5 best INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES 181

TUNE UP Melkmarkt 17 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 226 84 11 www.tuneuprecords.com

182

COFFEE & VINYL Volkstraat 45 Het Zuid ➁ + 32 (0)3 337 77 93 www.coffeeandvinyl.com

183

FAT KAT RECORDS Lange Koepoortstraat 51 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 232 09 41 www.fatkat.be

102

Here is a serious little record store hidden away above a magazine shop. The records are neatly arranged in old crates according to genre, while the walls are crammed with posters and art. The two owners are fanatical about music. They also serve coffee and things to nibble.

A nostalgic record shop which also serves coffee. The owner Lars Cosemans sells vintage records in the back room and coffee in the front area, which is furnished with colourful metal chairs and school desks. The paintings on the wall are by young Antwerp artists.

Here is a shop where you can find recordings by the most obscure alternative bands. The stock includes new releases and vintage vinyl. And if you can’t find what you want, the owner is happy to order it. You can also buy concert tickets here.

The 5 best shops for UNUSUAL GIFTS

186

PLANTIN MORETUS MUSEUM SHOP Vrijdagmarkt 22-23 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 221 14 50 www.museumplantinmoretus.be

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LENA & ZASA Transvaalstraat 75 Zurenborg ➅ +32 (0)3 218 50 24 www.lenazasa.com

188

MAS SHOP Hanzestedenplaats 1 Het Eilandje ➇ +32 (0)3 337 59 48 www.masshop.be

104

The Plantin Moretus Museum opened a new shop in 2010 where they sell postcards, books, maps, prints and notebooks. You can pick up some unusual gifts here, including miniature globes, framed botanical illustrations and bookmarks illustrated with a 16th century view of Antwerp.

This bright corner shop is the place to come if you are looking for something different. It sells jewellery, bags, computer gadgets and odd accessories. You can also find interesting children’s toys like a wooden robot kit.

The museum shop next to mas occupies a low building on the waterfront clad in the same livid red sandstone as the museum. Here you can buy art books, nautical maps, docklands guides, amusing postcards, Antwerp T-shirts and branded mugs.

189

AKOTEE ➀

Akotee and its two sister shops on Melkmarkt sell bright childish stuff, like floral-print bike saddle bags, wooden reindeer wall mounts and kitsch laptop bags. Nothing is too serious.

Sint-Katelijnevest 52 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 336 35 36 www.rooms-shop.be

A vintage caravan is parked in the window of this quirky shop where they sells fun utensils for the home and garden.

You will find sophisticated fish tanks designed to look like modern houses, eccentric clocks and colourful gadgets.

Melkmarkt 28 Central Antwerp +32 (0)3 213 23 13 www.akotee.be

190

ROOMS

189 AKOTEE

105

194

FIXERATI Lange Koepoortstraat 13 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 227 33 13 www.bikeproject.be

195

DYNAMO Kasteelpleinstraat 57 Central Antwerp ➀ +32 (0)3 232 87 08

Daan Terclavers runs a friendly bike shop in the city centre with the latest bikes, clothes and locks. He has everything from solid city bikes to cool racing models. He also sells second-hand bikes and does repairs in his workshop right in the middle of the shop.

You can’t miss the bright orange façade of this friendly bike shop. It sells sturdy bikes for daily commuting on the Antwerp cobbles as well as racing models and kids’ bikes. You can also pick up accessories like saddle bags, bells and locks.

191 DE GEUS

107

199

MARKT VAN MORGEN Kloosterstraat Central Antwerp ➀ www.marktvanmorgen.be

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BOEKENMART De Coninckplein Antwerpen-Noord ➈ Every third Sunday of the month, 10.00 to 16.00

Young Antwerp designers set up stalls at the south end of Kloosterstraat on certain Sundays in the summer. It’s worth coming just to wander around listening to some cool band playing in the background while nibbling on a cupcake from a brightly-painted caravan parked on the street.

A relaxed monthly market on the square outside the city library where stallholders sell old books, vinyl records and street food. A pleasant place to spend a Sunday morning browsing among dusty books.

197 VOGELENMARKT

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What are the 5 most stunning restaurants in Antwerp?

What are the 5 most surprising sculptures in the Middelheim open-air museum? What are the 5 best swimming pools in the city? What are the 5 best tram rides? Where can you discover the 5 most secret streets?

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp reveals these goodto-know addresses and many more. It is an affectionate guide to the city, written by the Belgium-loving journalist Derek Blyth, about the 500 places and details that few people know, like the secluded garden of the Rockox house or art cinema Klappei.

This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

D E R E K B L Y T H is a writer and journalist who has

lived in Belgium for more than 20 years. He has written countless articles and books on Belgium, as well as giving guided tours and talks. In 2012 he published The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels. An instant bestseller, it was praised for showing people a side of the city they never knew existed.

ISBN 978 94 6058 1106