A few days ago I received a promotional magazine from the Mayor of Antwerp mayor in the post. Normally these kinds of magazines go directly to the recycling box. This time it did not happen because one of the articles caught my attention: “50 things that you should do in Antwerp”. I picked 5 of my personal favourites and I would like to share them with you.
De Criée – It is a covered market in the Van Schoonhovenstraat for people who love eating meat. You can find the best poultry, Wagyu beef and other specialties that are difficult to find anywhere else in the city. And don’t hesitate to ask the butcher advice how to prepare it!
Hoveniersstraat – A walk during lunch can open your world. At that time a day Antwerp looks like New York. You will see Jewish, Indian, Chinese and people of all kind of nationalities walking the street.
MAS (Museum aan de stroom) – Also for non-museum lovers the MAS museum can be interesting. You can go up the rooftop (for free) till midnight and enjoy Antwerp by night. A fantastic view!
Stadsbibliotheek – This public library is based on the famous Hendrik Conscienceplein. Go there and read a newspaper from the year of your birth.
Waterpoort – Go out for a pita or durum at the Waterpoort. It is situated on the Sint Gillisplaats in the south part of Antwerp. This arch was built in the honor of the Spanish king Filips IV and till the 19th century it was a city gate at the Vlasmarkt. It moved already two times and therefore it is also been called “the walking gate”. Is is a very nice example of Rubens baroc art and most likely constructed by the master himself.
If you know other interesting places in Antwerp, we would love if you shared your favourites with us!
Roxana
Receptionist, Astoria Hotel Antwerp
Any competition for children is always a bit difficult for adults to judge. Because child’s vision of the world is different from us adults and it is always a pity that over the years we lose this childish admiration of the world .Simply, it is not easy to tell to the child, the sweet creation with wide, enthusiastic open eyes that his picture is not good enough so I was very happy that my manager decided not to destroy children’s faith in the victory and gave them all the opportunity to experience the taste of victory with our recent drawing competition. Thank you France!
I had the honour to welcome our first winner Enio. On the day of his arrival, a room and tickets to the zoo were ready. It was, as usual a pretty busy day, with the Check-In’s and Check-Out’s of our guests. In the afternoon I saw at the door our winner with his parents, I immediately realised that is HIM- Enio.
Enio… How can I describe him and what words to choose??? Enio is very polite, well-mannered boy with beautiful, intelligent eyes; as if he knows more about life than we do. It is just impossible do not to fall in love with this nice boy at first sight. Of course I got more nervous than he and the interview I took with my iPad you’ll never see because I forgot to turn on the sound! As operator I am the worthiest ever… 
When I interviewed Enio he immediately became cheerful and animated, talking to me as an adult and infecting me with his enthusiasm for the rest of the day I just radiated positive energy Enio also promised me that if he becomes the new Rubens or Picasso he will certainly be telling people that his first “Masterpiece” can be seen in Astoria! so it might that we made good investment for the future of Astoria Hotel
Love & Hugs
Victoria
Receptionist, Astoria Hotel Antwerp