Come and learn a little about the second most important city in Belgium.
Antwerp is a city with many facets, because of the influence of various cultures that converge in this large city and in the country, so do not be surprised it has two names, the most common name has a Flemish origin and Anvers is the French version but the mulcultural enviroment and affability of the belgian make this an irresistible and unusual metropolis. To begin this tour, your visit should be made by train, without any doubt, in order to have the privilege of entering one of the most extraordinary stations in Europe, not only for its aesthetic beauty, as architectural, because it has four floors inside, it is true, it seems unimaginable, but it is possible. Several trains come and go in several plataforms, at different levels, and we have to access the platforms by a treadmill is simply fabulous! The building itself is gorgeous adorned by stone columns and structures of steel and glass, a fusion of old and new that come together in a remarkable way. At the exit we literally stumble with one of the great and eternal loves of women, diamonds. Even on your left begins the Jewish neighborhood with dozens and dozens of crowded stores with these gems in the form of jewelry, or the sale alone, with prices varying depending on the weight, color, purity and its polished, yes, there's no denying it, a woman always knows what pleases her and what better adorns hers! After a long sigh of sadness, nothing better for frustration than another great passion, shops and shops of Belgian chocolate, one of the world's best, along the Leys Avenue, packed with traditional trade and beyond.
Making a small deviation in one of the cross streets, you can visit one of the most famous houses of this city where it lived one of the great painters of Belgium and the world, Peter Paul Rubens. The museum is interesting and not only you enjoy some of the pictorial work of this Flemish artist, his friends and assistants, as we peek at the beautiful interior of this preserved space that dwelt with his family. One of the most curious aspects and in good state of preservation is the "wallpaper" which is made of tufted leather, yes, only the rich could decorate their walls in this way and this is visible throughout the interior as well furniture some of which inspired by the baroque and imagine, a press for linen.
Another must-visit is the Grote Markt, a square where is the town hall, a Flemish Renaissance style, as well as the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Antwerp, just in front of one of the most beautiful monuments of Gothic in Europe and the highest of the city with 123 meters high and is worth visiting its interior if only for its magnificent stained glass windows and Rubens works. All of these edifications and the surrounding historic buildings are classified as world heritage by Unesco, and I might add deservedly.
One of the leaflets to tourists I found another information at least curious, a church built by the Jesuits, São Paulo, which is considered the eighth wonder of the world, was there lurking and that title is due to the amount of marble that adorns the interior, I cannot say I was rendered or disappointed, but it's worth a visit if only for its artistic value. My digression could only end with the estuary of the Scheldt River in Her Steen one of the oldest fortresses, built to thwart the attacks of the Vikings, one must not forget that Antwerp is from Roman times one of the most important ports Europe, so you must walk along the walls where may spot the landscape across the border and at the end there is a modern building, the Stroom of Aan museum, a 10-story contemporary structure that have several rooms for temporary exhibitions, shops and the top has a panoramic city view for later recall.
