Hotel Flora

Worth getting out of bed for

With Hotel Flora being in the thick of the action, a lazy morning could easily be spent ogling the Cathedral of Our Lady’s gothic splendour or the waterside fortress of Het Steen. It would, however, be remiss to not look beyond the historic core – though a compact port city, Antwerp is known as a creative cauldron that has helped build the country’s main cultural columns. A cradle for fashion designers who have moved the needle for the industry (Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, et al.), this is a city reputed for its timeless ‘fits and style: if you’re finally swapping out your frayed, tea-stained WFH sweats, try Graanmarkt 13, an emporium overflowing with more independent labels than you’d find in Anna Wintour’s walk-in wardrobe. Highlights include Sofie D’Hoore, known for her flowing silhouettes; Kassl Editions, which purveys unisex items; and Aeyde, a maker of minimalist footwear. And, of course, skipping out on the Dries Van Noten flagship, set across a 19th-century corner block, would be a sartorial sin. There’s a saying that every Belgian is born with a brick in their stomach. Accordingly, Antwerp, with its patchwork of contrasting buildings, is a calling card for architecture aficionados. Classic forms abound, notably at the 1905 Antwerpen-Centraal whose exterior is done out in the neo-gothic style. But for modern envelope-pushing designs, seek out Zaha Hadid’s love-hate Port House whose 2016 intervention has drawn comparisons with a cantilevered diamond. MAS, which has the look of a Jenga game seconds from collapse, hosts art-and-culture exhibitions across 10 floors. And for something even more leftfield, head south of the city for Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven’s Brandweerpost; its red-brick walls are so refined it appears like a render. And as all the museums and guidebooks will remind you, Peter Paul Rubens is the north star of the country’s arts scene – Rubenshuis, the famous painter's home and studio, features plenty of his baroque masterpieces as well as an unusually small bed (made all the smaller if you're arriving after a night at Hotel Flora). For an exploration beyond the Flemish masters, walk the grounds of the Middelheim Museum sculpture park, with highlights by Auguste Rodin and Alexander Calder, or the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, the city’s incubator for fledgling talent.

Local restaurants

Mirroring the city’s other creative disciplines, Antwerp’s dining scene is a showcase of young chefs who forgo white-tablecloth frills in favour of refined innovation. Chief among them is Veranda, set in an industrial-style building in the old meatpacking district where the inventive small-plates menu features the likes of langoustine with kiwano; Mangalica steak with beetroot; and chicken-meatball skewers. At casual Album, a one-time gentleman’s club that’s now festooned with Thonet-style seating and bare brick, seasonal breakfast and lunch are served – the sourdough has become stuff of legend among Antwerp’s Veja-wearing hipsters. In a 1960s modernist pile, Le Pristine takes its design cues – dark, moody swathes of grey and green – from Dutch and Flemish masters, but, in an incongruous move, the fare is Italian influenced. A recent hit has been a Poseidon-pleasing plate of Zeeland mussels with burrata and fregola, and the dish of pasta with lobster, squid, guanciale, caviar and stracciatella is worthy of praise from even the most critical of zias. 

Local bars

Creatives and bright young things flock to Osaka for its interiors – all stainless steel and Bruno Rey chairs – and natural-wine list whose quality of selection can be matched by that at Korean-influenced Camino. Vitrin, known for its well-curated beer selection, is popular among the fashion set; for something on the stronger side, a Dark & Stormy cocktail is as thunderous on the palate as the name suggests.