| Bored of Brussels? OutUK's Adrian Gillan hits Belgium's bejewelled second city, Antwerp. With a population of more than half a million, it is by far the most populous city in the north of Belgium. |
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One of Europe's biggest ports, Belgium's second largest city, Antwerp, is
also the main town of Flanders - perched on the mighty River Scheldt, scarce
twenty miles north of capital Brussels. Occupied by the Germans in WW2 and named
European Capital of Culture in 1993, Antwerp's population proudly
speak Flemish, or immaculate English and it also happens
to be the centre of the Belgian gay scene.
Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, economically and culturally, especially before the Spanish Fury (1576) in the period of the Dutch Revolt. The inhabitants are locally nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, "lord". |
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WHERE TO STAYFor an unrivalled choice of hotels with guest reviews at low online prices check out our hotel partners Booking.com. Or for something more intimate, in the centre, the 4-star Hotel 't Sandt is a boutique design hotel with individually-themed rooms, all flooded with light, plus large garden terrace. |
WHAT TO SEEStroll along the city's system of boulevards, which replaced the walls that formerly encircled the city; take in the historic city centre - the Grote Markt, the Groen Blaats, the magnificent Gothic Cathedral (14th - 15th Century) with its 120m spire, even the renovated (and thankfully cleaned-out) underground former city sewers. | 
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| Then browse the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, hanging out with Rubens and van Dyck; visit palatial Rubens' House ; or shimmy through the boutique-lined fashion quarter and Fashion Museum MoMu to learn how the "Antwerp Six" put the city on the global couture map. |
| Drool through the Jewish Quarter, with its Diamond Museum to learn about the four "c"s (colour, clarity, carat & cut), and drop into the Diamondland showrooms, to see cutters at work - maybe even fixing a Diamond Cocktail evening, where you or your mates get the chance to walk off with a sparkling stone; troll the gorgeous southern art nouveau district, Zurenborg; or see Antwerp from the docks with a Flandria river cruise, maybe even including dinner. |
Photo: Rick Lord |
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Antwerp Pride takes place at the beginning of August. It was first launched in 2008 and was an initiative of the City of Antwerp
and a few other gay hospitality organisations. Nowadays, it's a way bigger event as they present Antwerp as a gay-friendly city on a
local, regional, national and international level and try and attract as many gay visitors and supporters as possible to the city.
WHERE TO EAT, BOOZE & DANCESit and chill at Café den Draak - the light-and-airy café-bar beneath Antwerp's main LGBT community hub, Het Roze Huis, down south around Zurenborg. Den Draak serves reasonably-priced coffee, beer, wine and cocktails as well as small, simple dishes. It's popular with the young gay crowd. | |
Gay Pride festival in Antwerp. Photo: Barry177 | As night falls, two-level Café Hessenhuis gets crammed with young, trendy, teasing cuties. It's located in Antwerp's trendy neighbourhood near the MAS Museum and red-light district. Hessenhuis features a large dance floor and live DJ's on the weekend with 90's Therapy, SugarDaddy and Drag Shows. |
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Meanwhile, Cafe Twilight can be found at Theatre Square. Twilight has a huge outdoor terrace, friendly staff and laid-back atmosphere.
Located near the main shopping street in central Antwerp.
Café DeLux is a nice bar located in the center of the city, with a cosy terrace at the back looking out at a beautiful church. There's always friendly service and a nice gay atmosphere. Jeffrey's is a recently opened small gay pub from the former owner of Café Twilight. It has a nice atmosphere inside. For something crusier, check out Club Random on Geulinckxstraat - it's the best disco-dance cruising bar in Antwerp. Great music, excellent atmosphere with very friendly people. Clients vary from young to old, as there are no boundaries here. Music is deep house and disco on weekdays, and a mix of electro, house, techno on the weekends. | |
Gay Pride festival in Antwerp. Photo: Barry177 | For leather 'n fetish, you are best to slip into The Boots on Van Aerndtstraat. They host leather and rubber nights, frequently have DJs and hold regular naked, underwear, pup, army, denim and sportswear nights. You'll need membership the first time you go there by filling out a form at the entrance or beforehand online. |
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Antwerp's two main gay club nights are held at the cavernous Cargo Club on Lange Schipperskapelstraat.
There's Red & Blue every Saturday in the biggest gay venue in Benelux and occasionally you can also join in
with De Faute Party. Both get packed with handsome hot Flemish hunks.
There are two adult shopping stores in Antwerp. Thw well-established Europe wide chain Mister B has a branch here in the old centre. You will find the latest leather fetish fashions for men, exciting rubber gear, some new BDSM toys and much more. Toys 4 Boys is your other option, located in the Nosestraat - it offers a broad range of exactly what's in its name! Gay Sauna 't Herenhuis is Antwerp's main gay sauna. Apart from the sauna, there's a large pool and lounge to rest in. They also offer food and drink as well as Swedish massage with aromatherapy. If you're still restless after all that, you can often find some men taking airs in the Stadspark. GETTING THEREHighly recommended airline VLM fly direct from London City and Manchester to Antwerp whereas most other airlines take you through Brussels. There's also the choice of Eurostar, which takes you to Brussels where you can change to another train.
Revised July 2024. | |
