Yet another European city tracing its roots back to a settlement of the Roman Empire, the Flanders (Dutch Belgium) city of Antwerpen (Anvers in French) started coming into its own in the late 15th century, and by the 16th had come to be Europe’s richest urb. Today after rebuilding following devastation in World War II, it’s still a commercial powerhouse – Belgium’s biggest port (and Europe’s third largest), astride the River Scheldt, Antwerp is an economic force to be reckoned with especially in areas such as petrochemicals, the diamond trade. But it’s also a capital of cool (some might say even more than Brussels, about an hour’s drive/train ride into lovely, neo-Gothic Antwerpen-Centraal station away), thanks in no small part to its clubbing scene and fashion/entertainment industries. From the visitor’s standpoint, though, the first stop should be... keep reading
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