Lucire
The global fashion magazine February 12, 2025 
Antwerpen

Antwerp’s Grote Markt.
 

The best of Antwerp and Ghent

Volante
Elyse Glickman explores Flanders’ two impressive cities, going beyond the Antwerp Six and uncovering food, fashion and hotel must-sees
Photographed by the author

 

 

Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp Botanic Sanctuary lobby Carolien Krijnen
Above, from top: The Botanic Sanctuary Hotel & Spa. The Sanctuary’s lobby. Lifestyle expert Carolien Krijnen.

 

Beyond museums, monuments, and premium chocolate boutiques, Belgian lifestyle experts Carolien Krijnen and Elly Dermaut are stalwart supporters of Antwerp’s and Ghent’s best home-grown restaurants, retail, and lifestyle destinations. While a few international brands populate several storefronts in these small-but-stylish world-class cities, their shared mission is to steer people towards experiences they won’t find anywhere else.

A Tourism Flanders affiliated guide since 2004, Carolien Krijnen acknowledges many of the visitors signing up for her tours are already aware of the Antwerp Six (Walter van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dries van Noten, Dirk van Saene, and Marina Yee). She also points out that she relishes the opportunity to introduce visitors to up-and-coming chocolatiers and restaurateurs who prove there are other ways to experience the city as a local light years beyond the familiar frites and waffles.

‘I consider myself not only a tour guide but also a storyteller,’ she says shortly after we greet each other near the botanic garden set into the present-day grounds of the Botanic Sanctuary Hotel & Spa, a former 12th-century monastery expanded into an elegant, refined microcosm of Antwerp’s past glories and fashionable future in design, dining, and spa days.

‘My greatest pleasure is bringing Antwerp’s history, buildings, and famous citizens to life, along with creative people continuing to build Antwerp up as one of Europe’s chicest lifestyle destinations.

‘We will start in the historic city centre, and then pass through a short stretch of the Meir. Next, I’m going to walk you through other main shopping streets [such as] Schuttershofstraat and Kammenstraat, where some of the best boutiques and cafés are hiding in plain sight. Neighbourhoods like these [in the south] are relatively easy to find as the well organized streets and boulevards were modelled after Paris in the 19th century.’

If shopping is not your thing, Krijnen has you covered. She prides herself on customizing tours to focus on chocolate shops, historic landmarks, and the city’s coolest bars and restaurant hangouts. She also offers chocolate-making workshops that have won raves and repeat enrollments. To get that point across, we start out our tour in earnest at the Chocolate Line (Meir 50, 2000 Antwerpen), which is not only a paradise for chocolate connoisseurs but also a monument to Belgium’s lifestyle trends past and present.

Father-and-son chocolatiers Dominique and Julius Persoone (dubbed Finest Chocolatier of 2023 by Gault & Millau) have generated an international buzz for their collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Jaguar Land Rover, designer Philipp Plein, milliner Stephen Jones, the Rolling Stones, and the MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp, honouring designers Walter van Beirendonck, Dries van Noten, and Raf Simons. A visit to the Persoones’ opulent multi-room flagship is unforgettable, right down to fantastical, delicious things being brought to life in Napoléon’s former kitchen.

On our walk, we spend time perusing the highly curated racks, cases, and furniture displays of Monique Stam, which makes some of America’s trendy lifestyle shops look a little fast-fashiony in comparison, and jewellery designer Nadine Wijnants, whose cat logo pieces, statement designs, and custom offerings bring modern-yet-timeless alternatives to Antwerp’s diamond emporiums.

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Chocolate Line display Chocolate Line display Monique Stam boutique interior. Cat-themed wine, gin and books. Bar Georges interior. Escargots and bread at Ciro's. Antwerpen Station interior
Above, from top: Chocolate Line on the Meir. Close-up of Chocolate Line’s offerings. Inside Monique Stam’s boutique. Cat-themed books and alcohol at Bookz&Booze. Bar Georges. Escargot and bread at Ciro’s. Antwerp Station.

 

While some of Krijnen’s favourite restaurants and bars (Bar Georges, de Muze Jazz Café, timeless steakhouse Ciro’s, and Restaurant Album) are peopled with owners, chefs, and sommeliers who know their pairings, Bookz & Booze takes the cool independent book store hangout in an exciting new direction. Owner Jan Chalmet carefully pairs novels, non-fiction, and coffee table volumes with artisanal spirits and wine. He’s brilliant when flipping the concept of “curling up with a good book and a cup of tea” into a cocktail of storytellers and storied beverages.

On my own, I also make it a point to hit the almost boutique-like MoMu (ModeMuseum Antwerpen) for inspiration. Given that most of the exhibits change regularly, and they are experiential by design, it’s assured that it won’t be the same place twice.

Around the corner from the Botanic Sanctuary, Kammenstraat is a wonderland for budget-minded fashionistas who occasionally want to splurge. Based on Krijnen’s recommendations, I peruse the racks at the nearest Think Twice boutique and the Essentials Antwerp outlet (Kammenstraat 56, 2000 Antwerpen). After that, I head to jewellery designer Robb Zilla’s shop and studio to purchase a floral cocktail ring which strikes the right balance between ladylike and rocker chic. While Zilla informs me some of his pieces are available at a boutique in San Diego, having the designer help me pick the perfect ring makes the indulgence extra special.

Though content with my purchases, my guide insists I have to hit the following places on my next visit: lifestyle store Graanmarkt 13, stocking pieces for the wardrobe and home by local talent; Manuel Opdenakker and Pascale Masselis for statement jewellery; upmarket resale shops Rosier 41, Labels Inc., and Pursuit Femmes; and stylish classics from Renée Antwerp.

Ghent has its fair share of Dutch, and European boutiques, as well as branches of beloved Antwerp fashion boutiques carrying wares from the ‘Six’ and the wares of lesser-known but worthy design houses such as Four Roses, known for its colourful and cozy knitwear that can be as statement-making as the pricier Essentials Antwerp.

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Ghent bridge Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof lobby Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof staircase Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof grounds
Above, from top: An over-bridge view of Ghent. Outside the Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof. The hotel’s impressive lobby and grounds.

 

On that score, my Ghent base camp, the 158-room Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof, is an enchanting urban retreat for travellers and locals, thanks in part to fine dining restaurant LOF, anchored by Chef Paul de Groote, the more casual-yet-elegant Olivier le Petit Bistro, and the Living Bar. The early 18th-century former residence of poet Baron Olivier de Reylof exudes historic charm even as the interiors feature contemporary design elements underscoring the Ghent lifestyle. Public spaces are enlivened with the juxtaposition of old-world chandeliers, airy lanterns, sculptural modern light fixtures, and pops of colour from a curated selection of framed modern photography and art canvases. A newer wing is blended neatly into a lush centre courtyard. This flows into Spa Reylof, housed inside the original carriage house, with a full-service spa, hammam steam room, saunas, and fitness facilities.

Elly Dermaut, the press and congress (convention) representative from Visit Ghent, who meets me and my friends in the lobby, is particularly fond of the many boutique chocolatiers and gourmet food shops that set it apart from other Belgian cities.

A chocolate shop adjoins the Bakery by Joost Arijs, but as it was just ranked as Ghent’s top bakery, the delicate, flaky pastries are the main reason to go. The selection is deceptively simple, but the acclaimed baker insists his approach is ‘putting attention into what one can’t see.’ His staff serves samples of milk bread as well as the Ghent take on a cinnamon roll with milk combining croissant flakiness and brioche texture, best enjoyed hot, cut open, and with a smear of butter.

Way Coffee’s Ghent locations have a chic minimalist sensibility, and the way they present and serve coffee is pulled right out of founder Charlene de Buysere’s The Smart on Specialty Coffee. Her book defines what standards need to be set to ensure the quality and flavour of Fair Trade coffees (sourced from a curated group of small producers) are at their best, and the coffees roasted at its Dok Noord area roaster is done to those standards. After taking our coffee orders and offering vegan pastries, the barista on duty at Voldersstraat 58 draws our attention to the way the shelf tags and coffee bags are labelled with symbols that tell the buyer how sweet, strong, and acidic flavour is, once the coffee is brewed correctly.

Deduytschaever, Jannes and Karen Deduytschaever’s shop has a luxury street cred and a posh location, which provides evidence that Jannes rightfully earned the title of best chocolatier in Flanders by Gault & Millau in 2022. Another chocolatier couple, Ellen Taerwe and Luca Beltrami, began their love affair with chocolate soon after they met in 2011 in Hyderabad. However, they take what defines Belgian (and Italian) chocolate in a worldly direction with Holy Cow Chocolate, with vegetarian and vegan “bean-to-bar” recipes that are so smooth and decadent that omnivores won’t miss the milk.

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The Bakery by Joost Arijs Way Coffee interior Holy Cow Chocolates Temmermann Confiserie interior Wine bar interior
Above, from top: The Bakery by Joost Arijs. Way Coffee. Holy Cow Chocolate, with rich vegan chocolate. Temmermann Confiserie. The Ona Wine Bar.

 

The 120-year-old Temmermann Confiserie and 250-year-old mustard producer VVe Tierenteyn-Verlent are compact and cosy shops with apothecary settings that reflect the belief that great recipes and ideas endure, regardless of what food trend may emerge in this century. Ona Wine Bar, a ten-minute walk from Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof’s front door, is a destination drawing connoisseurs who appreciate a menu of “wines with a message” with a rotating selection of 30 and creative bites to accompany flights and warmly lit, modern art-adorned rooms. On the outskirts of the city centre, Wintercircus, a former circus and performance venue built in the 1880s, is now a multi-purpose “big top” with a first level of contemporary and international restaurants, graze spots (Bar Bougie, Bakker Klaas, and trendy rooftop bar Toast.

Even with stylish cafés blending French and Dutch influences lining the city’s winding waterfront, Dermaut points out Balls & Glory and Fritteur Tartaar shake up everything one thinks he or she knows about Belgian cuisine. While Balls & Glory’s takeaway selection has a global slant to it (falafel, chicken curry, and more), the signature ball featured in its cooking classes is meal-sized, stuffed with a savoury liquid filling blending Flanders-cultivated chicory, herbs, and mustard, and finished with walnuts and julienned apples. Tartaar, meanwhile, offers savoury nibbles for omnivores and vegans alike, but makes a big statement with their selection of a dozen sauces.

While there is no shortage of bars focused on Belgium’s great beers, an afternoon or evening at Dok Brewing Company–RØK BBQ & Burgers at Hal 16, tucked into an industrial neighbourhood in transition, covers the past and future of Belgian beer. Historian–tour guide Jasper Pollet prefers to discuss different brewing styles over brands in his discourse and provides a strong argument on why serious beer lovers need to expand their vocabulary beyond Stella Artois and Leffe. •

 

 

Elyse Glickman is US west coast editor of Lucire.

 

Rough surroundings at Wintercircus, with neon sign and screen Food at Balls & Glory Food at Balls & Glory Fritteur Tartaar Beers at Dok Brewing Co.
Above, from top: The former big top at Wintercircus. Balls & Glory on the waterfront. Balls & Glory’s signature balls. Fritteur Tartaar nibbles. Dok Brewing Co.’s beer selection.

 

 

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