DESTINATIONS BELGIAN CITIES SHORT BREAKS


museums – is Le Grand Curtius. The best sections cover the history of Liège, and some exquisite glass art. The Musée d’Ansembourg – an


impressively extravagant old merchant house – is a few steps away. There’s some gorgeous wooden furniture inside, and the painted leather wallpaper is astonishing. Stay: The utterly charming Hotel Neuvice is spread over three 18th-century buildings, with wooden beams left intact. But the modern makeover and super- king beds make it feel like a treat. Doubles start at €115. hotelneuvice.be


◗ ANTWERP Antwerp is where Belgium switches gear from cosy to edgy. Home to Europe’s second- largest port, the world’s diamond industry and several major fashion designers, it has a big-


city energy about it, while being manageably walkable. There are also several excellent


attractions, spearheaded by the Museum Plantin-Moretus. The former home and office of a printing magnate, it’s full of tapestries, Rubens paintings and hugely evocative centuries-old printing presses. The renovated former docklands area is home to two crackers, the first of which is MAS, a daringly presented museum in a striking tower. It’s highly thematic, delving into topics such as symbols of power and Antwerp’s history as a major port. More gripping, though, is the


Red Star Line Museum, which traces the story of the two million-plus people who passed through Antwerp’s port on their way to a new life in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum is in the former HQ of the Red Star


ABOVE: Red Star Line Museum


BELOW: Antwerpen Centraal station


Line, and does a great line in personal stories. Just south of the centre,


Sint-Andries is regarded as the fashion district. There are several marvellously independent shops, which dare to be different. Most notable of these is top designer Dries van Noten’s Het Modepaleis, which is splendidly over the top and riotously colourful. Stay: Opposite the spectacular Antwerpen Centraal station, which should be regarded as an attraction in its own right, the Radisson Blu Astrid is a great option for families. That’s partly because it shares a building with the Aquatopia aquarium, but also because it has a pool – a rarity for Antwerp. Doubles from €127. radissonblu.com/astrid hotel-antwerp


SAMPLE PRODUCT


Super Break offers three nights’


B&B at the three-star


Hans Memling Hotel in Bruges from £259 per person. The price includes Eurostar travel from London and is based on a March 2019 departure. superbreak. com/agents


Osprey


Holidays offers two nights’ B&B at the four-star Ghent River Hotel, from £289 per person. The price includes


standard-class Eurostar travel from London, departing


November 16. osprey


holidays.com 58 travelweekly.co.uk 23 August 2018


PICTURE: WOODMONKEY.BE/GIANNI CAMILLERI


PICTURE: ANTWERPEN TOERISME & CONGRES/DAVE VAN LAERE


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