Antwerp, Belgium: the perfect break
Antwerp's artistic treasures offer rich reward to the discerning weekender It may be 350 years since Antwerp's political and economic heyday, but it was some heyday. Between 1500 and 1650, the Flemish city was one of the most powerful and influential trading centres in the world, dominating the lucrative pepper, silver and textiles markets (the diamonds came later). Much of the vast wealth generated – some historians call it the richest city in Europe – was poured into the arts. The squares were beautified, the churches and cathedral embellished, and a thriving artistic community grew up on the back of lavish commissions for portraits and religious art. Among the painters born, trained or drawn here were Gossaert, the subject of a major retrospective about to open at the National Gallery in London, Frans Hals, Teniers, Jordaens, Brueghel, Rubens and Van Dyke. Antwerp remains one of the most culturally fascinating and under-appreciated cities in Europe, and ideally ...
