Zurenborg
The Vibe
Architectural fantasia — a compact quarter of impossibly extravagant Belle Époque townhouses where Antwerp's bourgeoisie built elaborate private residences in Belgium, now one of Europe's great architectural secrets
Description
Zurenborg is Antwerp's most architecturally extravagant neighborhood — a compact quarter of Art Nouveau, Gothic Revival, Baroque Revival, and Renaissance Revival townhouses built between 1894 and 1914 for Antwerp's prosperous bourgeoisie, concentrated in an area so small that every building of extraordinary quality seems designed in deliberate competition with its neighbor. The Cogels-Osylei — the neighborhood's central street — is considered one of the most beautiful streets in Belgium: a sequence of villa-scale houses with elaborate stone carvings, stained glass, ceramic ornament, and sculptural details that represent every historical and contemporary style simultaneously. Unlike Brussels' Art Nouveau district (which is genuinely Art Nouveau), Zurenborg is an eclectic and delirious celebration of every style available at the turn of the 20th century, all applied at once. The neighborhood is primarily residential and largely unvisited by tourists — you are genuinely on your own here with the architecture.
Neighborhood Stats
Popular With
- architecture-lovers
- photography-enthusiasts
- slow-travelers
- design-conscious
Key Attributes
- art-nouveau
- architectural
- residential
- historic
- hidden-gem
Food Scene
Brasserie Cogels (Cogels-Osylei) for the neighborhood institution. Koffie Boutique (Zurenborg) for specialty coffee in a converted merchant house. De Koninck brewery (nearby Berchem) for the Antwerp city beer heritage. Several wine bars and bistros on the neighborhood's main streets.