Antwerp

BBBBTRC: Selected beans, roast-of-the-week. Great espresso and filter coffee.

BBBBTRC: Great espresso and filter coffee. Selected blends. Very comfortable, full of light, great books and magazines to flip through

BBBBTRC: Fashion design museum.

BBBBTRC: Most curated section: fashion (the bookstore in part of the fashion design museum MoMu). Nice but smaller sections on architecture, design, graphics design and photography as well.

BBBBTRC: Great selection of fragrances, including nice brands like Etat Libre d'Orange, Fracas, Carven. Very good skincare selection as well. There's also a beauty studio downstairs.

BBBBTRC: Very interesting Belgian brand. Store + beauty studio.

BBBBTRC: Wonderful and huge selection of graphic novels, comics, zines, illustrations books, anime – in Dutch, French and English.

BBBBTRC: Great LGBT bookstore & café. Books (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, 2nd hand) in Dutch, French & English + movies & sex toys. Also good place to find info on LGBT associations/ activities in town.

BBBBTRC: Café and record store.

BBBBTRC: Nice exhibitions + bookshop, café & restaurant. Totally worth visiting even just for the terrific architecture and view from the top.

BBBBTRC: Museum of Modern Art.

BBBBTRC: Second hand books, in Dutch, French and English. Very cool theatre, art and design sections.

BBBBTRC: Awesome square and architecture (check out the majestic Hetpaleis). International foodie market on Saturdays (Mediterranean food – olives, fresh cheese – über alles).

BBBBTRC: Old furniture and small antiques are being put up for auction. Loud, messy, dusty – the real deal.

BBBBTRC: Arts, concerts, parties + Bosbar cafè, also offering good vegetarian food.

BBBBTRC: Small shop with great skincare selection and very good service. Highlights: Diptyque, REN, GlamGlow, Laura Mercier, Rodial.

BBBBTRC: Trains are cooler than planes. And this station has the most mixed-up architectural style(s) – recommended.

BBBBTRC: Botanical garden – wonderful, also in winter.

BBBBTRC: Performing arts and experimental theatre.

BBBBTRC: First thought: not really into the idea of calling a shop stocking niche fragrances a "necessity". Name aside, selection & service are remarkable. Highlights: Laboratorio Olfattivo, Lorenzo Villoresi.

BBBBTRC: Great bookstore, also offering a wide and juicy second hand selection. Dutch, French, English titles.

BBBBTRC: Nice coffee table titles (the good ones actually made to be read!), very good kids section and pretty stationery.

BBBBTRC: Vinyls – good soul, funk jazz sections. Note: the shop is on top of IMS International Magazine Store – win win combination!

BBBBTRC: Terrific selection of international magazines, offering both mainstream and niche titles.

BBBBTRC: Photography museum.

BBBBTRC: New Palace of Justice – majestic architecture, also featuring neon yellow details (!)

BBBBTRC: Museum of fine arts. Undergoing major renovation until 2017 (its exhibitions are taking place in alternative venues in the meantime), but still worth checking from the outside for its architecture.

BBBBTRC: Very good black coffee and espresso. Also known for its pastrami sandwich.

BBBBTRC: Cosy bistro. Good coffee, drinks and light meals. Interiors: wood, tiles and big windows on the street. Alert though: no WiFi. Take time to read the newspaper.

BBBBTRC: Furniture, lighting, objects with nicely edgy taste *and* Aesop skincare products. If you visit, take the chance to check out the whole Kloosterstraat – great antique shops.

BBBBTRC: So many tattoo parlors in Antwerp! This is one of the most talked about. Great designs, indeed.

BBBBTRC: One more tattoo parlor. Heard so much about it! Didn't test it though.