November 1, 2005 | 5:14pm
When I was 25 I moved to Antwerp and it surprised me that neo-gothic buildings co-existed so happily with futuristic creations here- coming from Holland, with its strict regulations, this came as quite a relief to my freethinking soul, which tends to get bored by uniformity. On a Sunday morning I love to stroll through Antwerp's streets, with my nose pointing skywards so I can see the facades and the rooftops of all those remarkable houses. One of the most famous buildings undoubtedly is 'Huis van Roosmalen' at Sint Michielskaai, designed by Antwerp architect boB van Reeth: its done completely in black and white stripes, has an outdoor shower on the roof and was one of the first buildings build in the last two decades that used nautical references, thanks to the fact that it faces the river Scheldt. The whole quayside, running from the South District up to Eilandje is going through a revival the last couple of years, with much more to come, as the proximity to the river can be used even better than is happening right now. We even had a temporary beach here last summer, complete with trendy bar!

Diagonally across Hui svan Roosmalen, right next to the river, is the imposing Zuiderterras, where you can have dinner or enjoy a drink while watching the boats go by. Afterwards, take a walk on the elevated pedestrian walkway that starts here and that brings you to Suikerrui, the small street leading up to Grote Markt with its many historical buildings. At the end of Suikerrui turn right into Hoogstraat, yet another pedestrian street where at nr 70-74 you'll find the legendary Zwarte Panter gallery, started in the late sixties by Adriaan Raemdonck and hotbed of famous Belgian avantgarde artists such as Fred Bervoets and Bob Verhelst. Other interesting galleries in the city center are Wollondilly at Wijngaardstraat 14, for aboriginal and ethnic art and lighting objects by Belgian artists Weyers & Borms, so unique and special you'll want to burn those credit cards to the max, and Galerie Jörg Hasenbach at Wolstraat 25-29, who shows and represents artists such as Eliska Bartek (see photo), Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jan Fabre, Donald Judd and Mark Titchner. In Zirkstraat 20 you'll find my favorite gallery specialized in photography: Fifty One Fine Art Photography, which has the exposition 'Diary of a Dancer' with work by Elinor Carucci running until January 21st 2006.

Returning toward the South, I regularly stop at bookstore Copyright in Nationalestraat 28A, with a contemporary interior designed by Vincent Van Duysen and so many books on art, fashion and architecture that you can easily spend the entire Sunday here.

A work of art all in itself- and a very useful one at that, after a long walk- is the circular bench that fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester created a couple of years ago and that was placed in the garden in front of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. Perfect for relaxing and people watching! Thus revived I often walk to the back of the museum, where on the corner of Plaatsnijderstraat and Schilderstraat you'll find a remarkable house that has the front half of a boat attached to its facade. Children and adults alike love the 'Bootjeshuis' and many Antwerp locals dream of living there one day. Not me though- I live on Lambermontplaats, in my eyes the most beautiful square of Antwerp- if not the world-, with a perfect view of the chariots and angels on the roof of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. Suffice to say that I love Antwerp- and I hope that you'll come to love it too.

Travel to Antwerp with packages found at coolcapitals.com.