Rooftop of the Boerentoren, Antwerp
The Boerentoren (Farmers' Tower) on Antwerp's Meir shopping street was Europe's first true skyscraper when it opened in 1932, and its Art Deco crown still lords over the city's rooftops with quiet authority. The KBC bank building's upper floors periodically open for public visits, but the real revelation is simply standing at street level and then climbing to any of the accessible terraces nearby
The View and the Building
At 87.5 metres the Boerentoren gives you a panorama that takes in the Cathedral of Our Lady's Gothic spire, the curve of the Scheldt river and the flat Flemish polder landscape dissolving into the horizon. The building's stepped silhouette, clad in Belgian blue stone and brick, is itself a photographic subject worth circling at different times of day.
The ground-floor lobby retains its original Art Deco detailing — geometric brass fittings, marble floors and a coffered ceiling — and is accessible during banking hours. Architecture fans should also look up at the building from the corner of Meir and Wapper square for the most dramatic perspective.
Antwerp's Wider Skyline Scene
For an unobstructed 360-degree view of Antwerp, the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) on the waterfront is the city's best-kept open secret: its rooftop terrace is free to access and offers sweeping views over the Scheldt, the old city and the vast port beyond. The MAS itself is a striking stack of curved glass and red Indian sandstone designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects.
The Zurenborg neighbourhood, a 20-minute tram ride east, rewards those who want to see Antwerp's Belle Époque residential architecture from street level — the Cogels-Osylei street is lined with extravagant private mansions built between 1894 and 1906, each in a different historical style.
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