Antwerp has been the centre of the diamond trade since the 16th-century, and today is home to a multi-billion euro industry, with around 85 percent of the world’s rough diamonds pass and a significant number of the world’s most highly coveted cut gems passing through. The ever mercantile city also got rich on the cloth business back in the day, and has again, since the 80s rise of the Antwerp Six designers, been a global fashion force. Its pretty streets are home to some of the best designer and high-end vintage shopping in Europe, not to mention a roll call of edgy, darkly glamorous places to see and be seen.

It should come as no surprise that Antwerp’s cultural cred punches way above its ‘second capital’ status. It was, back in the 16th-century, one of the world’s greatest and richest cities and one where merchants and diplomats, sailors and artisans mixed and mingled. Today’s multicultural city is as open and fluid as ever, its mix of beautiful Baroque townhouses, Jugenstil districts and edgily regenerated industrial areas providing a moody and evocative backdrop to a flourishing creative milieu and a flourishing contemporary art, fashion and music scene.

Brussels may not scream Speedos and sunscreen, but when the big ball in the sky is ablaze and the city’s thermometers are on the up, the Belgian capital has plenty of places to cool off.