2 Best Places to Shop in Oude Stad and Het Eilandje, Antwerp and the Northeast

For a fascinating glimpse of how shopping used to be, stop by Ganterie A. Boon, which stocks old-fashioned leather gloves that appeal to grandparents and young Antwerp fashionistas. The shop was opened in 1929 and still has the original fittings inside. The retro window display looks like it hasn't been updated since the 1950s.

One of the iconic Antwerp Six that turned this city into the couture haven it became, Dries Van Noten collections for men and women can be found in the splendid Modepaleis, a five-story Belle Époque building that he bought in 1989.