Antwerp has conducted business on the River Scheldt since the Middle Ages—and has the centuries-old Diamond District (and the title of Europe’s second-largest port) to prove it. No wonder the city today ranks #23 in our Shopping subcategory while boasting the sixth-lowest poverty rate in Europe. Its cultural wealth is also shared freely, with dozens of museums of all sizes (the MoMu fashion museum is the newest). The big news is the recently renovated Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, with its 11-year, €100-million expansion adding 6,500 square metres. But the city truly shines through its quaint cobblestone townhouse lanes, secret courtyards and alleys that all lead to the soaring Gothic beauty of the Cathedral of Our Lady. The newest placemaking gem opening soon is the seven-hectare Zuidpark and its 30,000 plants. But not all is rosy for this gilded city, currently in the grips of a violent war between drug cartels trying to control the entry point for Latin American cocaine into Europe. In 2024 alone, Antwerp recorded 91 incidents of drug-related violence—a nearly 30% increase compared to 2023—including shootings, kidnappings, and torture linked to gang wars over control of smuggling routes.