In Antwerp, Graanmarkt 13 is an extraordinary apartment stay

design hotels

Jul 15

My first visit to Graanmarkt 13 was in the spring of 2016, whilst exploring the city with a bunch of like-minded creatives from around the world for an annual gathering initiated by the city of Antwerp. I had seen beautiful photos of this place (pretty sure I first saw it featured by Cereal), and I knew I had to visit if I ever got the chance.

Together with some lovely ladies who were also attending the press trip, we were given a tour of the apartment home located in the centre of town. I snapped some quick photos, but weren’t happy with them after returning back home, so when I was invited back to Antwerp in the fall of 2019, I knew I had to go back here and photograph properly.

Graanmarkt 13 is a 5-floor town house located on Graanmarkt, a beautiful square in the stunning historic centre of Antwerp. It offers both a restaurant run by renowned chef Seppe Nobels, a concept store showcasing design objects and fashion items hand-picked by founders Tim and Ilse, as well as the apartment hotel located on the two top floors offering four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious open kitchen, dining room and living room and a rooftop terrace overlooking the city. Sounds completely unreachable and overpriced to you? Well actually, it’s not. The apartment accommodates up to six adults, and with a price of 1.300 euro per night, I feel it’s quite reasonable for what you get, especially as a group of friends or large family travelling together.

Graanmarkt 13 is a 5-floor town house located on Graanmarkt, a beautiful square in the stunning historic centre of Antwerp

Designed and renovated by Vincent Van Duysen, who is also the mastermind behind Antwerp’s August, the Graanmarkt 13 townhouse with its neoclassical facade feels warm and inviting, yet simplistic and luxurious, as all Van Duysen’s projects do. The apartment is huge, even for six adults, and with the hotel service and included breakfast, I think a stay here would make for the perfect home base for a weekend escape. I’ve said it before, but Antwerp is one of my favourite European cities—small enough to see a lot in just a few days, metropolitan enough to offer a large variety of cultural sights, great design and food (for a list of venues to check out in the city, please scroll down end of this post).

Over these past few years, we have experienced quite a few of these types of accommodations when travelling (you know — in that other lifetime when neither Corona-virus nor CO2-emissions were at the top of our collective minds). The gorgeous family house Santa Clara 1728 in Lisbon; the spacious stone villa Margareta in beautiful Puglia, Italy; and the 17th century casa Corral del Rey in Sevilla were some of our memorable stays when travelling as a family. These untraditional accommodations in the shape of private villas, apartment or small b&b’s/hotels provide you with a feeling of coming home after a long day of exploring a new city or area, which I really appreciate. Not having to worry about a lot of other guests, not checking in at a generic reception but often being welcomed by the owners themselves, and being able to cook your own meals in a kitchen—all essential to us these days (kids demanding their porridge at 7am every morning is just a lot easier with a kitchen of your own!).

Though I have yet to spend the night at Graanmarkt 13, I have no doubt that you’re in for a very special experience at this beautiful apartment home in charming Antwerp.