Art, food, fashion, diamonds – Antwerp has it all. MAXINE GORDON finds out why the Flanders city is a destination on the rise.

IF You go to Antwerp you must do a line of cocoa. Yes, you read that correctly. Michelin-starred chocolate maker and self-styled “shock-o-latier” Dominique Persoone hit the headlines when he was asked to create something fun for the Rolling Stones while on tour in Belgium.

He concocted a mix of chocolate, ginger and mint, ground to powder form, and presented it to the veteran rockers.

“It was the birthdays of Charlie Watts and Ron Woods and they asked for some practical jokes to be put on the menu,” says Dominique at his Antwerp shop, appropriately named The Chocolate Line. “We got the lot of them to sniff chocolate and when Mick Jagger was asked later: ‘How was the party?’ he said: ‘Great – we sniffed chocolate!’”

Then it was our turn. About half of us on the tour stepped forward to inhale the brown powder; expertly fired into our nostrils by Dominique via a plastic catapult contraption.

And the effect? Well the mint certainly opened the nasal passages, but mostly we ended up with a light film of what looked like drinking chocolate around our noses.

Great fun, but Dominique’s chocolate is equally kooky. He works with Heston Blumenthal, so expect the unexpected; like soy sauce inside a praline, or even grass juice.

Of course, there is more to Antwerp than chocolate – although chocoholics might be more than happy to spent their entire visit indulging their addiction. Besides the numerous designer chocolatiers such as Godiva and Pierre Marcolini, there are chocolate cafés too, such as the Guylain café, which has a pleasant outdoor seating area.

Diamonds are Antwerp’s other big draw – and certainly the Flemish city is the place to come if you are looking for a decent rock. Half of the world’s diamond trade is carried out here; which explains the bollards and security cameras at Hoveniersstraat in the heart of the diamond district.

Fashionistas may already know the reputation of the Flanders city as a style mecca. Fashion shopping in Antwerp offers an eclectic mix of designer, high street, independents and vintage. If you are looking for something different, avoid the main shopping street, Meir, and head down Kammenstraat and Nationalestraat.

Internationally renowned designer Dries Van Noten is arguably the most famous of the “Antwerp Six” fashion collective who took the design world by storm in the Eighties.

Van Noten, who still lives in Antwerp and has dressed the likes of Cate Blanchett and Michelle Obama, now has his flagship store in the heart of the city’s fashion area and his HQ in Het Eilandje (small island), the trendy, upcoming port area to the north of the city.

Het Eilandje is also the location for Antwerp’s newest attraction: The Mas (Museum aan de Stroom, literally museum near the stream or river). Opened this month, The Mas is a landmark for the 21st century.

Towering above the port area, its red brick and giant glass windows rise above the river Scheldt like a stack of child’s building blocks. The views from the nine-story building are panoramic and worth a visit alone.

The museum, which hosts 460,000 exhibits from the city’s former national shipping, ethnography and folklore museums, is also home to two-Michelin-starred restaurant T’Zilte, run by celebrated local chef Viki Geunes. There is a café, Storm, on the ground floor.

The Mas is open until midnight and hopes to become a meeting point for locals and visitors alike. After dark, the building loses its ochre glow, and is artfully lit up in an succession of colours.

It’s lovely to watch as you sit opposite in one of the port-side bars, drinking a Belgian beer, or sipping the local gin spirit Genever (try a citron-flavoured one with coke).

For great food on Het Eilandje, visit Restaurant Marcel for delicious French fare in a smart dining room converted from a former mission hall. A nice touch was the bread basket, which came with salami and bowls of tiny pickled onions and gherkins and crunchy white radish and a pot of mustard.

Antwerp was heavily bombed in the Second World War, but much of its historic charm remains. The Flemish are rightly proud of their glorious past; between 1500 and 1650, Antwerp was one of the richest, most powerful and influential trading centres in the world.

Much of its wealth was poured into the arts, with Antwerp becoming the birthplace of the international art market. Some of the world’s finest painters were born, trained or practised in the city, including Jordaens, Brueghel, Van Dyke and Rubens. A must-see on any visit is the Rubenshuis, bought by the artist in 1610 and extended to cater for his studio. The inside offers a fascinating glimpse of Flemish life in the 17th century.

Dark wood interiors and small leaded windows were the fashion of the day, along with walls of tiles from Delft. Fabrics were luxurious: thick velvets in blood red and sunshine gold. Beds were four-poster, but tiny – because people liked to sit upright as they slept, explained our guide.

Best of all are the many works by Rubens and his contemporaries that adorn the walls. For more works by the master, visit Antwerp’s magnificent gothic Cathedral of Our Lady, which towers above the splendid, gabled, guild houses in the Grote Markt (main square). The seven-aisle cathedral was 170 years in the making and, despite centuries of looting, the four altar pieces by Rubens survived and are on display. It is a World Heritage Site.

Many visitors leave Antwerp with a box of chocolate hands or hand-shaped biscuits. This comes from the legend of the giant Antigoon, who chopped off the hands of those who refused to pay him a toll to cross the river. He was eventually slain by a young hero, Brabo, who chopped off the giant’s own hand and threw it in the Scheldt. Hence the name, in Flemish, Antwerpen, from the Dutch, hand and werpen (to throw).

A statue of Brabo’s daring deed stands pride of place in Grote Markt in front of the town hall – and you suspect it would be a brave soul to deny the legend.

After all, what would they do with all those hand-shaped delicacies?

Fact file

• Maxine travelled to Antwerp via East Coast trains from York to London then on the Eurostar, via Brussels – about five hour’s travelling time. Return fares from London St Pancras to Antwerp (Eurostar & SNCB combined) are available from £80.

For more information, visit eurostar.com or call 08432 186 186 Advance return fares from York to London Kings Cross on East Coast trains, booked online, start from £26 standard class or £79 first class. Book via eastcoast.co.uk, telephone 08457 225225 or visit any staffed station.

• Maxine stayed at the Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel (opposite Central Station, so ideal for Eurostar passengers)

Koningin Astridplein 7, 2018 Antwerp, website: radissonblu.com/astridhotel-antwerp or phone: +32 3 203 12 73

Restaurant Marcel, Van Schoonbekeplein 13, 2000 Antwerp, website: restaurantmarcel.be or telephone: +32 3 336 33 02

For further information contact Tourism Flanders-Brussels on 0207 307 7738 (live operator line, Mon-Fri) or visit visitflanders.co.uk