IT'S fascinating to visit a European city about which you have absolutely no preconceptions - like seeing a new film or play before a single critic has had the opportunity to put any ideas into your head.

For me, that was the case with Antwerp, other than knowing that the Belgian port is synonymous with the artist Rubens and the diamond industry. I found a city whose appearance compares favourably with many better-known tourist destinations, one that you can scarcely do justice to in a couple of days.

For orientation purposes, Antwerp's impressive main square (the Grote Markt), with its 16th and 17th-century guild houses, is a good starting point. The town hall is the result of an elaborate collaboration by north and south European architects, and from here the city's historic core fans out into narrow streets which have survived remarkably intact since the war.

The port, rather than the city itself, was targeted by bombers and, where redevelopment was necessary, planners resisted the temptation to put up skyscrapers. Antwerp does, however, have an interesting high-rise curiosity piece; the KBC Bank tower went up in the 1920s, and is claimed to be Europe's first skyscraper. Perhaps considered a carbuncle in its early days, it has a slightly brutalist Soviet look, rendered more interesting by the passing of time.

One of the most impressive parts of Antwerp survived the war but was under threat two decades later. It's well worth taking a tram out to Zuremborg, to see a district where the houses combine art nouveau and neo-classical styles. In some streets, notably Cogels-Osylei, row upon row of houses are like small castles. In the 1960s, there was much talk about whether these crumbling buildings should be demolished, an act of vandalism which would have been on a par with knocking down York's city walls. Zuremborg survived, became gentrified and now has some of the area's most sought-after properties.

Antwerp has been known as the Diamond City for more than 500 years. More than half the world's cut diamonds are traded there and at the Diamondland showroom, on a working day, you can see diamond polishers and a goldsmith at work.

At the nearby Diamond Museum, a show called Bling Bling explored the hip-hop world's fascination with diamonds. The exhibition included such items as a life-sized diamond-encrusted bike, and necklaces with a rifle and a knife, all in the best possible taste, crafted into the design.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts houses masterpieces covering more than 500 years of history, from Jan van Eyck to an impressive 20th century collection including surrealists Rene Magritte and Paul Delvaux. The museum also has the world's largest collection of work by the Belgian Expressionist pioneer James Ensor.

Our guide considered a 15th century painting by French artist Jean Fouquet the most remarkable in the entire collection. Fouquet's Madonna, using just three or four cool colours, has an almost modernist feel to it, enhanced by the Virgin Mary's impossibly slim waist and round breasts which look, to 21st century eyes, like the result of a silicone implant.

Perhaps uniquely in major galleries, restoration work takes place in full view, behind a glass wall next to an exhibition room. At the moment, a 15th-century work by Hans Memling, once the altarpiece in a Spanish church, is having centuries of accumulated grime removed.

Gallery visitors can watch restoration work in progress and, once a month, they can go in and talk to restorers about their craft. Had such opportunities existed in the 19th century, eagle-eyed art lovers might have had a searching question or two for the restorer who appears to have painted himself into Quentin Massys' early 16th century Lamentation. On a rocky outcrop, above the prone Christ and his supporters, sits a small figure with a Victorian top hat.

Rubens, master of the Flemish baroque with a penchant for plump women, is also well represented. Though born in Germany, his parents fled to Antwerp when he was very young and his name is as much associated with Antwerp as, say, Vermeer with Delft, or El Greco with Toledo.

A wealthy man in his lifetime, Rubens was granted many privileges by the city and built a beautiful house around an inner courtyard, which now contains several of his works and numerous others by his contemporaries. Antwerp's Gothic cathedral, which dominates the skyline in the old town, features the tryptich Descent From The Cross, one of his most important works.

There are several more excellent museums including Olantin-Moretus, a fine 17th-century building which houses an early print works, and Antwerp's 1905 church-like railway station is a must see.

Belgium is always good for food and drink. A huge bowl of mussels with chips and mayonnaise makes a terrific lunch. It's a country which takes its beer seriously, down to the many styles of glasses for different brews. The local, amber-coloured Bolleke is a fine winter warmer, but whatever your taste in beer, the Belgians have got it covered.

  • John Wheatcroft travelled via Hull-Zeebrugge to Antwerp as a guest of P&O Ferries and Tourism Flanders. To book mini-cruises to Belgium and Holland visit www.POminicruise.com or call 0871 664 6664