Antwerp
EUROPE · FIESTA SIDE
Port city and fashion capital: Rubens and diamonds on one side, avant-garde design, cavernous clubs and great bars on the other.
The plan
Antwerpen-Centraal station
A 1905 marble-and-glass cathedral of a station. The four-level hall is worth walking through even without a train.
Cathedral of Our Lady
Belgium's largest Gothic church, holding four major Rubens altarpieces including the Descent from the Cross.
📍 Map & photos · €€
MAS museum rooftop
A red sandstone tower on the old docks; the escalator route up to the rooftop port panorama is the real draw.
📍 Map & photos · €€ · Website ↗
Rubens garden and Experience
The historic house is closed for rebuilding until 2027, but the baroque garden and new Experience are open. Shut Weds.
📍 Map & photos · €€ · Website ↗
MoMu fashion museum
Het Zuid's fashion museum, home turf of the Antwerp Six; a dedicated Antwerp Six show runs into January 2027.
📍 Map & photos · €€ · Website ↗
Getting there
Train from Brussels
Forty minutes on frequent IC trains into Antwerpen-Centraal, itself one of Europe's finest railway buildings.
Fly Brussels (BRU)
Direct trains run from the airport to Antwerpen-Centraal in about 35 minutes, roughly once an hour.
Train from Amsterdam
Direct high-speed services reach Antwerp from Amsterdam in around an hour and 15 minutes.
When to go
Best time to go
May to September, for terrace weather and long evenings on the Scheldt
Cheapest months
January and February, once the winter sales and markets are over
Priciest & busiest
December, and any weekend with a big fashion or trade fair on
If you've got one day
Morning
Antwerpen-Centraal's hall, then walk the Meir to the Cathedral of Our Lady for the Rubens altarpieces.
Late morning
Grote Markt guildhalls and the Brabo fountain, then out onto the riverside walk along the Scheldt.
Lunch
Steak or shrimp croquettes in Het Zuid, or something quick among the Groenplaats cafe terraces.
Afternoon
Escalate up to the MAS rooftop for the port panorama, then the Eilandje docks and the design shops.
Evening
Beer at Billie's Bier Kafetaria, dinner in Het Zuid, then a late club night at Ampere or a gig at Trix.
Nearby & day trips
Lier
Twenty minutes by train to a small beguinage town built around the astronomical Zimmer Tower clock.
Ghent by train
About 50 minutes west for canals, a Van Eyck altarpiece and a very different Flemish city entirely.
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