By rail
Antwerpen-Centraal, ~45 min from Brussels
Europe · Belgium
Antwerp, Belgium
Diamonds, fashion and Rubens
Getting there
By air
Brussels (BRU), ~45 min
Best time to visit
April to September — mild
Don't miss
Antwerp Central Station
The Cathedral of Our Lady
The MAS
The Grote Markt
Things to do
The Rubens House
The MAS museum
The cathedral
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: LBM1948 · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Layers
A quieter corner
The Plantin-Moretus printing museum
Questions travellers ask
How long is the train from Brussels to Antwerp?
About 45 minutes to Antwerpen-Centraal. Brussels (BRU) airport is about 45 minutes away, too.
What are Antwerp's landmark sights?
Antwerp Central Station, the Cathedral of Our Lady, the MAS museum and the Grote Markt, plus the Rubens House.
Is there a lesser-known museum in Antwerp?
Yes — the Plantin-Moretus printing museum.
When's a good time for Antwerp?
April to September, when it's mild. Reward yourself with frites and Belgian beer.
About Antwerp
- Riverside
Where it is
Antwerp is the capital of the province of Antwerp in the Flemish north of Belgium, on the River Scheldt, whose Westerschelde estuary links its great port to the North Sea.
History
In the 16th century Antwerp was the richest city in Europe, its port and exchange at the heart of trade with Spain, Portugal and their empires. Its capture by Spanish forces in 1585 and the closure of the Scheldt to shipping, confirmed in 1648, ended its golden age, but Rubens and the Plantin-Moretus printing house kept it a great centre of art and learning, and its port is now the second-largest in Europe.
People
Antwerp's people speak Dutch with a distinctive local accent, and the city is home to many communities, including a long-established Orthodox Jewish community with deep ties to the diamond trade. Its fashion academy, beer cafés and Antwerp hands, biscuits and chocolates shaped like hands, are part of city life.
Known for
- Rubens's house and altarpieces
- The diamond district
- Fashion boutiques and the MoMu fashion museum
- Antwerp Central Station
- The Plantin-Moretus Museum
Did you know?
Legend says the city's name recalls how the hero Silvius Brabo cut off the hand of the giant Druon Antigoon and threw it into the Scheldt; a statue of Brabo stands in the Grote Markt.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.