City guide: Things to see and do in Antwerp, Belgium
By Cruise & Travel | 18 Dec 2023
It’s a magnet for fashion lovers and diamond dealers, but the Flemish city of Antwerp also offers fantastic food and a rejuvenated museum scene, writes Richard Mellor
After a topsy-turvy history, Belgium’s second city – and main Flemish stronghold – might just be entering another golden age. Restocked with museums and powered by its super-port, modern-day Antwerp is also a magnet for fashionistas, foodies and free-thinkers.
In the late 1400s, a boom in westwards trade allied with Antwerp’s straightforward sea access up the Scheldt River saw this small, fortified settlement reborn as a powerful trading post. Glorious mansions sprung up, the ruling Habsburgs visited often and one of Europe’s major cities quickly took form; befittingly, it also boasted one of the continent’s A-list artists in Pieter Paul Rubens.
The ensuing centuries were less kind, bringing a war-ridden Spanish occupation culminating in the Spanish Fury, a sacking that saw 17,000 locals lose their lives; economic suppression by Dutch overseers; and, following a revival under Napoleon, severe damage during both world wars.
Subsequently, however, a post-war rebuild and a recent clean-up, involving the restoration or even unveiling glorious old buildings – a department in which Antwerp hardly lacked, anyway – has given the city a boost of energy.
As well as being a hub of the world’s diamond-trade dealers- who dominate a secretive tangle of streets next to the graceful Central Station – the city has earned international fanfare for its trend-setting fashion designers ever since the Antwerp Six rose to prominence three decades ago. Factor in cute cobbled lanes, an especially glorious cathedral and that rebooted gallery scene, and you really should be hurrying off that ship…
Where to go in Antwerp
Although some riverboats dock slightly further north at Kattendijkdok or Willemdok, most Antwerp-bound cruises drop anchor at Wandelteras Zuid. Opened in 2020, this still-shiny terminal is fabulously located with no shuttle bus required for urban exploration.
Indeed, within a five-minute walk, you can be learning about Antwerp’s history in Het Steen, a 13th-century fortress; Or rummaging around shops in the medieval centre, where sinuous alleys spread eastwards from the Scheldt.
The best Antwerp advice? To simply wander around, taking in the beauty and bustling atmosphere. Perhaps visit the Lego brick-like Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), if only for the terrific port views on offer from its rooftop, then snake your way south towards Sint-Jansvliet. Filled with locals and adjoining a Scheld subway accessed via clanking, oh-so-photogenic wooden elevators, this bar-flanked square hosts a superb Sunday flea market.
Immediately west is the fashion district, while to the south, you’ll find hip Het Zuid, a bougie neighbourhood characterised by leafy streets, cool cafes, independent local restaurants and vintage stores.
Where to stay in Antwerp
On a happily quiet street just off Sint-Jansvliet, luxurious HOTEL ‘T SAND occupies what was once a warehouse where Europe’s first-ever bananas were stored. Today the space hosts 29 stylish, distinctly decorated – but always with flair – bedrooms rich in space. Good breakfast spreads are served downstairs or on a leafy terrace.
What to see in Antwerp
The 15th-century Cathedral of Our Lady is a true gothic fantasia. After snapping its spires – freed from four years of scaffolding last December – venture inside to admire the stunning seven-aisled nave and a quartet of early Rubens paintings. Their presence is especially welcome, given that the city’s Rubens House mansion, where the artist lived and worked, will remain closed until 2027. Steps away is the city’s focal Grote Mark plaza, framed by gabled guild houses and a grand City Hall line. For fantastic views without the price tag, local tour guide Carolien Krinen has a tip worth trying.
She says: “There’s a small tower on top of the tourist information office at Het Steen, open until 10pm, from which you can see the whole city – for free!” To visit a farther-flung quarter, use the tram network. In revitalised Het Eilandje, buzzy brasseries occupy repurposed warehouses next to MAS and the moving Red Star Line Museum, which tells the story of early European migrants to America. Architecture buffs are directed just north to the Port House, an old fire station on whose roof the late Zaha Hadid has dramatically plopped a diamond-like glass extension.
Or go south to Zurenborg where, replete with ostentatious curves, gables and murals, residential streets such as Cogels-Osylei serve as an art nouveau showroom.
Three revitalised museums in Antwerp
Explore Antwerp’s fashion, art, history and culture.
Royal Museum of Fine Arts
This Zuid gallery returned to action in 2023 after an 11-year restoration. A glossy, white-walled courtyard wing has been added and exhibitions are now thematic. not chronological.
Choral music plays beside an instrument-strewn altarpiece; a Rembrandt portrait abuts a colourful contemporary work; one boozy tavern painting is purposefully slanted – all typify a thought-provoking sense of play. Tickets €20. Click here to find out more.
Modemuseum
Digestible and fashion-focused, ‘MoMu’ uses its bigger room to detail the origins of modish staples such as trenchcoats and hoodies, while a second space shows temporary exhibitions based around Belgian designers or sartorial trends. Tickets €12. Click here to find out more.
DIVA
Jewellery, especially diamonds, is the focus here, as several sparkling floors show you how precious stones move from mines to sparkle on the fingers and necks of the world’s well-heeled. Some incredible specimens are on show. Booking ahead is advisable; tickets €12. Click here to find out more.
What to eat in Antwerp
Restaurants abound around the old town and in repurposed buildings along the Scheldt. The more traditional will serve Flemish seafood dishes such as shrimp croquettes or paling in’t groen (eels in a herby green sauce).
French fries (frites) are another staple, with the original Frituur no1 counter a particular institution. Open until the early hours opposite the cathedral (Hoogstraat 1), it serves generous portions with numerous sauces.
This being Belgium, beer is a big thing. A good place for fans to start is the southerly De Koninck brewery. Typically consumed in namesake, goblet-like glasses, Antwerp’s beloved bolleke beer is produced here.
Where to eat in Antwerp:
- Among plenty of Michelin-feted restaurants, one stands out: HERTOG JAN at the new, five-star Botanic Hotel has an Asian influence via plates such as wagyu A5 beef alongside smoked eel and rich cherries.
- Less acclaimed but equally memorable is unmarked FIERA, a fine-dining establishment in the Handelsbeurs Antwerp’s glorious old stock exchange retains its stained glass as chillwave electro plays to a cool young crowd.
Cruise lines that call at Antwerp
Antwerp is served by both ocean and river cruises, with lines stopping overnight including Viking, A-Rosa, Fred Olsen and Oceania Cruises, while CroisiEurope and Regent Seven Seas have voyages that finish here. Ambassador, Scenic and, from 2024, Tauck also sail to the city.
