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Antwerp.

Places to go. A little room to wander.

A local view near Antwerp, Belgium
A local view near Antwerp, Belgium. Photograph by LBM1948 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized and converted to WebP.

THE SHORTLIST

A few places worth your time.

01Food · DAY 1 IDEA

Antwerp

City Hall/Old Market Square

This is the historical centre of town. The market square is surrounded by the typical medieval guild houses you find in most Flemish historical towns. The city hall is designed in special architectural style with a combination between Gothic and early Renaissance, and is a . This style is almost exclusively found in this region of Europe. The Brabo Fountain (Dutch: Brabofontein) is located in front of the city hall. Restaurants with terraces surround the square. During winter the Grote Markt is decorated with Christmas lights and a large Christmas tree.

Allow about 60 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
02Culture · DAY 1 IDEA

Antwerp

Vleeshuis

Literally, the "Meat house". It was built as the guild hall for the butchers. Every day tonnes of meat changed owners here. The building is famous for the original masonry made to resemble stacks of bacon (switching between white stones and red bricks). It now houses a museum, of which the main part comprises a musical instrument collection, including some examples of old harpsichords built by the local Ruckers family.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
03Culture · DAY 1 IDEA

Antwerp

Boerentoren

Now called KBC Tower after the company that owns it, this 97-m skyscraper in the historical centre of town is said to be the oldest one on the European continent. It was built between 1929 and 1932. It is at the end of the Meir shopping street. The tower is renowned for its typical art-deco sculptures. It is not a skyscraper on the same scale as some that were erected in North America; for example the Empire State Building in New York, built at the same time, is 381 m.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
04Neighborhoods · DAY 2 IDEA

Antwerp

Diamond District

This is south and southwest of the central station. You will find countless jewellery shops, as well as the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, one of the most important financial centres of the world's diamond industry. Majority of the world's rough diamond transactions take place here. The district is interesting from an ethnic and cultural perspective, for at least 50% of the diamond industry is in the hands of the city's Jews.

Allow about 60 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
05Outdoors · DAY 2 IDEA

Middelheimlaan, Wilrijk

Middelheim Park and Middelheim Museum

The centre of Antwerp is not very big, and once you cross the ring road, you will mainly see suburbs. There are some nice parks outside the ring road: the Middelheim Park in Wilrijk is one of them. It houses a permanent open-air exhibition of modern sculpture, including work by famous artists such as Rodin, Hans Arp, Henry Moore, and many others.

Allow about 60 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source

A note before you go. Start with City Hall/Old Market Square, then decide whether Vleeshuis deserves a separate visit rather than rushing both. The suggested days are an editable grouping, not a timed tour. Visit allowances exclude transfers, meals and queues; confirm the exact entrance and current visiting arrangements for Middelheim Park and Middelheim Museum before setting off.

Reference material retrieved 2026-10-19. Suggested days and time allowances are editorial starting points. Check the linked visitor information for opening hours, access, and reservations.

BEFORE YOU SET OFF

A more practical kind of plan.

Getting your bearings

The tram system operates with low-floor articulated units (refer to the above photo), mostly in tunnels under the centre, & older high-floor tramcars, mostly on ground-level routes. The central bus station is the Franklin Roosevelt plaats, near the central train station. Most buses leave from there or from the train station. Maps of the bus/tram network in the entire region can be found in PDF format here . Mabo Taxi Antwerpen provides taxi rides in Antwerp for those who wish to avoid public transportation.

Build a route that makes sense

City Hall/Old Market Square and Vleeshuis are about 0.2 km apart in a straight line. Use the route link to compare the actual streets or transport connections before putting both in the same morning; the measurement is not a walking distance or a transfer estimate.

A LITTLE STRUCTURE. ROOM FOR DISCOVERY.

Your Antwerp plan.

Add a few stops, choose your days, and leave space between them.

My saved trips
Location, map & reference details

Find your bearings.

Country
Belgium
Area
Flanders
Time zone
Europe/Brussels
Coordinates
51.2205, 4.4003

Geographic reference: GeoNames, CC BY 4.0.

Antwerp

Loading this map connects to OpenStreetMap.

Visitor information & sources

Reference credits & reuse

This city guide includes selected, abridged material by Wikivoyage contributors, adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. The adapted guide text is available under the same license; photographs and website design retain their separate terms. Selected and abridged reference descriptions; operational prices and timetables omitted. Elsewhere added the shortlist, geographic grouping and planning notes.

Reference material retrieved 2026-10-19. It is community-edited background, not firsthand reporting or a live opening-hours service.

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