Antwerp travel guide
Antwerp can rightly claim to be not just the most exciting city in Belgium, but one of the most inviting destinations in Europe. What makes it stand out is a variety of attractions that draw in equally varied groups of visitors. Quite simply, it is a city that has something for everyone.
Rubens city
For some, Antwerp is first and foremost the home of Pieter-Paul Rubens, where a whole trip can be planned around a visit to his elegant home, the Rubenshuis; a tour of the city’s excellent Royal Fine Arts Museum, which devotes an extensive section to the great master; and tracking down his religious paintings in the opulent churches for which he painted them.
Fashion mecca
Other visitors are attracted by the fact that Antwerp is one of the fashion capitals of Europe. What began a few years ago, when a handful of hip local designers (later to become known as the Antwerp Six) took the international fashion world by storm, has now transformed the whole city into a cutting-edge symbol of style. This vibrant creativity is visible not only in the dozens of couture showrooms, but also in a host of chic restaurants where the decor is as innovative as the cuisine, and in a funky bar and nightlife scene that begins with cool lounges featuring in-house DJs and ends with high-voltage techno parties. In between these two extremes, Antwerp is also a hub for avant-garde photography and contemporary art museums, 16th-century mansions, tempting antiques boutiques and colourful flea markets.
More than anything, Antwerp is an absolutely fantastic place for eating and drinking, whether you favour a traditional steaming plate of mussels, accompanied by a heaped portion of crispy chips, or a fusion recipe of locally caught sole simmered in a Thai green curry; a foaming glass of Antwerp’s favourite De Koninck beer in a smoky traditional bar, or a piña colada in a laid-back cocktail lounge.
Top places to visit in Antwerp
Grote Markt
As with all Flemish cities, most of the action is around the main square, the Grote Markt, with its 16th-century guildhouses and Flemish Renaissance town hall. Right in the middle is an eye-stopping blue statue representing an athletic figure poised atop a bubbling fountain. This is the Brabo Fountain, named after the mythical hero, Silvius Brabo, a Roman warrior who is credited with liberating residents from an evil giant and giving the city the name “Hantwerpen”, which became the modern Antwerpen.
Towering up behind the Brabo Fountain is the monumental Stadhuis, the city’s landmark building. Antwerp’s town hall is the first example of Flemish-Italian Renaissance, constructed in 1565 by a group of Flemish and foreign architects who reflected the cosmopolitan society present in the city. While the building is immensely impressive from the outside, the interiors are also worth seeing: the plush salons, decorated in the 19th century with magnificent paintings and frescoes by artists such as Leys and Verhaert, are as splendid as the flamboyant exterior.
Although the guildhouses all around the Grote Markt illustrate the immense wealth and culture of Antwerp’s Golden Age, in the 16th and 17th centuries, many are actually reproductions, built some 150 years ago based on paintings of the originals. The ones to look out for are the White Angel that sits above house No. 3; a statue of St Michael, patron saint of barrel makers, at No. 5; and St Sebastian, who looks after the guild of archers, at No. 9.
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady)
Handschoenmarkt
The Grote Markt is divided from Antwerp’s other massive square, Groenplaats, by the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, a towering white Gothic masterpiece. Work started on the cathedral in 1352, replacing a small Romanesque parish church. It took 169 years to complete the construction, but when everything was finished, the proud citizens of Antwerp, who had invested a good part of their fortune to pay for it, could gaze up at the largest Gothic church in the Low Countries, with a graceful spire rising over 123 metres (403 ft) and dominating Antwerp’s skyline, as it still does today.
The intricate, lace-like, sculpted façade cannot fail to impress, but it is only when you enter the cavernous, brightly lit interior that the immense grandeur of the cathedral is felt. Over the centuries, the decoration has suffered from fires and regular pillaging from Calvinists and French revolutionaries, but it is still a treasure trove of artworks. What everyone comes to see, though, are the four massive works by Pieter-Paul Rubens, inspired by religious allegory: The Raising of the Cross, The Descent from the Cross, The Resurrection and The Assumption.
Plantin-Moretus Museum
Vrijdagmarkt 22-23
tel: 03 221 14 50
Housed in a grandiose 16th-century mansion that is worth seeing just for itself, the museum takes up almost one whole side of Vrijdagmarkt square. Try not to be put off by the rather dry official description of the museum – “An overview of printing from the 15th–18th century” – as this is one of the hidden jewels of Antwerp, a rare experience for visitors of all ages.
The name Plantin-Moretus refers to two of the most influential printers in Europe, Christoffel Plantin, a Frenchman who settled in Antwerp in 1548, originally as a bookbinder, and his son-in-law, Jan Moretus. In 1555, Plantin established one of the earliest commercial book printing and publishing houses, the grandly titled, Masters of the Golden Compass. Wealthy printers in those days installed their printing works and libraries in their homes, so the museum provides a snapshot of patrician daily life alongside some of the oldest printing presses in the world.
The museum offers an informative explanation of the step-by-step process of producing a book, and there is a splendid collection of antiquarian books and prints on display in a series of fascinating libraries, and a recreated 17th-century bookshop.
The house itself is beautifully decorated with original furnishings and artefacts, including works by Rubens, who worked with the printing house on book illustrations.
Sheepvaartmuseum (National Maritime Museum)
Steenplein 1
tel: 03 201 93 40
The oldest building in Antwerp, the Steen has had a colourful history, including once being used as a prison, but it is now home to the Scheepvaartmuseum, an immensely popular venue for children, naval enthusiasts and anyone who just likes looking at boats. Apart from the permanent collection of maritime memorabilia there are also some real ships to explore, stored down below under giant sheds on the quayside in the Maritime Park.
Just by the Steen there is a pontoon where a small flotilla of pleasure boats are moored. Although many people opt for a full-day trip, either to Brussels or into the nearby picturesque Dutch countryside, you can also embark on a 2.5-hour cruise round the modern port of Antwerp, which is inaccessible by any other means. Even local people come away, after one of these tours, totally impressed by the sheer size of the tankers, cruise ships, cranes and containers that are continually on the move in the high-tech docks.
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (Royal Museum of Fine Arts)
Leopold de Wealplaats
tel: 03 238 78 09
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp is closed for renovation until the end of 2017. The museum’s unique collection remains largely accessible during the renovation work. Items will be shown at host venues in Antwerp, Mechelen and Lier, as well as at M Leuven, MSK Ghent, the Magritte Museum and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts Belgium.
The museum's collection highlights include The Adoration of the Magi by Rubens, The Entombment of Christ by Quentin Matsys and The Seven Sacraments by Rogier van der Weyden. With some 20 paintings by Rubens, reflecting virtually almost every period of his creative output, the museum holds the most remarkable collection of Rubens' works in the world. More recent painting is also well represented with works from René Magritte and Paul Delvaux.
Wapper 9–11
tel: 03 201 15 55
The painter had the house built in 1610. It was not acquired by the authorities until the middle of the 20th century, by which time it was virtually derelict. Now it has been turned into a museum devoted to the artist; the studio where he worked and taught and the living apartments have been carefully restored. The apartment in the left wing of the house is soberly decorated in the old Flemish style, but the studio demonstrates the more lively spirit of the baroque. Ten works by Rubens are on display in the house, including Adam and Eve in Paradise, a work painted in his youth.
Don’t neglect to take a look at the garden. The imposing portico which divides the inner courtyard from the garden makes an appearance in many of Rubens’ pictures. It’s assumed that the artist designed this portal himself.