Best sites to see in Antwerp

The MAS Museum is an eight-floor museum dedicated to Antwerp's role in world trade and commerce. It displays exhibits about the city's port activities, global trade networks, and cultural exchanges that took place over five centuries. The museum shows how Antwerp became a place where people and goods from around the world came together.

The Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp is a medieval church built between 1352 and 1521. As one of the best sites to see in the city, it holds four altarpieces painted by Peter Paul Rubens and features a 123-meter spire. The building has seven naves that create a spacious interior. This cathedral represents both religious architecture and important artistic heritage in Antwerp's cultural landscape.

The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a sixteenth-century printing house and residence in Antwerp that displays original printing presses, an extensive library collection, and period furnished rooms. This museum gives visitors a view of how books were made and how people lived during that era, making it one of the city's key sites for understanding the history of printing and craftsmanship.

The Rubens House is the Italian-style residence where the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens lived and worked from 1611 onwards. Walking through this house gives you a sense of how a successful artist lived during the 17th century. You can see his working studio where he created his famous paintings, a garden with a small pavilion, and the personal art collection he gathered. The building itself reflects the Renaissance architecture that appealed to wealthy families in Antwerp at that time.

Antwerp Zoo is a nineteenth-century zoo established in 1843, situated next to the central station. It houses around 950 animal species across 10 hectares of gardens and buildings. As a historical institution in Antwerp, this zoo offers insight into animal collection and garden design from that era.

Located in the original shipping company buildings, the Red Star Line Museum documents the stories of millions of Europeans who migrated to America. As part of the best sites to see in Antwerp, this museum presents the history of mass emigration and preserves the memories of people who departed from Antwerp in search of a new life.

Antwerp Central Station is a railway terminal that represents an important place in this collection of notable sites in Antwerp, bringing together architectural heritage and transport history. Built between 1895 and 1905, the station combines neo-baroque stone work with an iron and glass train shed, showing the design approaches of the early 20th century.

Het Steen is a stone castle built in the 13th century on the banks of the Scheldt River. It served as the main fortress of the city of Antwerp and is one of the historical buildings included in this collection of best sites to see in Antwerp. The castle reflects the city's military past and its importance as a major port.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts presents paintings and sculptures across six levels, spanning from the 14th century to the 20th century. The collection includes works by Rubens, Van Eyck, and contemporary artists. This museum is a key cultural destination in Antwerp for understanding the city's artistic heritage and development.

Chocolate Nation is an interactive museum in Antwerp that showcases how Belgian chocolate is made. Visitors can learn about cocoa cultivation, the manufacturing processes, and the role chocolate has played in Belgian culture since the 16th century. This museum fits naturally into a collection of Antwerp's cultural sites, as it represents an important part of Belgian craftsmanship and heritage.

The Great Market Square is a Renaissance square from the 16th century in Antwerp that showcases the city's rich past. The square is lined with decorative guild houses that reflect the power of medieval craft brotherhoods. The Gothic city hall stands with its impressive architecture, and the Brabo fountain at the center tells the stories and legends of the city. The square serves today as the heart of historic Antwerp, connecting museums, historical buildings, and cultural institutions throughout the collection.

The DIVA Diamond Museum is an exhibition space dedicated to the history and craft of the diamond trade. This museum showcases how diamonds are mined and cut, and displays historical pieces from Antwerp's diamond heritage. Visitors can understand the techniques that shaped this city as a diamond center over many centuries.

De Ruien Underground City is a medieval water canal system running beneath Antwerp. These underground passages were built and expanded over centuries to manage water flow through the city. Visitors can explore the network on guided tours, seeing how people historically used these channels for practical purposes. Walking through the tunnels gives insight into medieval engineering and daily life in the city.

City Festival Hall is a neoclassical building from the 19th century in Antwerp and is protected as a national monument. The structure displays the characteristic architecture of its era with columned facades and was originally designed as a shopping center. Today, City Festival Hall serves as an important venue for cultural events and contributes to the city's rich heritage.

The De Koninck Brewery is a historic brewery in Antwerp founded in 1833 that invites visitors to discover how beer is made. The brewery offers interactive tours where you can learn about traditional brewing methods and the history of this craft. Visitors can also participate in beer tastings to sample the different varieties produced here. The brewery demonstrates how this craft has been maintained over more than a century of operation.

The ModeMuseum is a fashion museum in Antwerp that showcases temporary exhibitions and works from the Antwerp Fashion Academy. The museum presents clothing, accessories, and designs from different periods and styles. It offers visitors the chance to see how fashion has evolved and to learn about contemporary design practices.

The Zurenborg District is a late 19th century residential area in Antwerp that showcases Art Nouveau architecture at its finest. Streets lined with ornate buildings and houses surround the central Dageraadplaats square, creating a cohesive neighborhood that reflects the prosperity of the era. This district demonstrates how wealthy residents lived and designed their homes during the height of the Art Nouveau movement.

The Havenhuis is a contemporary building in Antwerp that showcases the interplay between historical and modern architecture. It features a glass and steel structure that rises from a renovated fire station. The project was completed in 2016 following the design of architect Zaha Hadid and serves as one of Antwerp's cultural landmarks.

The Vlaeykensgang is a hidden passageway from 1591 that links three streets: Pelgrimstraat, Hoogstraat, and Oude Koornmarkt through narrow cobblestone paths. This passageway preserves a piece of medieval Antwerp and shows visitors how the city looked and functioned centuries ago. Within this collection of top sites to see in Antwerp, the Vlaeykensgang offers an intimate walk through history, where the layout and feel of the old street patterns remain intact. It is a place where you can experience what daily life was like in the city's past.

The Botanical Garden of Antwerp is a historical garden founded in the 1500s and stands as one of the city's important cultural sites. It holds more than 2000 plant species, including medicinal herbs and tropical varieties displayed in greenhouses. The garden serves as a place for learning and reflection, where visitors can explore the diversity of plant life. Its collections span from local vegetation to specimens from distant climates.

The FOMU Photography Museum in Antwerp is dedicated to exploring the history of photography. The museum holds over 3 million objects in its collection, ranging from early photographic techniques to contemporary work. Visitors can discover how photography has developed over time and see images created by photographers from around the world. The museum presents different styles and approaches to the medium.

PAKT is a former industrial site in Antwerp that now functions as a creative hub. The space brings together artists, designers, and entrepreneurs in a working community. On the roof, urban gardens grow vegetables and herbs, adding green space to the site and offering visitors a place to pause and enjoy the outdoors. The project demonstrates how forgotten industrial spaces can be transformed into places where people create and meet.

The Bourla Theatre is a 19th century theater building with a distinctive round facade and neoclassical design. This structure stands as a significant cultural institution in Antwerp, representing the city's commitment to preserving its architectural heritage and supporting the arts. The theater demonstrates how historical buildings continue to serve as centers for performance and cultural expression in this important Belgian city.

Sint-Anna Tunnel is a pedestrian tunnel that runs under the Scheldt river in this collection of museums and historical buildings. Built in 1933, the tunnel still has its original wooden escalators from that era. It connects two sides of the river and shows how Antwerp modernized its infrastructure at that time. The tunnel remains a working example of early engineering and design.

Park Spoor Noord is a modern public park created on former railway grounds in Antwerp. This large green space offers visitors paths to walk, areas to sit, and room to explore. The park combines open landscapes with art installations that are placed throughout the grounds. As part of Antwerp's collection of cultural sites, Park Spoor Noord shows how industrial land can become a place for people to gather, rest, and enjoy outdoor activities.

Cogels-Osylei is a street in Antwerp and part of this collection of the city's best sites to visit. The street features grand architecture from the 19th century in Art Nouveau and bourgeois styles. The buildings here show the wealth and artistic taste of that era. As you walk along the street, you will see ornately decorated facades and details that demonstrate skilled craftsmanship and care in design.

Dageraadplaats is a neighborhood square in Antwerp featuring an LED star ceiling and terraces. This gathering space brings together locals and visitors under an artistic light installation that transforms the sky above with glowing stars. The square serves as a social hub where people can sit, relax, and enjoy the unique atmosphere created by the modern lighting design combined with the surrounding buildings and street life.

Museum De Reede is part of Antwerp's cultural institutions and focuses on graphic art. The collection includes works by major artists such as Goya, Munch, and Rops. Visitors can explore prints, drawings, and graphic works from different periods and learn about the history of this art form.

Sint Anna Beach is a public beach area on the bank of the Scheldt river in Antwerp. This location offers benches and walking paths where visitors can watch cargo ships passing by. The beach fits this collection of best sites to see in Antwerp by providing a relaxing counterpoint to the city's museums and historical buildings.

The Historic Harbor Cranes in Antwerp form part of this collection of sites showing the city's industrial heritage. These cranes document port operations spanning from 1900 to 1970, with machinery powered by steam and later electricity. Located at the northern docks, they reveal how ships were loaded and unloaded during a pivotal period of maritime commerce. Walking among these towering machines gives a sense of the physical labor and engineering that kept a major European port functioning.

The Sint Michiels Abbey is a former religious complex in Antwerp and forms part of the collection of the city's best sites to see. Dating from the 12th century, this building preserves underground chambers and archaeological remains of monastic structures. The ruins tell the story of monastic life and the religious architecture that shaped Antwerp.

Saint Lawrence Church is a Gothic structure in Antwerp featuring traditional Flemish religious design, with pointed arches and tall windows that draw the eye upward. The church was extended with a parsonage completed in 1850 by architect Pierre Bourla. As one of Antwerp's important religious sites, this church reflects the city's architectural heritage.

The Water Gate is a monumental baroque city gate built in 1624 and dedicated to King Philip IV of Spain. Located in Antwerp, it represents an important example of baroque architecture from that period. The gate was part of the city's fortifications and reflects Antwerp's historical role as a major trading port.