I have no idea when and in what connection I came across Antwerp the first time. The city had been in my dreams ever since. I imagined it as being dark, with industrial grit, warehouses, a large harbor district…
I always thought it would captivate me right from the start. But just how much it did and how it did so still came as a huge surprise…
The Antwerp Centraal Train Station
To get ready for my 5-day, 5-city tour, I started with some visual research: on Pinterest I discovered Antwerp’s train station and reacted with a “wow!“ On arriving by the Brussels train in the station’s lower concourse, a second “wow” escaped me. They say the French have voted the train station as the most beautiful in the world. The Americans ranked it in fourth place, and the Belgians believed the French. I haven’t yet seen America’s Grand Central Station, so I also tend to believe the French. And it is not just the fin de siècle architecture that is exciting. What fascinated me was the renovation completed in the 90’s. It gave the terminal its multilevel structure, with trains coming and going on four platforms stacked one on top of the other.
Mindboggling!
The old railway station building opens up in all its glory on the upper levels.
Antwerp’s downtown
Starting from the central train station, the DE KEYSERLEI and LEYSSTRAAT avenues will take you directly to the MEIR shopping street in the bustling heart of this city. I wasted no time buying myself a pair of decent rubber-soled shoes there, because in this city they love cobblestones…
Antwerp lives for avantgarde fashion. It’s not obvious right away. On the MEIR, you’ll meet the same thing you come across and would recognize anywhere in the world. Leave the main drag, however, and wander around in the vicinity of the SCHUTTERSHOFSTRAAT, and you will discover the top Belgian designers and a surprising concentration of luxury labels.
The people who call this city home seem to be very prosperous. And everywhere they are building, renovating, and restoring.
Museums and the cathedral
Because I was traveling on a Monday, I wound up standing in front of some locked museum doors. What a bummer. I would have liked to visit the MoMu Fashion Museum and MAS Antwerp Museum aan de Stroom. Well, there’s always next time.
Instead, I took a look at the four Rubens paintings in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady), which, incidentally, is Belgium’s largest cathedral.
The winding backstreets all around the Cathedral hum with tourist business. Uncounted restaurants, cafes, and small shops line the streets and lanes that lead to the historic “Grote Markt” with its magnificent guild houses dating from 16th and 17th centuries and to the splendid “Stadthuis” (Town Hall).
From there, it’s just a few steps to the water, for another splendid view of the Cathedral and Old Town. This is also the place to catch a relaxing 50 minute boat ride on the River Schelde. Regrettably, time constraints kept me from taking one. (There’s always next time…)
Continue along the Schelde to the Bonapartedok and you can’t miss Antwerp’s famous landmark, The Museum aan de Stroom, standing on the “Eilandje.” Behind it stretches Europe’s second largest port.
Antwerp City Card and De Lijn Tickets
A good idea for tired feet: buy yourself a ten-ride ticket for De Lijn (Antwerp’s public transit) at the “Grote Markt” Tourism Antwerp ticket window (or better yet when you arrive at the Central Station). That’s because the Antwerp City Card is not valid for travel on the tram, bus, and metro… unaware of this, I rode blissfully as a fare beater when I first arrived.
The De Lijn tickets are good all over Flanders, by the way, and can be used in a different city, for example. The Antwerp City Card offers various discounts but it takes a stay of at least two days to reap their full benefits, in my opinion.
It was too bad that the evening came so soon. The next time, I plan to
- Hang out in the SINT ANDRIES district or in the Kloosterstraat
- Ride on what has to be the most beautiful wooden escalator, at the entrance to the Sint-Annatunnel.
- Indulge myself at The Chocolate Line
- Graze my way through the innumerable restaurants
- Take a look inside the unique restaurant The Jane or maybe stop in for a meal.
- Kick back in the Cafénation
- and, and, and…
…oh, heck, I’ll just come back.
Train travel
Traveling by train in Belgium is very comfortable. The trains run often so that even during rush hour they are barely full. Tickets are dispensed by machine. Just select your language and you’ll have your ticket in no time. Pay by cash or credit card. For timetable information, I downloaded the app from NMBS/SNCB which gave me a perfect handle on all possible train connections. Unfortunately, you can only pay by mobile ticket if you have a Belgian wireless subscription. Anyone staying longer in Belgium and expecting to take the train often, by all means, give the rail pass and what it offers a closer look.
Oh, right, the deep-fry cloud hanging over Antwerp comes from the potatoes. The smell of “Belgian fries” is in the air everywhere. Naturally, I had to try them. Reputedly they’re best at Fritkot Max with a quarter of the “normal” portion of mayonnaise – double fried the way Belgian fries should be. Very good!
You can see more of my photos in my Antwerp Flickr-Album
Google -Map with my Antwerp Hotspots
Travel arrangement courtesy of VISIT FLANDERS. Many thanks to Susanne Gosch for the insider tips; thanks also to Fiorenzo Fässler of Smarket for the support!
