Things to Do in Antwerp: Itineraries, Costs and Food

Four Rubens altarpieces hang inside, including The Raising of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross. The finished spire runs 123 metres, the tallest church tower in the Benelux.

A 60-metre red sandstone tower in the Eilandje docklands with a free spiral route to the roof. The view over the port and old town is worth the trip even if you skip the paid galleries.

Rubens designed and lived in this house himself, modelling it on Italian Renaissance architecture. It is mid-restoration, so confirm current access before building a day around it; the collection is touring other venues meanwhile.

Guild houses and the city hall ring the square, with the Brabo Fountain at its centre depicting the giant-and-severed-hand legend that gave Antwerp its name. Busiest at midday, calmer with an early coffee.

Runs an exhibition on the Antwerp Six, the 1990s Royal Academy graduates who put the city on fashion's map, through January 2027. The strongest single stop for the fashion side of Antwerp's identity.

Nicknamed the 'railway cathedral' locally for its domed hall, opened in 1905. It's been called the world's most beautiful train station by outlets including Mashable, a widely repeated claim rather than an official ranking, but the hall itself earns the visit regardless.

A landmark exhibition at Antwerp's fashion museum marking the 40th anniversary of the Antwerp Six designers (Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and others) who put the city on the international fashion map in 1986. A genuinely significant show for anyone interested in fashion history, and specific to Antwerp in a way most city museum exhibits aren't. Check current run dates before booking.

A large urban park built on a former railway yard, with skate areas, playgrounds, open lawns and regular open-air food and cultural events through the year. Genuinely well-used by locals rather than staged for tourists, which is the appeal. Not much shade, go outside peak summer heat.

A working train station built in a grand Beaux-Arts style, often called one of the most beautiful stations in the world, free to walk through and photograph. Genuinely worth a stop even if you're not catching a train. It's a functioning station, so it's busiest and least pleasant to linger in at rush hour.

The streets around Antwerp Central where much of the world's diamond trade is still cut and dealt, with storefront windows and a small diamond museum experience nearby. More interesting as a walk and a piece of the city's economic history than as a shopping destination unless you're actually buying.

The Museum aan de Stroom's spiralling exterior escalators lead to a free rooftop terrace with panoramic views over the docks and old town. The rooftop view is free and one of the best in the city. The paid exhibitions inside are inconsistent, don't feel obligated to pay for them.

Antwerp frituurs are genuinely competitive with each other on quality; a queue out the door is usually a reliable signal rather than a tourist trap warning.

Served in a stemmed glass called a bolleke, which has become slang for the beer itself. Order 'een bolleke' at any brown cafe and the bartender knows exactly what you mean.

Small chocolate or biscuit hands shaped after the city's founding legend of a giant's severed hand. A local souvenir that is also genuinely worth eating.

Flemish beef stew braised in dark beer, thickened with bread and mustard, served with fries. A cold-weather staple and standard menu item across the city.

Antwerp's Orthodox Jewish community, tied to the diamond trade, supports a genuine kosher food scene, bakeries and delis rarely found elsewhere in the country.

Eel in a green herb sauce, a Flemish classic that is less common than it once was but still findable on traditional menus for anyone curious about older Belgian cooking.

A bistro from Sam Janssens and Laurens Jasperse who spent nearly a decade running a mobile fried-chicken stand before opening this brick-and-mortar spot, plus a walk-up window on weekend edges. Lives up to the hype based on 2026 reviews, crunchy, well-seasoned, good pickles. Worth going out of your way for.

The old docklands district near the MAS museum has built up a run of seafood-forward restaurants and grills, part of Antwerp's broader push into casual waterfront dining. A neighbourhood shift worth knowing about rather than one name to chase. Good option if you want fish without the Michelin prices of Het Zuid.

The Zuid neighbourhood near KMSKA has seen several restaurant openings, with Japanese-leaning small plates like karaage chicken turning up on menus. Every specific name traced back to one roundup article, so this names the neighbourhood trend, not a single restaurant, until there's a second source.

A restaurant on Antwerp-Zuid built inside a former brothel, cooking over open fire, opened May 2026 by friends with roots in the Sergio Herman school of cooking. Reviews call it more about atmosphere and comfort food done well than fine dining. Go for the vibe and the open-fire cooking, not a tasting menu.

Chef Yves Mattagne's long-awaited gastronomic restaurant inside the Botanic Sanctuary hotel, one of two restaurants he opened there. A serious, expensive night out from an established chef, not a casual stop. Book ahead if you're set on it.

Chef Frédéric Chabbert's new gastronomic restaurant in Zurenborg, opened March 2026 in the former home of Helmut Lotti and Jelle Van Riet. A serious culinary address from a proven chef, of the starred Dome. Good if you want fine dining outside the center, expect it priced accordingly.