Antwerp Short Breaks Guide 

Article: Things to do In Antwerp - City of Rubens, diamonds and high fashion, Belgium’s second city has a rich heritage, a welcoming atmosphere and terrific food says Sue Dobson.

Antwerp is a city of almost 500,000 people located on the River Schelde which links to the North Sea via the Westerschelde Estuary. This deep and wide river opening has led to Antwerp developing one of the busiest and largest ports on Earth. The name comes from a myth about a giant who charged a toll to people crossing the river, those who refused to pay would have their hands cut off and thrown into the Schelde. A young hero called Brabo came along and cut the giant’s hand off leading to the name Antwerp (or throwing a hand in Dutch). You will notice the statue in the Grote Markt.

Antwerp’s growth through the middle ages was strongly related to the “Age of Exploration” and from the 16^th century entered a “Golden Age” when it became the largest and most cosmopolitan city in northern Europe. By the 18^th century the city was in decline, but Napoleon recognised its strategic importance and was set upon developing it fully before he was defeated at Waterloo. The Nazis did their best to demolish the whole port with V2 rockets before it was re-captured by the Allies in 1944, but not without severe setbacks.

Visiting Antwerp allows you to re-live the glories of the Renaissance years through the work of Rubens, who lived in Antwerp. You can visit his house where there’s a extensive collection of his work. Read about this and other things to do in Antwerp at our guide.

Getting to Antwerp
When you buy an Eurostar ticket to Brussels, you are actually buying a ticket to anywhere in Belgium, so you needn’t buy another fare to get to Antwerp, you simply change trains at Brussels Midi Station and continue on to Antwerp which takes about 20 minutes. You can also access Antwerp by ferry from the Port of Ostend (about 1 hour and 15 minutes) or if you feel like a drive, from Calais or Dunkirk.

Getting around Antwerp
All the main hotels are located in the city centre so it’s best to walk. You can get a Antwerp Museum pass for 20 Euro’s which allows you unlimited access to all the sights, plus unlimited public transport. Buy one at Antwerp Centraal Station on arrival.