How to have the ultimate weekend in Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp’s cobbled streets and grand guildhalls sit alongside cutting-edge fashion boutiques and lively cafes. Known as the world’s diamond capital and home to a thriving port, the city balances its rich heritage with a dynamic, contemporary vibe.

Perfectly sized for a city break, Antwerp has plenty to explore without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you’re here for the art, the food, or just to soak in the atmosphere, this itinerary will help you get to know Belgium’s second city over a long weekend.

• When to arrive: Arrive on a Thursday and leave on Sunday so you can avail of the city’s weekend vibes. The warmer months promise lively terraces while the colder ones offer cozy winter markets.

• How to get from the airport: There are trains directly from Brussels International Airport to Antwerpen-Centraal (three stops, 30 minutes).

• Getting around town: There’s a good bus service in Antwerp, but the best way to see the city is on foot.

• Where to stay: There are plenty of hotels and Airbnbs in the city, depending on your budget and plans. Budget travelers should check out the modern Antwerp Central Hostel, known locally as Pulcinella. Hotel Mezonvin is a romantic, retro hotel with a cozy fireplace and billiards table. For five-stay luxury, book at the Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp, a former monastery with a spa, gourmet restaurant and classy rooms.

• What to pack: Dress for relatively defined European seasons (warm in the winter, lighter in the summer). Antwerp has no shortage of fancy places to eat and drink, so if you want to dress to impress, bring your classiest outfit.

Thursday

Arrive into Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp’s Central Station), described by media publications such as Newsweek, Mashable, and the Telegraph as one the most beautiful train stations in the world. 

How to spend the afternoon: The area around the station offers no shortage of introductory activities in the city including a visit to one of the oldest zoos in Europe and the largest Belgian chocolate museum in the world. This is also Antwerp’s diamond district – an area through which 84% of the world’s rough diamonds pass. There are 3500 brokers, merchants and diamond cutters working here (who see over US$16 billion in polished diamonds each year). Enjoy good window shopping at Orsini Diamonds as you pass through.

Dinner: Grab a steaming bowl of thick noodle soup in one of the many restaurants in Antwerp’s small Chinatown area beside the station – you’ll know you’re in the right place when you pass through a pagoda archway with two stone lion statues. Once you’ve filled yourself up on soup with fresh vegetables and wonton dumplings, head to your hotel so you can rest up for the packed itinerary to follow.

Friday

Morning: Have your breakfast at Caffe Mundi in the Oude Beurs, an espresso bar located 100m (328ft) from the Grote Markt in Antwerp’s historical city center that’s been serving freshly roasted specialty coffee for seven years. If you’re not into single-origins, seasonal blends or slow pours, don’t worry – there’s a full offering of teas, infusions and hot chocolates to accompany your morning meal of American pancakes with maple syrup, bacon and fresh fruit.

Take a 5-minute walk to the Groenplaats to see the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady), the largest Gothic structure in Benelux, which stands 123m high (404ft), and which took 169 years to build. Inside, you’ll see Gothic architecture, naturalistic pulpits and stained-glass windows, as well as famous artworks, including a series of paintings by Rubens. On the weekends, you’ll have the chance to grab a snack and a drink at the bistro in the former St John's Chapel, next to the sacristy. 

How to spend the day: Camino on the Muntstraat is a good spot to grab a lunch of Asian sharing plates and natural juices in a no-nonsense and lively atmosphere (there’s a large sun bathed terrace for the summer months). After lunch, head underground. The Ruien, a network of streams, sewers and fortifications under Antwerp, connect both natural and artifical waterways to the harbor. A walk here leads you through this subterranean network of passageways where you’ll discover the old vaults, canals and bridges underneath the historic city center (tour guides impart interesting facts and curious anecdotes).

Back above ground, you’ll have time to visit the Plantin-Moretus Museum. It’s the original residence and workshop of the Plantin and Moretus publishing dynasty, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amongst the creaking oak panels inside, you’ll come across not only the oldest printing presses in the world, but a rich heritage of books that demonstrate the family’s entrepreneurial flair.

As the afternoon ticks on, head for Het Eilandje, once the old port district of Antwerp but now one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city. Here, the former loading docks, warehouses and hangars of the port industry have been transformed into restaurants, museums and creative spaces. There’s plenty to see, including MAS (Museum aan de Stroom), the largest museum in Antwerp, which focuses on perspectives and culture; the Port House, with its innovative (and impressive) diamond-shaped architecture; and the Red Line Star Museum, which tells the story of European immigration to North America.

Dinner: One of the repurposed red-brick hangars on Het Eilandje is the Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie, an independent brewery and taproom on Indiestraat with a beer garden that looks across the cobbled quays to the water. Grab yourself an early evening beer before dinner, perhaps the hazy blonde Seefbier – named after a nearby neighborhood (Seefhoek) – produced with buckwheat, oats and barley malt, brewed with 100% Belgian hops and fermented with a classic Belgian ale yeast with hints of clove, banana and vanilla.

Eat dinner at Fiskesur, a fish restaurant located in a small former customs office that affords great views over the water, especially at sunset. Its menu is inspired by the day’s catch from the city’s fishers and by the local harvest of organic vegetable farmers, but it’s known for its oysters, spicy smoked mackerel pâté, organic pink prawns and monkfish curry.

After dark: End the evening on Het Eilandje with a drink at a classic brown cafe (a small old-fashioned pub noted for its interior). There’s Batavier on Sint-Laureiskaai, a 100-year-old bar that looks out across at the MAS museum that boasts nine draught lines and old enamel beer sign decorations. Or there’s ‘t Licht Der Dokken on the Verbindingsdok-Westkaai, the perfect place to meet an Antwerpenaar and chat over the iconic beer of the city, Bolleke.

Saturday

Morning: Start the day at the market on Theaterplein, known by locals as the vreemdelingenmarkt. Crammed under a glass canopy, it starts at 8am every Saturday with around 120 stalls selling Turkish, Moroccan and Mediterranean specialties, as well as Belgian products, such as fresh Limburg fruit, Liège pudding and smoked eel. Stop by the stall shaped like a lighthouse to taste some of the best shrimp croquettes in the city. The Theaterplein is so called because the city’s four main theaters are located here, including the Bourla, the last remaining theater in Europe with its original 19th-century stage machinery still intact.

There’s a bunch of elegant boutiques nearby, so take the opportunity to check out the iconic handbags from Delvaux, a Belgian brand that’s existed longer than Belgium itself. If you get tired of shopping, sit down for a break in the peaceful botanical garden on Leopoldstraat, a one hectare haven of trees, shrubs and herbs built 200 years ago to grow medicinal plants for the hospital next door.

How to spend the day: It’s lunchtime so grab a bagel at espresso bar Kaffeenini, a 10-minute walk away on the Nationalestraat in the city’s Sint-Andries district. It serves soup, salads and breakfasts, but the speciality is bagels, so choose from the classic “Simply A” with cream cheese and avocado or pick up the “Deli” with pastrami and parmesan. 

Sint-Andries is the location of the city’s fashion museum MoMu (as well as its famous Fashion Academy), but it’s also home to the shops of Antwerp’s internationally famous fashion designers, including Dries van Noten, Christian Wijnants, AF Vandevorst and Stephan Schneider. Pop into Ganterie Boon to see its 140-year-old glove boxes, countertops, cabinets and chairs. There are gloves here made from cashmere and silk, but also gloves made from exotic leather such as snake, crocodile, ostrich or fish leather.

Before moving on, pass through the pedestrian tunnel at Sint Anna and take the antique wooden escalator that seems that it could be straight out of a Wes Anderson film set. 

As early evening approaches, head south to the vibrant Zuid district. It’s a neighborhood packed full of artistic and cultural attractions, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA), the Fotomuseum (FOMU), the Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA). Spend the early evening exploring one of the museums before unwinding in Zuidpark and then wandering along the revamped Scheldt Quays.

Dinner: Plump on the Kronenburgstraat is a good spot to grab dinner; a cozy burger restaurant that offers simple but quality food in a laid-back atmosphere. Its specialty is smash burgers, where the ground beef is pressed firmly on a plancha on high heat to caramelize the juices and give crunchy edges. Notable on the menu is the “Special Plump” (beef with aged English cheddar cheese from famous Antwerp cheesemaker Van Tricht, together with lime jalapeños, sweet pickle relish, lettuce and a secret special sauce). For veggies, there’s a smash burger made with a roasted celeriac patty, homemade BBQ sauce, chipotle mayo, pickled apple and coleslaw. 

After dark: To finish the day, traverse Zuid’s “Golden Mile” of cocktail bars. There are no less than five cocktail bars to choose from, all located within a 15-minute walk of each other.

SIPS on Gillisplaats was founded by Manuel Wouters, famous for his creation, Lazy Red Cheeks, made up of vodka, fresh raspberries, violet syrup and lime juice. Bar Zar on Pourbusstraat is a household name in the neighborhood, known especially for its Black Pearl (Eristoff Black, fresh lime juice and homemade sugar cane syrup). Bar Burbure on the Vlaamsekaai, with its green tiles and copper fixtures, is the place to try a French Tiramisu (vodka, butterscotch and almonds). Giraffe on the Marnixstraat is the wine and cocktail bar of sisters Hanan and Touba El Bastani, with an interior and terrace that combine a Parisian vibe with a funky, modern look. And BelRoy’s Bijou on the Scheldestraat is the marble-floored second Antwerp bar of Dieter Van Roy, who studied dentistry before becoming an entrepreneurial bartender.

Sunday

Morning: Start your last morning in Antwerp with an exploration of the Zurenborg, a district which reflects how the city grew in wealth in the late 19th century fueled by its port and trade activities. 

Grab breakfast at neighborhood brasserie Aan Het Strand Van Oostende in the district’s main square, Dageraadplaats. If the weather permits, sit on its open terrace and choose the healthy veggie breakfast of brown pistolets, guacamole, beetroot tzatziki, pumpkin hummus and pear syrup (it also comes with a glass of Cava).

Then head for the Cogels-Osylei, a beautiful cobblestoned, tram-tracked street of stately art nouveau mansions and eclectic architecture that emanates the grandeur of belle-époque. If you’re peckish, grab a pastry at Domestic, a characterful patisserie on the Steenbokstraat, just a few minutes away by foot. 

How to spend the day: In the late morning, cross the neo-baroque railway bridge tunnel into the Groen Kwartier, a green, car-free neighborhood developed on the site of the city’s old military hospital.

Lunch will be on the rooftop terrace of Racine PAKT, one of the many innovative culinary spots developed in the old PAKT warehouse complex that’s home to a rooftop vegetable garden, a bee farm and an organic food start-up (among other businesses run by creative entrepreneurs). Try the Toast Cannibale, made from américain spread, capers and kimchi mayo. All dishes are served on sourdough bread from local bakery Bloemberen.

Right downstairs sits Caffènation – a specialty coffee bar with its own in-house micro-roastery – where you can end your lunch with a lightly-roasted espresso with fruity flavors that you’re sure is both ethically produced and served with expertise.

If you’ve time to squeeze in one more drink before your journey home, stay in PAKT and pop into the Spéciale Belge Taproom on Régine Beerplein, a brewpub that produces its own beers on site. It also serves a mix of iconic Belgian brands from the likes of Dupont, Sint Bernardus and Boon, as well as offerings from exciting newer Belgian producers such as Stroom, ‘t Verzet and Den Herberg.