Must-see attractions in Antwerp

The medieval building and 1622 courtyard garden alone would be worth a visit, but it's the world's oldest printing press, priceless manuscripts and…

This delightfully indulgent 1611 mansion was built as a home and studio for celebrated painter Pieter Paul Rubens. It was rescued from ruins in 1937 and…

Belgium’s finest Gothic cathedral was 169 years in the making (1352–1521). Wherever you wander in Antwerp, its gracious, 123m-high spire has a habit of…

Styled as a 16th-century town house, this superb place was actually constructed in 1904 as one of the first museums in the world built around a single…

Combining the impressive 17th-century houses of artist Frans Snijders and of Antwerp lawyer, mayor and Rubens-patron Nicolaas Rockox, this recently…

As is the case with every great Flemish city, Antwerp’s medieval heart is a classic Grote Markt (market square). Here the triangular, pedestrianised space…

In a monumental neoclassical building topped with winged charioteer statues, KMSKA holds a world-class collection of artistic masterpieces. However, the…

Opened in 2011, MAS is a 10-storey complex that redefines the idea of a museum-gallery. Floors are designed around big-idea themes using a barrage of…

Over two million passengers sailed from Antwerp on Red Star Line ships between 1873 and 1934, the great majority of them immigrants bound for America…

Antwerp’s historic brewery is both a temple to the city’s favourite beer and an evocative example of early-20th-century industrial architecture. Self…

On a riverside knoll, Het Steen is a dinky but photogenic castle dating from 1200 and occupying the site of Antwerp’s original Gallo-Roman settlement…

M HKA is considered to be one of Belgium's best contemporary galleries. Its exhibitions focus on work produced since the 1970s by both Belgian and…

With its neo-Gothic facade, vast main hall and splendidly proportioned dome, the 1905 Antwerpen-Centraal building has been rated as one of the five most…

Closed for renovation until late 2020, Antwerp's fashion museum has a rich avant-garde collection and typically produces exhibitions highlighting the…

Four matching corner houses face off across a Zurenborg junction, with glaze-brick exteriors enlivened by fine mosaic work and triangular protruding box…

Presiding over the vast Grote Markt, the 1565 stadhuis has a palatial facade blending Flemish and Italian styles in an innovative departure from the…

The tomb of Rubens is the reason most visitors come to St-Jacobskerk. Located in a small chapel behind the high altar, the tomb is adorned with Our Lady…

Rubens turned interior designer as part of the team that created this superb 1621 baroque church, designed to give worshippers a very visceral foretaste…

An astounding 80% of the world's uncut diamonds are traded in Antwerp. Four dour exchange buildings lie along heavily guarded Hoveniersstraat and…

Founded in 1843, Antwerp Zoo is one of the world’s oldest and best-respected zoological parks. Enclosures in the 10-hectare site are state of the art and…