Justitiepaleis

Antwerp


Designed by Richard Rogers, famous for the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Antwerp’s 21st-century law courts have a distinctive series of gleaming titanium ‘sails’ that glint like silver sharks when glimpsed down van Beerstraat from the Troonplaats cafes.

However, there is nothing within for visitors, and somehow the building fails to provide the architectural cachet that the city must have hoped for in building it.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Antwerp attractions

1. Waterpoort

0.29 MILES

This 'water gate' dates to 1624 and is said to have been designed by Rubens.

2. FOMU

0.34 MILES

This excellent museum of photography has a regularly changing roster of exhibitions from historical themes to no-holds-barred work by contemporary photo…

3. KMSKA

0.43 MILES

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

4. ’t Bootje

0.5 MILES

Part of a 1901 town house called De Vijf Continenten (The Five Continents), ’t Bootje has a fabulous wrought-iron lamp but is named for its little ship…

5. M HKA

0.52 MILES

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…

6. Help U Zelve

0.59 MILES

Help U Zelve has arguably the city's most beautiful and harmonious art nouveau facade. Built in 1901 by architects Van Asperen and Van Averbeke as the…

7. Maagdenhuis

1.05 MILES

This attractive historic building was an orphanage and child refuge from 1553 to 1882 and houses some fascinating objects from this time, along with a…

8. MoMu

1.05 MILES

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