Visit Antwerp

On the Antwerp skyline, the Cathedral of Our Lady takes pride of place: it’s the highest church spire in the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

By National Geographic Traveller The Collection
Published 2 May 2018, 17:17 BST

On the Antwerp skyline, the Cathedral of Our Lady takes pride of place: it’s the highest church spire in the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Quite a feat for a building with just one finished spire. A little further up, Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) stands out: in this ‘Museum at the River’, the most beautiful work of art may well be the view. From the rooftop, which is 200ft above the streets, visitors have a terrific view from which they can admire the city in its entirety spread out beneath them.

Beside the MAS, Antwerp has many other interesting museums. In addition to their top collections, they all have that something extra: the Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum is asprawling park; in The Rubens House, visitors walk through a famous artist’s house — Peter Paul Rubens; and Plantin-Moretus Museum was the world’s first museum to feature on the World Heritage List.

People from Antwerp are known for setting the trend in Belgium. This is evident from the many pop-ups and start-ups, and also in the diamond district, of course. Visitors can find more diamonds in the Diamond Square Mile than in the rest of the world. And peppered all over the city are dazzling shop windows full of attractive jewellery designs. Antwerp sets the tone where fashion is concerned, too: couture isn’t just in the boutiques, but also on the streets, at the museum (MoMu) and at the college.

Locals proudly refer to their city as cosmopolitan with a village atmosphere: you can find everything here, but always within walking or cycling distance (for which the Antwerp city bikes are available). The city itself is also easy to reach by train. The majestic Antwerp Central railway station has won many awards for its beauty.

Antwerp is considered one of the most distinctive Baroque cities of the Low Countries. During ‘Antwerp Baroque 2018. Rubens inspires’ the city will pull out all the stops with a daring and lavish programme in which old and new Baroque styles meet.

Don’t miss

The cultural city event ‘Antwerp Baroque 2018. Rubens inspires’, when the city pulls out all the stops with its programme

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