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Antwerp is the Belgian city with the grandest train station in Europe
My Antwerp travel guide. The Cathedral of Our Lady, the showpiece Central Station, the fashion and diamond districts, where to stay, and where to eat.
- Updated
- May 18, 2026
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Antwerp is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest municipality in Belgium by area at 208.22 km2 (80.39 sq mi). With a population of 565,039, it is the most populous municipality in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million people, the country's second-largest metropolitan area after Brussels.
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My Antwerp travel guide. The Cathedral of Our Lady, the showpiece Central Station, the fashion and diamond districts, where to stay, and where to eat.
Antwerpen
Antwerp is Belgium's second city and its sharpest, a place of fashion, diamonds, and Rubens with a railway station grand enough to be a sight in itself. The central sights form a compact route, with wider regional connections beyond it.
Planning brief
Antwerp is Belgium's second city, a port of about 530,000 on the River Scheldt in Flanders. It carries a Rubens-era old city, the diamond trade, a serious fashion reputation, and one of the most beautiful railway stations in the world. Direct trains connect it with the rest of Belgium.
The old city, cathedral, and riverfront form the central walking area. The fashion district and MAS museum extend the route south and north.
Antwerpen-Centraal is a monument in its own right, a vast domed 1905 station. Many visitors rate it the finest railway station in Europe.
The historic core around the Grote Markt and the cathedral puts the main sights on foot. The station quarter is the other convenient base.
Antwerp's range is the appeal, from a Baroque cathedral hung with Rubens to the world's diamond trade by the station and an avant-garde fashion scene.
Antwerp sits on Belgium's fast rail network. Trains from Brussels take about 45 minutes, and Brussels Airport is roughly 35 minutes away by direct train. International services and the Eurostar connect through Brussels.
You arrive at Antwerpen-Centraal, and the station is a sight in itself, a monumental 1905 building with a vast domed waiting hall, often named the finest railway station in Europe. The old city is a short walk or metro ride away, and the center is walkable once you are there.
Antwerp Premetro is really De Lijn trams using underground tunnels through the city core, not a separate metro system. It is useful around Central Station, Diamant, Astrid, Opera, and the park-and-ride corridors, but I would still walk the old city first.
De Lijn takes contactless payment on trams and buses. Tap at the white terminal. You do not tap out. Check live routing if you are depending on it, because De Lijn is flagging major metro tunnel renovation work in 2026.
Stay in or near the old city, the historic core around the Grote Markt and the cathedral, which puts the main sights on foot. The station quarter, lively and well connected, is the other convenient base.
For a central hotel, Hotel Indigo Antwerp, an IHG property in the city center, is the lodging pin on the Antwerp list and is rated 4. Beyond it the atlas does not yet carry a wide hotel pin set for Antwerp, so book on the usual sites and read recent reviews for the property.
The Cathedral of Our Lady is the centerpiece, a soaring Gothic church with a single tall spire over the old city, and inside it hangs a set of major altarpieces by Peter Paul Rubens, the painter who made Antwerp an art capital. The Grote Markt, the main square, is ringed by guild houses and the Renaissance city hall, with the Brabo fountain at its center retelling the legend behind the city's name.
Down at the river, Het Steen is the small medieval castle on the Scheldt, the oldest surviving building in Antwerp. The Rubens House, the painter's own home and studio, sits a short walk away and is open as a museum.
Antwerp's modern reputation rests on two trades. The diamond district, a tight cluster of streets beside Central Station, handles a large share of the world's rough diamonds. The fashion scene dates to the 1980s "Antwerp Six" designers and continues through the city's fashion academy and the MoMu fashion museum in the design quarter.
North of the old city, the regenerated docklands hold the MAS, the Museum aan de Stroom, a tall red sandstone museum of the city and the port, with a free rooftop view over Antwerp.
Antwerp eats well, on Flemish cooking, the famous Belgian fries and beer, and a broad casual scene across the old city and the docks.
| Spot | What it is |
|---|---|
| Wolf Sharing Food Market | A food hall at the Felix Pakhuis on the docks |
| Bar Oscar | A bar and restaurant |
| Cup Pasta | Casual pasta |
| Oliver's Sandwich & Salad Bar | Sandwiches and salads |
| WASBAR | A cafe-bar combined with a laundromat |