Things to Do in Antwerpen, Belgium

Quick facts: The soaring 123-meter spire makes this the tallest church tower in the Low Countries, a feat achieved over 169 years of construction. Inside, visitors find four masterpieces by Rubens, including the monumental "Descent from the Cross" that took him just nine months to paint.

Highlights: Climb the 515 steps to the top of the tower and you'll pass through a carillon room housing 49 bells, some of which weigh over 6 tons. On clear days, the view stretches across the Scheldt river and you might even spot the pattern of the city's medieval defensive walls below.

Quick facts: Ten stacked box-shaped galleries rise 60 meters above the Antwerp quays, each rotated a quarter turn from the one below it. The building's red-brown panels are made from Indian sandstone that was chemically treated, and its rooftop offers a 360-degree panorama over the city and port.

Highlights: The rooftop terrace is completely free to access, and you can ride the glass escalators up the side of the building while watching ships glide along the Scheldt River below. Every 10 meters along the way, the walls reveal quotes and poetry about Antwerp, turning the vertical journey itself into an exhibit.

Quick facts: Zinc and iron cover nearly every surface of the soaring 44-meter dome, earning the station the nickname "the Railway Cathedral." More than 70,000 passengers pass through daily, making it one of the busiest transit hubs in Belgium.

Highlights: The station sits on three stacked levels that drop 20 meters below street level, with the platforms hidden beneath the grand concourse. A 1909 royal decree made it illegal to build anything tall enough to block the train shed's view, which is why the skyline around the station remains surprisingly open today.

Quick facts: Peter Paul Rubens designed this grand home and studio himself, and he lived and worked here for nearly three decades until his death in 1640. The interior hold over a dozen works by the master, along with pieces by other Flemish painters like Van Dyck and Jordaens.

Highlights: The entire building was painstakingly rebuilt in the 20th century after centuries of neglect, with the original 17th century floor plan guiding the restoration. Step into the garden and you'll find a baroque portico and a small pavilion that Rubens himself commissioned, a spot where he once strolled with visiting aristocrats and fellow painters.

Quick facts: The medieval fortress marks the spot where the Scheldt river narrowed, making it the perfect defensive choke point that gave the city its name, from "aan de werpe," meaning "at the wharf." A carved Romanesque figure of a giant named Druon Antigoon stands below, the legendary character who cut off the hands of river toll evaders, giving the city its hand-clipping folklore.

Highlights: Walk through the massive gateway and you'll step onto the terrace where the world's oldest known traffic sign still stands, a small stone tablet from 1550 that once told ships when to drop anchor. From the top floor, you can watch freighters glide past just meters from where traders paid tolls nine centuries ago, the river traffic unchanged while everything else around you has transformed.

Quick facts: One of the oldest zoos in the world, it sits right next to Antwerp's central train station and welcomes around 1.4 million visitors each year. The park covers 10.5 hectares and houses over 5,000 animals representing roughly 500 species.

Highlights: The zoo's Egyptian Temple, built for the 1885 World's Fair, still stands and houses a stunning collection of art deco decorations and original frescoes. Behind the temple lies a hidden garden space where peacocks roam freely, giving you a moment of calm that feels worlds away from the adjacent train station plaza.

Quick facts: This 16th-century printing house is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it still holds a working printing press from around 1600. The museum's library contains more than 30,000 volumes, including rare editions of works by Erasmus and a Gutenberg-era Bible.

Highlights: You can walk through the actual rooms where one of history's most important printing dynasties worked, and the oldest surviving printing press in the world still sits in the workshop, ready to be demonstrated. The original 1565 building and its inner courtyard have barely changed, so you're essentially stepping into a living 16th-century workspace.

Quick facts: Meir is Antwerp's busiest shopping street, stretching about 700 meters from the Groenplaats to the Franklin Rooseveltplaats. The street is lined with neoclassical facades from the 19th century, including the former Royal Palace that now houses a shopping center.

Highlights: The corner building at Meir 78, Haus Hufenslag, features an ornate wrought-iron balcony that survived two world wars while much of the surrounding block was rebuilt. Walk past the Stadsfeestzaal mall and look up at the glass dome ceiling, a stunning 19th-century architectural centerpiece that spans the entire arcade interior.

Quick facts: More than 2 million passengers passed through this Antwerp harbor terminal between 1873 and 1934, chasing new lives across the Atlantic. The striking white building was restored in 2013 and now holds personal stories, photographs, and objects from those who sailed on the Red Star Line ships.

Highlights: The rooftop terrace offers a panoramic view over the Scheldt river, letting you stand exactly where thousands of emigrants took their last look at Europe. Visitors can trace a single family's journey through an interactive database that connects to passenger lists from the ship manifests.

Quick facts: The cobblestone square has hosted Antwerp's city hall since the 1560s, and its ornate Brabo fountain tells the legend of a giant whose severed hand gave the city its name. Guild houses lining the square display gilded facades, with each one representing a different medieval trade.

Highlights: Stand in the center and you'll notice the Brabo fountain does something surprising: at noon, the water display choreographs to the carillon bells of the cathedral nearby. Rainy days transform the polished stones into a mirror that doubles the facades, a trick photographers quietly wait for.