This district, scattered with little streets and passageways, is dominated by the steeple of the Cathedral. There is an abundance of niches containing statues of the Madonna - as many as 300, overlooking the inhabitants of Antwerp for centuries. Some..

Begun in 1352 and not completed until 1521, the finest building in Antwerp (and Belgium’s largest) is remarkable for its stylistic homogeneity. A masterpiece of richness and lightness, one of its two towers rises to 123m (the other was never finished..

This museum occupies the house and printing room of Christophe Plantin. It is filled with old furniture, tapestries, gold-lined leathers, paintings, old presses, and collections of drawings, engravings, manuscripts and precious editions. It tells the..

MAS, which stands for the Dutch "museum on the river", is in the oldest part of Antwerp's port. The stunning building calls to mind containers placed on top of each other, and houses works from the former Ethnography and Maritime Museums (a..

The Royal Fine Arts Museum is housed in a 19C building. Its façade of Corinthian columns is topped by bronze carriages by Vinçotte and decorated with four allegorical figures representing architecture, painting, sculpture and engraving. The museum ha..

At the heart of this trendy district of young Belgian designers, this museum is housed in a late-19C building, pleasantly remodelled by architect Marie-Josée Van Hee. The permanent collections are presented thematically and regularly revised, allowin..

This museum occupies a lovely neo-Gothic house that was built in the early 20C. It contains a magnificent art collection assembled by Fritz Mayer van den Bergh. Made up of medieval sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, ivories, tapestries and painting..

This house magnificently describes the life and mind of Rubens, whose works are present throughout Antwerp. It was bought by the painter in 1610, one year after his marriage to Isabelle Brandt. He spent many years here and gradually turned it into a ..

This zoo is the ideal complement to the nearby Natural History Museum. The park covers 10ha and is home to around 5 000 animals of all sorts, including some very rare species, such as the white rhinoceros and the okapi. The zoo also contains several ..

This splendid district is made up of several streets around the Cogels-Osylei and is in a fine state of preservation. It is named after a 16C park. A marvel of the 19C, Wijk Zurenborg includes neo, eclectic and Art Nouveau private houses that were ..

You can get to Vlaaikensgang via a porch at 16, Oude Koornmarkt. This pretty narrow street in the old town has a charming village-like feel.

This irregularly shaped square is dominated by the thin cathedral spire and lined by some lovely corporation buildings . The façades are almost entirely windowed, with a gable on top. To the right of the Town Hall, there are five unusual buildings -..

This quiet cobbled square is surrounded by 17C and 19C buildings and the Church of St Charles Borromeus.

This fortress was built after 843 on the banks of the Scheldt to defend the new frontier defined by the Verdun Treaty. Used as a prison from the early 14C, it was then extended around 1520, under Charles V, and restored in the 19C and 20C. A statue o..

This church was built by the Jesuits. Initially named after St Ignatius, this became the Church of St Charles Borromeus. Its Baroque façade generally follows three Classical styles. The Baroque belltower with Renaissance themes is the work of Peter..

This imposing Gothic building constructed for the Butchers' corporation now houses the Decorative Arts, Archaeology and Numismatics Museum of Antwerp. The collection of d' musical instruments is particularly wide and interesting.

Nicholas Rockox was a friend of Rubens. This humanist Burgomaster of Antwerp loved collecting works of art. His 17C house was restored and transformed into a museum. Here, you will find some magnificent furniture ("Ribbanken" sideboards and..

The flamboyant style St Paul's Church was begun in 1517 and completed in 1639. It is accompanied by a fine Baroque belltower. The interior includes Baroque furniture and some lovely woodwork. The choir, which is narrower than the nave, gives an impre..

This late-Gothic church was built by the Augustinians in the early 16C in a quarter that was already popular, and today has fashion boutiques and antique shops. Inside, the Baroque dominates. The masterpiece is a magnificent pulpit (1821) by J.-B. Va..

The lovely Diamant Provincial Museum stands at the heart of the diamond district, not far from the station. Here, you will discover everything about diamond production - origins, use in industry, metamorphosis from raw stone to jewel. You can admire ..