Where is antwerpen belgium

Antwerp has everything a traveller should wish for in a European city; world class museums and art, beautiful architecture and great food and drink. Here is our list of 15 Best Things to do in Antwerp :. Source: wikipedia. Looking at a train station may not be one of the best things to do in many cities but in Antwerp, it is an absolute must. The station is much more than just a pretty face however and has been fully adapted to operate in the 21st Century with its multilevel platforms.

Source: flickr. This former printing press was once one of the finest in the world. It may be unusual for a museum to be inducted into World Heritage Site status but once you visit this fascinating place.

The building itself dates back to medieval times and, along with the courtyard, is alone worthy of a visit. Rubenshuis is the former home of the painter Pieter Paul Rubens. The home was built by Rubens himself as both a place to live and also as a studio for him to work in. The building was in a bad way prior to restorative work that began in but with some careful work, the building has now returned to its former glory. As well as furniture from the period that the painter lived here, the house also shows off many pieces of his artwork.

Source: museumtoeren. Most of the passengers embarked from the very building in which the museum is housed. The exhibits are very engaging and use actual photographs and other personal items to vividly tell the story of the crossing from Belgium to the States. The observation tower, which was formerly the buildings chimney, has great views of the surrounding area. Source: wikimedia. Antwerp Zoo was founded in and makes a great day out when you are tired of looking at museums and architecture.

The zoo may be one of the oldest in the world but the facilities are modern and world class with state of the art enclosures and breeding programmes. Regardless of who invented them, Antwerp is a great place to experience the Belgian take on fries. Forget fast-food, in Belgium they slow the pace and serve fries in frites cafes which specialize in serving the tastiest fries around.

Most one-way roads can be accessed both ways. Make sure to lock your bike to a fixed object, however, or it will be stolen! Around town there are a few places that are specially prepared for hosting bicycles for free, like at the Groenplaats. Antwerp's bike-sharing scheme is called Velo. You can get a day pass for these bikes in the Central Station and pick up your bike at more than 80 places in Antwerp.

The first 15 minutes are free, then the price gradually increases. Bicycles can also be rented at several places in town like Ligfiets, Windroos, Fietsdokter verschransingsstraat , or Fietshaven government initiative, under the central station.

Shared electric kick scooters that can be used in combination with an app, are available from 3 operators: Bird, Lime and Poppy.

Most things to see are near or within the Boulevards , the half-moon of avenues where there were once 16th-century city walls. This old town centre, with a diameter of about 1. The centre is densely signposted to aid those discovering it on foot [1]. Horse tram paardentram leaves from the Grote Markt every hour. The centre of this piece of the city is a huge square called de gedempte zuiderdokken which simply means, 'the filled-up southern docks'.

In the s, this was an abandoned trade dock. They filled up the dock in an attempt to expand the city. The high crime rate in the region made it a very cheap place to live. This was a blessing for the local art world, which started to flourish, making the region trendy and safe over the years.

Today, it is known as a "yuppie stronghold". Due to very strict language requirements imposed by the Flemish government, all Bachelor courses are offered in Dutch only except for the Maritime Academy which enjoys a special international status. However, the University of Antwerp offers 9 fully English-taught Master programmes, 7 advanced Master programmes, and 7 postgraduate degrees, in topics ranging from Linguistics and Computer Science to Marine Transport [8].

Antwerp hosts over 30, students, and therefore boasts a vibrant student life that also has many traditional aspects. Well-connected in the centre of Europe, offering a varied city day- and nightlife, and having a very reasonable cost of living compared to the surrounding capitals, it's a popular destination for Erasmus students.

Current and prospective Erasmus students should get in touch with ESN Antwerp [9] , part of the global Erasmus Student Network and very active in organizing activities to help international students find their way around. Wherever you are in Antwerp, you will always be near a pub or another drinking facility. Not surprising in the city that has the most pubs per capita in the world. The pubs do not have a closing hour.

Drinks originating here are De Koninck commonly called "Bolleke" beer, and Elixir d'Anvers — a liquor based on plants. Others will charge for Internet access. Many hotels, including the Radisson, have free or included Internet. If you come in from the street with a laptop, they may let you use it for the price of a few drinks at their bar.

The Fon initiative has also some members living in and around Antwerp providing often free connectivity. If you're a student or member of a university, college or research institute elsewhere in the world, you can probably connect for free to the eduroam Wi-Fi network for higher education [10] , in and near most buildings of the University of Antwerp or any of the colleges. Ask IT services at your home institution whether it's part of eduroam, and if so, ask them for a manual to set up your machine for connections elsewhere.

Central Station is an Antwerp landmark, and one of the great railroad stations of the world. This glorious, church-like building, completed in , brings the romance back to train travel. It resembles a palace, with a soaring glass dome and a monumental marble staircase. One of the station's local nicknames is "railroad cathedral" Spoorwegkathedraal. At Central Station, you will see as many admirers with cameras as travelers with luggage.

This magnificent structure is one of Antwerp's treasures and definitely worth a visit. You know how passionate beer-lovers are. And no beer fan is more ardent than the partisan of Belgian beer. These brews are a breed apart. They are thick, creamy, and golden, more like a kiss than a pucker. Belgian beer was developed by monks in the Middle Ages, and medieval monks clearly had fantastic taste. At a time when hardly anyone could read, let alone create a recipe, monks were their eras' intellectuals, chemists, inventors, and taste-makers.

Today, Belgian beer is exported everywhere, but it's thrilling to drink it on home soil. The place to indulge is the De Koninck brewery right in Antwerp. Duvel Beer is an icon of Belgium. Its Antwerp brewery offers an absorbing tour that spotlights the history of the brand and the uncompromising Antwerp family behind it.

The tour ends with an ample tasting of several De Koninck beers. You can decide which one is your favorite. For many, it is Duvel. Don't be surprised if it becomes the beer you always look for. Find out about visiting De Koninck Brewery and tasting its beers. Antwerpers have always cherished their creative side.

In the s, the city burst upon the international fashion scene with the attention-getting Antwerp Six, a half-dozen designers who changed everything. The Antwerp Six's approach—architectural, dark, hand-made—continues to influence fashion design. Whenever you see the word "minimalist" in fashion copy, that's a tribute to Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, and the other fashion radicals of the Antwerp Six. Antwerp has long been a sanctuary for artists, and the Fashion Department of the Antwerp Academy trains designers.

It attracts style-mad, innovative young people from all over the world but especially the E. Time to dream: imagine an extravagantly talented creative type whose ground-breaking work creates a sensation. People talk about him and are eager to see his latest. He becomes the top guy in his field and extremely wealthy. He buys a fabulous home and fills it with precious objects, and showers his first and second wives with diamonds.

His renown is such that he's a kind of diplomat, hobnobbing with world leaders. We are not talking about an entertainment superstar or a Silicon Valley visionary.

We are talking about Antwerp's artistic genius, Peter Paul Rubens. He was the painter of his day late s and early s. Kings, cardinals, and moguls wanted him to paint their portraits or their palaces and cathedrals.

Rubens owned one of the grandest private houses in Antwerp, with galleries galore and a sculpture garden. Today's visitors can tour the home. It adds up to more than a museum studded with timeless paintings by Rubens.

It's a place that makes you think about just how much one person can achieve. Rubens was an artist, and a personality, for the ages. Check out Rubens' House Rubenshuis. Belgium is a progressive country that long ago recognized the bicycle as a form of transportation as well as relaxation. And Antwerpers are passionate about the two-wheeled lifestyle. You'll see locals of all ages getting around on their bikes: going to work, doing their shopping, taking in the splendid sights of their city.

Find out how to rent a bike in Antwerp and meet people on small-group Antwerp bike tours. One of the many mesmerizing rides you can take in Antwerp traverses the Scheldt River. Unlike in other cities, this bike path doesn't go over the river on a bridge. It goes under the river in a tunnel.

Anna Tunnel is a feat of engineering that has made Antwerpers proud since it opened in They call it simply "the underpass. Anna tunnel's rare wooden escalator still take you and your bike up and down. What's new and delightful: mood lighting in the tunnel. If you find yourself on a bike during your Antwerp visit, a colorful spin through St. Anna Tunnel will be a thrill you don't soon forget.

Antwerpers are practical folks who love a bargain -- and they know that visitors do, too. One of Antwerp's best travel deals is the Antwerp City Card, a discount program for visitors. It gives you a lot for a little or for free. And the card allows you to do it all without constantly dipping into your wallet or backpack.

The benefits of the Antwerp City Card are exceptional. For starters, you get free entry to most tourism attractions, such as museums and the cathedral.

Plus free passage on city transportation and the HopNStop downtown shuttle. Not to mention discounts on things like bike rentals and waffle shops. The Antwerp City Card is sold for one, two, or three days. The discount coupon book that comes with the card is good for the whole year.

A vibrant Jewish community exists in Antwerp. Many of its residents are involved with Antwerp's diamond trade, the world's most significant. Back when, Antwerp welcomed Jews who had fled or been expelled from Spain following the anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim Spanish Inquisition of , and for successive generations.

Their neighborhood is the only Yiddish-speaking district that remains in Europe, a fact that thrills Jewish visitors. Find out more about the dramatic history of Antwerp's Jewish residents. Visit Antwerp online and Visit Flanders. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

Use precise geolocation data.