Antwerp
Belgium'S Port City Of Rubens, Diamonds And Fashion, With The Cathedral'S Rubens Altarpieces, The Plantin Moretus Printing House (UNESCO 2005), The Rubens House And One Of The World'S Grandest Railway Stations · Antwerp, Antwerp Province
Antwerp (Antwerpen in Dutch) is Belgium's great port city on the Scheldt, in the 16th century one of the richest trading cities in Europe and later the home and workshop of Peter Paul Rubens. That golden age left the Cathedral of Our Lady, whose tower is often called the tallest church tower in the Low Countries and which holds four Rubens altarpieces, the Grote Markt with its guild houses and Brabo fountain, the Rubens House, and the Plantin-Moretus printing house, listed by UNESCO in 2005. Modern Antwerp adds the diamond quarter, a fashion scene shaped by designers trained at its academy, the MAS museum above the old docks, the reopened KMSKA fine arts museum, and Antwerpen-Centraal, often called one of the world's most beautiful railway stations. People come for art, shopping, beer and a city with real swagger. The honest caveat: Antwerp is a working port city, not a fairy-tale town; the station district is gritty in places, the Rubens House may be partly closed, and museums shut on Mondays.
The Grote Markt, the Cathedral of Our Lady and the Scheldt quays of central Antwerp, with Antwerpen-Centraal station to the east, Antwerp, Antwerp Province, Belgium
The old centre and quays are open at all hours. The Cathedral of Our Lady opens daily to visitors with an entry fee, with shorter hours on Saturdays and Sundays because of services - check the current schedule. Most museums, including Plantin-Moretus, KMSKA, MAS, MoMu and the Rubens House, are usually closed on Mondays; the zoo and Antwerpen-Centraal station stay open daily. The MAS rooftop is generally free and open longer than the galleries - confirm. Getting there: SNCB/NMBS trains from Brussels take about 35-50 minutes and from Ghent about 50-60 minutes; international trains from Amsterdam and Rotterdam also stop at Antwerpen-Centraal, a 20-25 minute walk or short De Lijn tram or premetro ride from the Grote Markt. The city is a Low Emission Zone where foreign cars often must be registered in advance; use park-and-ride. Book the Rubens House and KMSKA slots ahead at weekends.