Antwerp City Guide
Paid partnership with Visit Antwerp
Antwerp is the perfect weekend get-away destination—small and charming, filled with beautiful architecture, cosy cafés, great restaurants and stunning galleries & museums. A quick train ride from Brussels, Amsterdam, or even Paris and London, Belgium’s cultural gem is walkable, liveable and totally loveable.
↑ In an old, restored monastery in Antwerp’s city centre, Botanic Sanctuary is a 5-star hotel & spa. Scroll down for much more on this stunning place.
I have had the pleasure of visiting Antwerp three times over the past years for work assignments—and I have truly enjoyed every visit. Cobblestone streets, locals biking around, interesting architecture wherever you look, and not least so many ✨ beautiful ✨ places to visit scattered across charming neighbourhoods in town.
Read on for my curated list of cafés & restaurants, design hotspots & galleries and where to stay in my guide below.
Galleries & museums
ST VINCENTS is a mix of design showroom and gallery showcasing contemporary design & art collectibles. It’s only open by appointment or by chance, and I am so glad I finally got to see it on this recent trip. A serious dose of aesthetic inspiration spread across the large, industrial building.
Kanaal by Axel Vervoordt is located around an hour by public transport from the city centre—but if you’re into design & architecture, I’d strongly recommend making the trip. Art gallery, exhibition space & antiques studio all shrouded in Vervoordt’s poetic, tactile minimalism.
KMSKA Royal Museum of Fine Arts in a beautiful, neo-classical building is home to both old masterpieces and contemporary works. There are many contemporary galleries in the neighbourhood, so put aside a few hours, and stroll around one of Flanders’ most prominent museums.
Middelheim Museum is an open air gallery located in nature in the southern part of town. The gardens are beautiful, and the Braem Pavillion by Renaat Braem is an interesting piece of post-war architecture worth visiting.
The MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) is a 60 meter high tower of natural stone located on the Antwerp harbour front, each storey rotated a quarter turn to create a huge spiral staircase. Inside awaits a museum hall and public gallery on every floor as well as splendid views of the city and river.
Uppercut.space is a gallery with outposts in both NYC and Paris, showcasing art furniture and design. Located in a beautiful, private home, the gallery is open by appointment and for special occasions like Antwerp Design Week taking place every year in spring.
↑ ST VINCENTS run by couple Henri & Geraldine is open on occasion and by appointment.
↑ Nectar café & restaurant
Cafés
Nectar is a beautiful café and restaurant located on Leopoldplaats square. With wooden furniture, cosy vibes, a flower shop in the same room and French/Belgian bistro classics on the menu, Nectar was one of my favourite café finds in town.
Bakkerij Funk is a small bakery and café on a sunny corner in charming Sint-Andries neighborhood, serving plant-based pastries, speciality coffee and natural wines. Also stop by the small cake shop Café Canelé right next door.
Polly is a minimal coffee shop with steel chairs, locals hanging out and home-baked goods. It’s located close to the beautiful Cogels-Osylei neighbourhood with with six blocks of Art-Noveau architecture; read more in my neighbourhood guide further down.
↑ Nives is an airy café and bakery located inside the Harmoniepark. The menu offers freshly bakes goods, salads & focaccia for lunch, and the outdoor seating in the park is a popular place on a sunny day in Antwerp.
↑ Soixante restaurant in the Berchem neighborhood is welcoming and relaxed, and the perfect place to spend an evening in Antwerp.
Restaurants
Soixante is a relaxed and small restaurant run by chef Jakub Blogowski from Poland, who has created a modern Polish cuisine guided by the seasons. Focussed on seafood and vegetables, paired with natural wines and a very, very kind and charming service, I would highly recommend visiting Soixante for dinner in the Berchem neighbourhood.
Spiridon is a bar & eatery in the Sint-Andries neighbourhood (located right next to Bakkerij Funk & Café Canelé mentioned above). A popular wine bar amongst locals, the space has beautiful light streaming in, and is where you want to meet up with friends over wine, stay the entire evening, and order small shareable bites from the menu.
↑ The menu at Soixante is focussed on sea food and vegetables in season
Both images: Soixante Antwerp
Where to stay
Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp is more than a hotel; it is —indeed, kudos to the branding team—a serene sanctuary located close to Antwerp’s city centre in a botanical garden. I arrived here by taxi from the central station (could have easily walked or hopped on the tram, but you know, live a little), and the minute I arrived, it felt like stepping into a world on its own.
Housed in a restored 15th century monastery, Botanic Sanctuary is Antwerp’s first member of Leading Hotels of the World, and the property is home to a luxurious spa & pool, several MICHELIN-starred restaurants, the old chapel turned restaurant, and absolutely stunning rooms & suites.
(And a bar, restaurant in a beautiful courtyard, breakfast buffet to die for, beautiful gardens, etc. etc.).
↑ My room at Botanic Sanctury was in reality three rooms; bedroom, huge bathroom with tub, and living area. Could have moved right in, honestly.
↑ The gardens at Botanic Sanctuary, where this greenhouses supplies the restaurants located the premises with herbs and vegetables.
Located in a botanical garden, Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp is a world on its own—and with a pool, spa & gym, several MICHELIN-starred restaurants, and stunning rooms and suites, you’ll never want to leave.
↑ A 15th century monastery has been restored into a hotel experience extraordinaire.
↑ Pool & spa area with saunas, steam rooms, a gym and tailored treatments available.
Neighbourhoods & architecture
Make sure to stroll around Cogels-Osylei; six blocks of Art-Noveau architecture in Antwerp’s Zurenborg neighbourhood. Cogels-Osylei is the name of one street, also walk down Waterloostraat and the surrounding streets. Looking up here is pure magic, some of the houses and mansions are taken straight out of a fairytal (bear in mind that these houses are private homes, so please stay respectful when strolling around).
↑ Strolling around the area Cogels-Osylei in Zurenborg full of fairytale-like Art Noveau houses.
Markgravelei in the southern part of Antwerp’s city center is charming and vibrant. Check out Café Kamiel, Nives bakery in Harmoniepark, Domestic Markgravelei bakery and Kolonel coffee shop at Montignystraat 51.
Walk towards the city centre and visit KMSKA Royal Museum of Fine Arts on the route.
A must-visit is of course Grote Markt, Antwerp’s main square with guild houses pointing towards the sky. It probably doesn’t get more touristy in Antwerp than this excact spot (a few Irish pubs & chain restaurants near by), but it still has a lot of charm and small-city-vibe.
’Vlaaikensgang’ just a few minutes’ walk from Grote Markt is a small alleyway with quite a special vibe. Preserved 16th century houses and a beautiful square if you continue all the way through the narrow passage.
↑ Grote Markt is a must visit with its guilded houses
↑ Put ‘Vlaaikensgang’ in your Google Maps, and continue through the beautiful, narrow passage until you reach this small courtyard, and take in the stillness.
↑ Cogels-Osylei
This guide was created in paid partnership with Visit Antwerp.
