Antwerp
Belgium
A diamond and fashion city around Rubens’ cathedral, with a railway station people visit for its own sake and a Christmas market along the river
Photo by Ernest Ojeh on Unsplash
Photos by Shana Van Roosbroek, Filip Cop, Zoë Gayah Jonker and Thomas Konings on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Belgium
Late November to late December for the markets, and May to September for everything else — the markets are busiest at weekends and in the last fortnight before the holiday
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 80mm in Dec
Where it is
51.22°N, 4.40°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Walk into Centraal Station and look up
- See the Rubens altarpieces in the cathedral
- Go to the top of MAS for the view, which is free
- Drink a bolleke of De Koninck
- Walk the fashion district even if you buy nothing
Antwerp travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Belgium
Mid-rangeEuro, and cards work almost everywhere — but the Christmas market stalls are the exception, and a good many of them still want cash for a mug of Glühwein. Carry notes for the market and nothing else. Never change money at a station booth.
ATMs & cards
Use a bank’s own machine — Sparkasse, Volksbank, ING, BNP — rather than the Euronet ones near the markets and stations, which charge and push their own conversion. Always decline the conversion.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- the machines beside the Christmas markets
Use these instead
- KBC
- BNP Paribas Fortis
- Belfius
- ING
Decline the conversion. Draw before the market rather than at it: the independent machines cluster where the stalls are, and a good many stalls still want cash.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Belgium
SafeComfortable. The area immediately around Centraal Station and the diamond quarter is heavily policed and fine by day; the streets west of it are quieter at night. Bicycle theft is the city’s most common crime by a wide margin.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the streets west of Centraal Station at night — quieter and poorer than the policed station quarter itself
- leaving a bike unlocked — the most common crime in the city, by a wide margin
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Belgium visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Belgium
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Tetanus up to date
Getting treated
Excellent, and among the fastest access in Europe. The EHIC and GHIC are accepted and visitors pay the same small patient share residents do. Pharmacies are everywhere and pharmacists give real advice.
Nothing. The one thing that catches visitors is the canal edges in Bruges, which have no railings.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodAntwerpse handjes, hand-shaped biscuits with a grim legend behind them; De Koninck, the local ale served in a round glass called a bolleke; and a strong Jewish and Flemish food tradition side by side in the quarter around the station.
Getting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- HeetchWorks here
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Brussels — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Getting online
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Belgium, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Dutch
- HelloHalloHA-lo
- PleaseAlsjeblieftAL-shuh-bleeft
- Thank youDank je weldank yuh VEL
- Yes / NoJa / Neeya / nay
4 more phrases
- Excuse mePardonpar-DON
- How much is it?Hoeveel kost het?HOO-vayl kost het
- The bill, pleaseDe rekening, alsjeblieftduh RAY-kuh-ning
- Cheers!Proost!prohst
Practically everyone speaks excellent English and will switch the moment they hear an accent. Trying anyway is still appreciated.
Religion
Catholic by heritage, secular in practice
The churches and béguinages are among the finest in Europe and are visited rather than attended. Belgium was the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, which says something about the distance travelled.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Order the beer in its own glass, which every brewery has and which arrives with it
- Say bonjour in Wallonia and goedendag in Flanders — Bruges is Flemish and the distinction is not pedantry
- Give three kisses when greeting friends, starting on the right
- Take chips from a friture with mayonnaise, which is what everybody actually does
Don't
- Do not call it French fries in front of a Belgian
- Do not speak French first in Flanders; English is the safe neutral option
- Do not order a Trappist expecting a session beer — they run to eleven per cent
- Do not cycle on the pavement or walk in a cycle lane, both of which are taken seriously
Where to stay in Antwerp
No Holistay rentals in Antwerp yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Antwerp on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Brussels BRU
45 minfrom the airport· 45 km as the crow flies
45 min by direct train to Antwerpen-Centraal.
Also worth pricing: Amsterdam Schiphol AMS — an hour and a quarter by direct train.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
