Two days in Antwerp is the length that actually suits the city. One day gets you the cathedral and the river and leaves you feeling you rushed it; two lets you do the centre properly and then go and find the parts that make Antwerp different from every other Flemish city, the docks, the belle époque suburb, the fashion streets and the port.
Day one: the centre
Start at Antwerp Central. Go down to the lower platform levels first and look up through the four stacked levels inside the 1905 stone hall; then come up under the dome and out the front.
Walk down the Meir to the Cathedral of Our Lady and give it a proper forty minutes. Four Rubens paintings hang here in the church they were painted for, including the Descent from the Cross. Then the Handschoenmarkt at the foot of the tower, and round into the Grote Markt for the guild houses and the Brabo fountain.
Eat behind the square rather than on it. In the afternoon, walk to Het Steen and along the Scheldt, and finish on the free rooftop terrace of the MAS as the light goes. Evening in the streets around the Grote Markt or, better, south into Het Zuid.
Day two: everything the day-trippers miss
Morning: Plantin-Moretus
Start with the printing works, a preserved sixteenth-century press house and family home, with the type, the library and the courtyard intact, and the only museum in the world on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Two of its presses are among the oldest that survive anywhere. Ninety minutes, and it is the best thing in the city.
Late morning: under the river
Take the Sint-Anna pedestrian tunnel to the left bank. The wooden escalators down date from the 1930s and still run, the tunnel is tiled and slightly eerie, and the view back at the skyline from the far side is the photograph of Antwerp you cannot get from the city.
Afternoon: Zurenborg
Twenty minutes east of the centre is a district built in the years around 1900 by architects who were plainly competing with each other. Cogels-Osylei is the street: Egyptian motifs next to Greek columns next to art nouveau next to mock-medieval, sometimes on the same corner. It is residential and quiet, so walk it slowly and keep your voice down. There is nothing to buy and nothing to queue for, which is part of why it works.
Late afternoon: fashion and shopping
Back in the centre, the fashion museum traces how a group of Antwerp graduates changed the industry in the 1980s. The streets around Kammenstraat and in Het Zuid are where that legacy is still visible in the shops.
If you would rather spend day two on the water
Antwerp has one of the largest ports in Europe, and it is genuinely enormous, container terminals, locks and chemical plants stretching for kilometres north of the city. Boat tours run out into it. It is a half day, it is not pretty in a conventional sense, and it explains the city better than any museum. Choose it instead of Zurenborg, not as well as.
Where the two days differ
Day one is a list of things to see; day two is a city to walk in. If you only take one piece of advice from this, make the second day slower than the first. Antwerp is not a place that rewards a full schedule, most of its pleasure is in the streets between the sights.
Doing it with a group
Two days with a group needs a shape, or the second day dissolves into people drifting off to shop. A city game works well as the first-morning activity: everyone follows the same puzzle route through the centre in small teams, learns the layout, and then knows where they are for the rest of the trip.
Not sure how it works? Read how to play first.
Frequently asked questions
Is two days enough for Antwerp?
It is the right length. One day covers the centre; the second is what turns a visit into knowing the place a bit.
What should I do on the second day in Antwerp?
Plantin-Moretus in the morning, the tunnel under the river, and then either Zurenborg or a boat into the port. Do not try to do both of those.
Where should I stay?
Anywhere in the centre or Het Zuid. The city is small enough that location matters less than in most places, and Het Zuid is quieter in the evening.
Is Antwerp expensive?
Less than Brussels or Amsterdam. The main cost trap is eating on the Grote Markt, which is avoidable by walking two minutes.
What is the best free thing to do in Antwerp?
The MAS rooftop and the pedestrian tunnel under the Scheldt. Both cost nothing and both give you the city.
Does a two-day trip work for a company outing?
Very well. An activity on the first morning, free time on the second day, and one dinner together is a shape that suits most groups. See the options for companies and groups.
Do the sights first and the streets second
Give day one to the centre and day two to whatever you actually want to look at. Want help planning it for a group? Get in touch. Only have one day? Our one-day route through Antwerp compresses the first half of this.
