Explore Antwerp

The Grote Markt is the central square of Antwerp's old town, lined by the Renaissance City Hall of 1561–1565 and by guildhalls with decorated gables, most of them 19th- and early 20th-century reconstructions. In the middle stands the Brabo Fountain by Jef Lambeaux (1887), showing Silvius Brabo throwing the severed hand of the giant Antigoon.

The Cathedral of Our Lady is the Gothic seat of the Diocese of Antwerp, begun in 1352 by Jan and Pieter Appelmans and never fully completed; its north tower rises 123 metres and belongs to the UNESCO-listed belfries of Belgium and France. Inside hang altarpieces by Peter Paul Rubens, among them The Raising of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross.

Het Steen is a medieval fortress on the bank of the Scheldt and the oldest building in Antwerp, built between 1200 and 1225 as the gateway of a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant. It later housed the archaeology and maritime museums, and since a 2021 renovation with a new concrete tower it serves as the city's visitor centre.

St. Charles Borromeo Church on the Hendrik Conscienceplein was built in 1615–1621 as Antwerp's Jesuit church, with Rubens contributing to its design and decoration. Its 39 ceiling paintings by Rubens and his workshop were lost when lightning set the church on fire in 1718. The baroque facade, the Lady Chapel, the crypt and a lace collection can be visited.

The Rubenshuis is the former home and workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, who bought the house in 1610 and rebuilt it after his own designs as an Italian-style palazzo with a portico and a baroque garden. While the historic residence is closed for restoration, visitors can see the Rubens Experience, a new visitor centre about the painter, and the garden.

The Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) is a 60-metre tower of red Indian sandstone and curved glass in Antwerp's Eilandje docks, designed by Neutelings Riedijk and opened in 2011. It holds collections on the port, shipping and world cultures, including a visible store, and its stacked floors lead up to a roof with a panorama over the city and the Scheldt.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, founded in 1810, shows paintings, sculptures and drawings from the 14th to the 20th century, with works by Jan van Eyck, Rubens and James Ensor. Its neoclassical building in the Zuid district was designed by Jean-Jacques Winders and Frans Van Dijk, opened in 1890 and is crowned by two bronze chariots by Thomas Vinçotte.

Antwerpen-Centraal is the main railway station of Antwerp, built between 1895 and 1905 to designs by Louis Delacenserie. The stone building's great dome over the waiting hall earned it the nickname railway cathedral; since 2007 tunnels let trains pass through on four levels beneath the restored iron and glass train shed.

Antwerp Zoo, founded in 1843 by the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, lies in the city centre beside Antwerpen-Centraal station. Its 10.5-hectare grounds are a listed monument with 19th-century animal buildings such as the Egyptian temple of 1856 and the Oriental-style antelope house, now home to the okapis.

The Port House is the headquarters of the Antwerp port authority, designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2016. A faceted glass volume shaped like a diamond rests on concrete supports above a former fire station, which was kept and incorporated into the building. Visitors may look around the ground floor during office hours; the rest is seen on booked guided tours.