Antwerp - Highlights
Cross through the pedestrian tunnel to the left bank of the Scheldt and look back towards the Old Town's church spires.
See traditional and modern art in the Zuid district. The area is home to 14th-century Old Masters at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts and 20th-century installations and paintings at the Museum of Contemporary Art, a restored grain store. Rubens' House, the former home of Antwerp's most famous son, is an elegantly restored baroque mansion filled with period furnishings, intricately patterned leather walls and some lesser known examples of the artist's work.
On the banks of the River Scheldt you can find Antwerp's oldest building, the Steen, a 12th-century fortification that has served as both a prison and a castle. The city's nautical history unfolds here in the National Maritime Museum. There are plenty of boats taking passengers on river trips to enjoy the city from the water. Make a beeline for the Grote Markt - the central square lined with Flemish houses - and the vaulted gothic Cathedral of Our Lady before admiring the ultra-modern Law Courts.
Antwerp's museums tend to open between 10am and 5pm. Most close on Monday, although the Interactive Diamond Museum is closed on Wednesday. The MoMu Fashion Museum is open until 9pm on first Thursdays in the month. A handful of the city's smaller museums do not charge an entrance fee, including the Bernardus Centre, the Customs and Excise Museum and the Oudaan Police Museum.
