Antwerp

[Philandbill]

Has anyone been? If so do you recommend it? We're thinking of going next summer. We'd use it as a base and also visit Bruges and Brussels by train for the day. Young adult DC with us. As a family we like art, history, cafes and the odd zoo. I've been to Bruges but DH hasn't and none of us have been to Brussels or Antwerp. Feels a slightly unusual choice but we're looking for somewhere new to visit and we've been lucky and been able to visit quite a few European cities over the years.

We went for a city break and really enjoyed it. The zoo is good and there is a lot of history. You can easily do NL from there too. I think Rotterdam is actually a more fun city than Brussels. Fewer tourists and better galleries. The Belgians have better food though!

ETA we're Dutch, so it's pop across the border for us rather than a full on holiday. You might want to combine it with some time in nature for summer. Zeeland in NL is really beautiful and much more natural than the Belgian coast. You'd get the train to Middelburg. It's where Dutch & Germans go on holiday, so a different vibe and a bit more authentic than standard British tourist places.

I've been twice on day trips and loved it. It has a lot of variety and is a good mix of old and new: cathedral, historic buildings, botanic garden, museum (Museum aan de Stroom), boat tours around the industrial and container port areas.
There's also a long foot tunnel, the Sint Annatunnel, under the River Scheldt to the Linkeroever (the left bank), from where there's a good view of the city.

I'd also recommend Ghent and, since you're planning day trips, perhaps staying there would make more sense geographically, as Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp are all easily reachable from there. Ghent is really beautiful: cathedral, castle, botanic garden, parks, many churches and beautiful canals.

We really enjoyed visiting Rubens house, as well as just generally wandering around. But like @Paaseitjes we live in the Netherlands so for us it's a day out rather than a holiday base.

<whispers> I've still never visited Zeeland. 😳

Haha, it's really the arse end of nowhere even for the Dutch. Hidden gems

My work colleagues are always raving about it. cheap caravan pitches

Zeeland is fabulous. Antwerp and Ghent are my favourite Belgian cities. Antwerp also good for shopping. The Red Star Line museum is definitely worth visiting, and Rubenshuis. Some lovely restaurants.

Great idea. I really enjoyed Bruges and Ghent and know Brussels quite well. Antwerp is on my list!

We've done long weekends in both Antwerp and Ghent from UK. Both great, but Antwerp has a lot more - we loved the Plantin museum, Red Star Line museum, main art gallery, pop up bars in the docks, sculpture park, river tunnel. Plenty to do (we could have easily spent longer), and different neighbourhoods. Ghent is very pretty but I think my young adult dc would much prefer Antwerp.

The Rubens House is closed for renovations at the moment. I have been wanting to go to Antwerp for years but was waiting for the Museum of Fine Arts to reopen after 10 years of renovations. As soon as it reopened, the Rubens House closed, and won't open until 2030, so I'm waiting for that now.

Thank you everyone, such helpful replies. It's given me lots to think about and I'll relay it to DH. Hadn't thought of visiting Ghent so we'll definitely do that as a day trip. I think we'll stay in Antwerp as planned as it's bigger and DC (young adults) will like that. Also Zeeland looks beautiful.
I wondered if this thread would be ignored or be full of suggestions to go somewhere other than Belgium so I'm grateful for the responses. 😀

We went to Antwerp by train last year and loved it. Lots of variety in attractions. Really enjoyed the Plantin Museum, diamond museum, Red Star Museum and MAS which all covered a lot of interests. Chocolate experience was enjoyed by our pre-teens but expensive for what it was. City is very walkable. The tunnel is like something out of a Wes Anderson film. The sculpture park is a bit further out of town but worth a visit. We've previously been to Ghent and Bruges and I probably prefer Antwerp over Ghent and Ghent over Bruges.

By the way, Antwerp rail station is a treat in itself with a wonderfully ornate interior.

Adored Antwerp, went with teens in the spring. A particular highlight was the Red Star Line Museum. Eating out was London prices but good quality. A great walkable or cyclable city, I wish the UK was as car-unfriendly!

My sister and I liked it when we went, and loads of good tips on here from those who were there longer. Did not do many museums, but I can particularly remember enjoying the Botanical Gardens and the river front, plenty of food places etc.. nice atmosphere. It was bigger than I had imagined it to be getting into it, and, unfortunately, can remember being stuck in traffic in hire car, but might just have been a bad day. Just previously, been to Dunkirk (fine for what we went for, but would not go again), Ypres (fab, Tyne Cot, Bellewaerde if you like theme parks), then Bruges which is chocolate box pretty, river cruises etc. Then Antwerp, then Brussels. I'm not a big lover of Brussels (been 3 times), big city, parts of it are OK, parts of it are just quite rough.

I went for work to Antwerp and Brussels, and have cycle toured some of both Belgium and Netherlands. Really interesting places, very welcoming, hip and trendy, nice art and old buildings. Great food.
If you do go to Antwerp rent bikes to get around - it's a revelation compared to UK cycling...