Antwerp Attractions

This press museum is housed in Abraham Verhoeven`s house who was an engraver, printer and journalist.

The Antique Market, located on the north side of the Cathedral at Groenplaats 21, operates every Saturday from Easter until the end of October.

An art market is held on the Dageraardplaats.

A finely detailed Antwerp Golden Age house.

The Elisabeth Gasthuis (Lange Gasthuisstraat No. 41) was a hospital founded in the 13th C. Its 16th C. chapel has an ornately carved high altar by A. Quellin the Younger (1682).

Sightseeing cruises along the river schelde.

Flea markets are held on the Oud Arsenaalplaats, on the Oude Vaartplaats, on the Blauwtorenplein and on the Graanmarkt.

The Put (well) on the Handschoenmarkt, the former glove market in front of the cathedral, has a 15th C. wrought-iron canopy adorned by a figure of Silvius Brabo attributed to Quentin Massys.

Immediately south of the cathedral lies the bustling Groenplaats, cafes on every side. The statue of Rubens was erected in 1840.

A 17th C. house and studio that belonged to the painter Jacob Jordaens.

A junk market can be found on the Vrijdagmarkt.

Antwerp's botanical garden, the Kruidtuin, is situated approximately level with and behind the Maagdenhuis, on Leopoldstraat, which runs parallel to Lange Gasthuisstraat and just to the east.

Magic World in a miniature version of Antwerp complete with gothic architecture and zoo.

A few doors from the Museum Mayor van den Bergh on Lange Gasthuisstraat, part of a 17th C. former orphanage for girls known as the Maagdenhuis (the Maidens' House, No. 33) has also been turned into a museum and archive. In addition to tracing the history of the orphanage and its orphans, the museum possesses important paintings by Jordaens, Venius and van Dyck and a rare collection of Antwerp faience bowls.

Currently a municipal center for the restoration of art.

This is a model of Antwerp on a scale of 1:87 with scale models of ships, which sail along a miniature version of the Scheldt.
Some of the highlights of a visit to the miniature town include a workshop where builders produce exact copies of Antwerp's buildings, a gallery where where the history of miniatures can be viewed and Snail Country, an exhibit of snails from all over the world.

Opened in 1987 the Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst (Museum of Contemporary Art) occupies an old corn silo with a lovely Art Déco facade at Leuvenstraat No. 32, off the Waalsekaai. The museum promotes the latest in modern art, not just through its own collection but also by inviting artists to exhibit their work. Nor are the works on show the only items of interest; equally worth seeing is the cafeteria wall sprayed by the New York graphic artist Keith Haring.

The National Maritime Museum is located in the remains of a former castle called the Steen, once the city core of Antwerp.

The museum displays a wide range of exhibits related to the sea. They include rooms with ship models, old ship-building tools, photos and paintings detailing life on the waterfront, a history of the Port of Antwerp and an exhibit on fishing customs and techniques.

The Handschoenmarkt leads into a street known as the Oude Koornmarkt, off which (at the side of No. 16) runs the Vlaeykensgang, an alleyway of houses dating back to the 16th C. and altogether typical of old Antwerp.

In the Poesjenellenkeller in the little Repenstraat opposite the Vleeshuis, puppet shows are performed in the Antwerp dialect, maintaining a tradition which goes back to the 18th C.

Aficionados of the camera will find a treat in store at Waalsekaai No. 47, an old warehouse recently given a new and rewarding lease on life as the Provinciaal Museum voor Fotografie. The museum charts the history of photography with the help of an important collection of cameras and old photographs.

There are more than 20, 000 books related to photography in the museum's library.

Near the Centraal Station intersection stands the Koninklijke Vlaamse Opera (Royal Flemish Opera House) built in 1907.

Building started on the church in 1515. The interior boasts a fine choir stall (1821) with a depiction of St Peter's miraculous catch of fishes, a reliquary of "36 saints", and several splendid altars. One of the piers in the south transept bears a memorial to Mary Queen of Scots, erected by two of her exiled ladies-in-waiting.

At its northern end Vleeshouwerstraat opens out into the Veemarkt, the former cattle market. The Late Gothic Sint-Pauluskerk in the northeast corner, begun in 1517, was not completed until 1639. The Baroque clock tower dates from 1680. A fire in 1968 badly damaged the church and only the spirited efforts of local people prevented the loss of valuable interior furnishings. The church is home to paintings by Rubens, Jordaens and Van Dyck.