If you are tired of the classic tourist bus, I can recommend a safari trip with tram 12. There are eleven trams in Antwerp, but this one is the most interesting.Tram 12 has its terminus at the famous Antwerp courthouse (check the Courthouse article) and when you get in there you are sure of a seat…

So you start at the trendy South, where you can see Antwerp in all its glory. Tram 12 drives you over the Leien (also called ‘den Boulevard’), the former ramparts of the city. You see the nice building of the National Bank and also by the beautiful opera building on the Amerikalei. You’ll see the impressive Central Station.

By now the tram is probably full of people with of all kinds of colours. And then you travel straight into a different world. First: the notorious De Coninckplein. On this square addicts and tramps gather. But remember: behind the glass you are safe!

Tram 12 goes on through the poor part of Antwerp where 181 different nationalities live! Eventually you’ll get to the Sportpaleis, the big arena for events (Proximus Diamond Games, concerts). On its way back tram 12 also shows you Chinatown and a piece of Africa…Tram 12 doesn’t travel through the old city centre but it shows an interesting part for the visitor that wants a deeper insight into Antwerp.

Tip: With a 10-ride card (€9) you can travel 10 times with all the trams in the city for 1 hour.

At a stone’s throw of the big market you can find the delightful peace of the ‘Conscienceplein’. It is a small square with a big baroque church (check the Carolus Borromeus article by Niko) that on one side overrules the square, but on the other side you don’t notice the church and you see only the cute square with the white stripes on the ground and the strange fountain and the tree.

For me the ‘Conscienceplein’ is the square I spent the first years of my life. I fell in the fountain under the statue there when I was three and almost drowned. I made my first snowman there. As a kid I ran over the stripes like they were bridges over a cliff.

Now I love especially the quietness and friendliness of the place – it is an oasis in the middle of the city center.

The fairy-like tree puts you in the shadow when it’s hot and gives you shelter when it rains, and the ‘writer on his chair’ (Hendrik Conscience) is always watching over you. And under the square is the biggest and oldest library in town.

This triangle-shaped park is my favorite spot to go jogging. The park is really old, and thus has great big trees. There’s also a pond, and yes, since a couple of years there’s also water in it again! All sorts of water birds hang around there, and, my favorite part about the park: there are small (pet) rabbits hopping all around! Sometimes they disappear for a while (I prefer to stay ignorant how that happens), but, they always come back! Can you imagine how fun it is jogging while bunnies hop along? In the middle of the city!

But the park’s not only one of my favorite spots, lots of people come here for relaxing, playing football, skateboarding, picnicking, walking… Well, I guess all the fun things you can do in a park ☺. Something that is no longer, but we’re all hoping for to come back, is that there used to be a really cool night club in the park called ‘Café Capital’. Last summer, it burned down (twice!), you can still see the ruins, it’s pretty sad.

The most beautiful point in the park is a pretty white bridge high over the water. Make sure to take a picture there with your loved one(s). The bridge also always reminds me of a great film that was shot here about the Jewish community, called ‘Left Luggage’. It’s a must-see (both park and movie!).

Antwerp has a lot of city beaches these days. Most of the time these are places where you have to dress up and/or pay an entrance fee or they won’t let you in. If that’s not your cup of tea (it’s not mine!) here’s a good alternative for your summer afternoon and evening.

First of all, pass by a supermarket and buy some drinks/food that you like. Then bike or walk to the Kattendijksluis (just follow the river north and after passing a lock make a left) and install yourself on the quayside.

From here you have a beautiful view on the skyline of the city and on to the other side there is the skyline of the port. Especially at sunset, this is a magical place. Slowly but surely, as the sun goes down, the port changes into a giant futuristic city from outer space. I regularly jog in this area and every time I’m impressed by the natural beauty, so close to the city.

Sometimes the peace and quiet of Kattendijksluis is disturbed by a group of tango-dancing people. If you feel like it, join them. If not, just admire the view. The choice is yours.

The river Scheldt is very important for Antwerp, you can read all about that here. Since 2008 locals and visitors have a new spot to fully enjoy the river: the new pontoon at Steenplein. You can find this new city square next to the medieval castle ‘t Steen.

Pontoon was built to allow people to hop-on and hop-off the sightseeing boats on the river but most people use this space to just sit and relax. The pontoon follows the tides, if you spend a few hours here you can feel the pontoon descend and/or ascend. You will also hear it because the whole thing creaks while moving.

Although the actual port has moved much further to the north, you will still be amazed by the quantity and size of ships that pass here. And on summer afternoons there are also yachts, jetski’s and sailing boats to be admired. Be careful though, you don’t want to fall in  the water here. This part of the river is considered to be extremely dangerous.

You’d better get some fries from the frituur on Steenplein, go down to the pontoon, find a good, safe seat and enjoy.

On one of the most challenging squares of Antwerp, in 2005 the city council decided to remodel an old car workshop into the new city library. If you ask me, it’s a very nice example of urban renewal. Of course, a library is about lending books and returning them. But you can do more here. First of all, enter the building and imagine this giant hall used to be a place where cars were fixed.

Go up the staircase where you can find the English books. Also on the first floor find yourself a seat in of the comfortable chairs to read a newspaper or a magazine. If you want to read or write in silence you can sit in the quiet room. Downstairs there is a nice selection of comic books, cd’s, dvd’s and magazines. And if you want to check your mail or your Facebook, you can do it here.

In front of the library there is a café called “Kubus” in a beautiful glass building. After I get myself a new selection of books, I like to have a coffee here and start reading. The whole of Antwerp passes by here so this is an excellent place for people watching.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Permeke Library | Art & culture, Relaxing
De Coninckplein 26 | Stationsbuurt | +3280099293
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 20:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 17:00, Sun 10:00 – 14:00

Nothing beats a good swim when you need to clear your head. I consider myself very lucky to be living very near to probably Belgium’s most beautiful swimming pool “De Veldstraat”. When you approach the building you can see, feel and smell the hot steam escaping from the manholes. It was built in 1933 in Art Deco style and was very popular until it slowly ran down and ultimately closed in 2005.

But a massive renovation later “De Veldstraat” is open again. And it’s very impressive. They restored as much as possible in their original state so you really feel like swimming in a monument here. In 2009 it was chosen as Flanders top monument.

There’s not only a 33 meter swimming pool here (which was the Olympic standard at the time) but also a hot tub complex and hammam. What I think is very handy: you don’t have to put your clothes in a locker, you just lock your personal changing room!

Everybody needs to get away from it all sometimes. Away from the city noise, away from the crowds. Whenever I feel like that, I escape to Polderbos.

I take my bike and follow the river southwards. After a while you reach the petroleum site, the docking place for oil ships. This is the point where most people think they have reached the end of the world and turn back. I don’t, I keep on biking because only five minutes later you reach this beautiful nature reserve.

You’re very close to the river here and you have an amazing view on the left bank. Time seems to have stood still here: cobblestone streets, horses grazing in the green fields and only a few other people enjoying the silence.

Don’t expect a very big nature park. Its size is actually perfect for a 1-hour walk. And because parts of the park flood from time to time, the vegetation changes rapidly. Summer or winter, I really don’t need more to unwind completely.

You’ll need transport to get there but if you have a car and if it’s a sunny day and you like boats, then why not drive to Lillo? It’s a magical little village in the middle of the Port of Antwerp, the second largest of Europe.

Historically Lillo had a strategic location and was a fort for many years. It’s not difficult to see why: standing on the waterfront you have a beautiful view on the river Scheldt. Here I always daydream about arriving in Antwerp by boat myself one day.

It’s one of the best places to see the massive container ships coming into Antwerp. And by massive I mean ships with a length of 400 metres that can carry over 15.000 containers! What I like to here is to make a walk along the waterfront and through the cosy village with narrow streets and beautiful houses. After that I head into one of the bars to have a snack or a coffee. You’ll meet other visitors here but also locals and harbour workers. A nice mixture of people!   

Want to be thrown back in time? Then walk through the Vlaeykensgang, a tiny alley in the middle of the historic centre. The entrance is no wider than an average door so be sure not to walk past by it.

Install yourself on a bench here and let your imagination do the rest. This is what Antwerp used to look like in the time of Rubens and Van Dyck. Those days, in the middle ages, there were many more of these alleys. But almost all of them were destroyed over time. Except for this one: Vlaeykensgang is now completely restored.

Very strange: you’re in the heart of the city and still you hear nothing but complete silence here. That’s why this is an ideal place for listening to the carillons of the Cathedral. If I want to surprise my foreign guests, I take them here. They are all amazed, every time.