Trip Planner
HomeExplore
Explore the majestic architecture of Antwerp Central Station's grand hall in Belgium.
Photo by Melike B on Pexels
Explore the majestic architecture of Antwerp Central Station's grand hall in Belgium.
All itineraries

Antwerp in 2 Days — Rubens, the Antwerp Six, and the Zuid

Antwerp, Belgium
2 days14 stopsmid-range prices

2 days · 14 stops · moderate pace · 7.8 h a day

10 of 13 venues clear · 3 field notes · checked 15 Aug 2026 · the field log

A weekend on Antwerp's two superpowers: Rubens and the baroque city on day one, the Antwerp Six and the fashion streets on day two.

≈ €160 per person

the whole trip · in EUR

indicative, 18 Oct 2026 · Rates By Exchange Rate API

Copies all 14 stops into a trip of your own, on your dates.

Photo by Melike B on Pexels

≈ €160 / person for the tripRates By Exchange Rate API
moderate pace · 7.8h/dayGood forcouplesfirst-timersart-lovers✓ CHECKED 64 DAYS AGO4.3editorial score · traveller ratings replace it at 3
4.3/5
Editorial pick
Value
4.4
Location
4.4
Activities
4.4
Food
4.0
Pacing
4.2

Scored by our reviewer at publish time — traveler ratings replace it at 3.

“Use this itinerary” copies all 14 stops into a trip of your own, on your dates.

A weekend built on Antwerp's two superpowers: baroque art and avant-garde fashion. Day one runs from the cathedral's Rubens altarpieces through the Kloosterstraat antiques strip to the reopened KMSKA and a seafood dinner in the gallery-lined Zuid. Day two is the fashion city — MoMu and the Nationalestraat where the Antwerp Six started, Sergio Herman's frites, the Dries Van Noten-planted Rubens garden, and a free rooftop panorama from the MAS. Note the quirks: the Rubens House interior is closed for renovation until about 2030 (garden + Experience open, closed Wednesdays), and the cathedral keeps short weekend hours.

Day by day

day 1 of 2 · 7 stops · €112

Day 1 — Old masters: cathedral to the ZuidOld masters: cathedral to the Zuid

09:00
Train to Antwerpen-Centraal
travel · 45 min · €10
From Brussels, direct trains run every ~15 min (€8–11, ~45 min); Amsterdam is ~1h10 on the international line. You arrive inside one of Europe's most beautiful stations — you'll come back for a proper look on day 2.
€10
10:00
Grote Markt and Brabo Fountain
sight · 40 min · free · Grote Markt, Antwerp
Grote Markt, Antwerp
Guild houses, the Renaissance city hall, and the legend of the thrown hand that named the city. Ten minutes' walk from the station area via the Meir, or one stop on the tram.
10:45
Cathedral of Our Lady
sight · 75 min · €12 · Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp
€12. Four Rubens masterpieces in situ, including the Raising and Descent from the Cross. Watch the hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–17:00, Saturday only 10:00–15:00, Sunday 13:00–17:00 — on a weekend trip, do it Saturday morning (as scheduled here) or after Sunday lunch.
€12
12:15
De Groote Witte Arend
food · 75 min · €25
De Groote Witte Arend, Reyndersstraat 18
Flemish classics (stoofvlees in Trappist beer, vol-au-vent) in a 17th-century courtyard two minutes from the cathedral. Open daily 11:30–24:00 with continuous kitchen — no timing games needed. ~€25 with a beer from their long abbey list.
€25
14:00
Kloosterstraat antiques and design stroll
sight · 45 min · free · Kloosterstraat, Antwerp
Kloosterstraat, Antwerp
The antiques-and-vintage street that connects the old town to the Zuid — mid-century furniture, records, curiosity shops. Most dealers open weekends (many shut Tue–Wed instead); it's the right walking route to the museum anyway.
15:00
KMSKA - Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerpbook ahead
sight · 150 min · €20 · KMSKA, Leopold de Waelplaats 1book ahead
KMSKA, Leopold de Waelplaats 1
€20, book a slot online. Reopened in 2022 after an 11-year rebuild: Rubens and Van Dyck downstairs, the world's biggest Ensor collection in the radical white upper halls — plus star loans from the closed Rubens House. Open until 18:00 on weekends (17:00 weekdays, late Thursdays).
€20book ahead
18:30
Fiskebarbook ahead
food · 105 min · €45book ahead
Fiskebar, Marnixplaats 11
Scandinavian-leaning fish place on a Zuid square, five minutes from KMSKA — oysters, sole, seafood platters, natural wines (~€45). Closed Tuesdays; reserve ahead, weekends book out. The Zuid's gallery streets around Marnixplaats are made for a post-dinner wander.
NOTE · field note · still 3.9 on Tripadvisor so the warning stands, and the Tuesday closure is re-confirmed — harmless for a Sat/Sun break, and the stop already flags the reservation — checked 2026-08-15
€45book ahead
day 2 of 2 · 7 stops · €49

Day 2 — Fashion city: MoMu to the MAS rooftopFashion city: MoMu to the MAS rooftop

10:00
MoMu - Fashion Museum Antwerpbook ahead
sight · 90 min · €12 · MoMu, Nationalestraat 28book ahead
MoMu, Nationalestraat 28
€12, closed Mondays (open Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00). The museum of the Antwerp Six and the Royal Academy tradition — rotating exhibitions rather than a fixed collection, so check what's on; buy the timed ticket online.
NOTE · field note · PRICE: official adult ticket now €13 (the stop note and est_cost say €12, verified 2026-08-15).
€12book ahead
11:45
Nationalestraat fashion district walk
sight · 45 min · free · Nationalestraat, Antwerp
Nationalestraat, Antwerp
The spine of fashion Antwerp: Het Modepaleis (Dries Van Noten's 1880s flagship at the Nationalestraat/Kammenstraat corner), Ann Demeulemeester's store toward the Zuid, and the streetwear of Kammenstraat one block over. Sunday note: most boutiques here open Mon–Sat only — window quality stays high.
12:45
Frites Atelier
food · 45 min · €12
Frites Atelier, Korte Gasthuisstraat 32
Sergio Herman's haute friture on the pedestrian shopping streets — twice-cooked Zeeland fries with joppiesaus or Flemish stew on top (~€12). Open daily 11:30–20:00; eat at the marble counter.
€12
14:00
Rubens Experience and garden (Rubenshuis)book ahead
sight · 75 min · €15 · Rubenshuis, Wapper 9-11book ahead
Rubenshuis, Wapper 9-11
The painter's house itself is closed for restoration until ~2030, but the new-build Rubens Experience and the replanted baroque garden — 17,500 plants selected with advice from Dries Van Noten — are open (€15, timed slots). Closed Wednesdays. Skip if you'd rather linger on the Meir; the KMSKA already showed you the masterworks.
NOTE · field note · PRICE: official combined Experience-and-garden ticket is now €12, not the €15 in the stop note and est_cost (verified 2026-08-15) — the itinerary over-charges rather than under-charges.
€15book ahead
15:30
Meir, Stadsfeestzaal, and The Chocolate Line
food · 60 min · €10 · The Chocolate Line, Paleis op de Meir 50
The Chocolate Line, Paleis op de Meir 50
Walk the Meir's grand facades: duck into the gilded Stadsfeestzaal shopping hall (note: like most Meir shops it's shut on non-'shopping Sunday' Sundays), then Dominique Persoone's Chocolate Line inside the Napoleon-era palace at no. 50 — open daily, kitchen behind glass, wasabi and cola pralines (~€10 a bag).
€10
16:45
Antwerpen-Centraal station hall
sight · 30 min · free · Antwerpen-Centraal, Koningin Astridplein 27
Antwerpen-Centraal, Koningin Astridplein 27
Five minutes up the Meir: the 1905 'railway cathedral' — gilded dome, marble staircases, four levels of tracks. Free, always open; the view from the mezzanine over the platforms is the shot.
17:45
MAS rooftop panorama
sight · 75 min · free · MAS - Museum aan de Stroom, Hanzestedenplaats 1
MAS - Museum aan de Stroom, Hanzestedenplaats 1
Tram 7 or a 25-min walk north to the Eilandje docks. The red-sandstone tower's escalators to the 10th-floor roof are free (open till 22:00 in summer, museum itself €10 and closed Mondays) — 360° over the port, the cathedral spire, and the Scheldt at sunset. The right last image before the train home.

On the map

Field checks & ratings

Field log10/13 VENUES CLEAR · 3 FIELD NOTES✓ CHECKED 64 DAYS AGO

Every venue in this itinerary was checked against current public sources — opening hours, prices, closures — before it was published. Stops that aren't venues — transit legs, walks between them — aren't in the count.

Checked against tripadvisor.com · tripadvisor.co.uk · whichmuseum.com · dekathedraal.be · fritesatelier.com · kmska.be + 7 more

How we check

Anything with a kitchen or a ticket gate is verified individually: the official site where one exists, plus recent traveler reviews. Public squares, parks and viewpoints get an existence check. A venue we can’t confirm is flagged below rather than quietly kept, and the whole itinerary is re-checked on a cadence — past 12 months without one, the checked claim is dropped and the date above stops being a promise.

NoteFiskebar — still 3.9 on Tripadvisor so the warning stands, and the Tuesday closure is re-confirmed — harmless for a Sat/Sun break, and the stop already flags the reservation · via tripadvisor.com, restaurantguru.com
NoteMoMu - Fashion Museum Antwerp — PRICE: official adult ticket now €13 (the stop note and est_cost say €12, verified 2026-08-15). · via momu.be, tripadvisor.com
NoteRubens Experience and garden (Rubenshuis) — PRICE: official combined Experience-and-garden ticket is now €12, not the €15 in the stop note and est_cost (verified 2026-08-15) — the itinerary over-charges rather than under-charges. · via visit.rubenshuis.be, whichmuseum.com
checked 15 Aug 2026 · 10 of 13 venues clear · 3 field notes

Every venue was checked against current public sources — hours, prices, closures — before it was published. Walks and transit legs are not in the count.

checked against tripadvisor.com · tripadvisor.co.uk · whichmuseum.com · dekathedraal.be · fritesatelier.com · kmska.be + 7 more

field note · day 1Fiskebarstill 3.9 on Tripadvisor so the warning stands, and the Tuesday closure is re-confirmed — harmless for a Sat/Sun break, and the stop already flags the reservation · via tripadvisor.com, restaurantguru.com
field note · day 2MoMu - Fashion Museum AntwerpPRICE: official adult ticket now €13 (the stop note and est_cost say €12, verified 2026-08-15). · via momu.be, tripadvisor.com
field note · day 2Rubens Experience and garden (Rubenshuis)PRICE: official combined Experience-and-garden ticket is now €12, not the €15 in the stop note and est_cost (verified 2026-08-15) — the itinerary over-charges rather than under-charges. · via visit.rubenshuis.be, whichmuseum.com
How we check

Anything with a kitchen or a ticket gate is verified individually: the official site where one exists, plus recent traveler reviews. Public squares, parks and viewpoints get an existence check. A venue we can’t confirm is flagged below rather than quietly kept, and the whole itinerary is re-checked on a cadence — past 12 months without one, the checked claim is dropped and the date above stops being a promise.

4.3/5
Editorial pick · the score it was published with — traveler ratings move it
Value for money
4.4
Location & logistics
4.4
Activities & sights
4.4
Food & drink
4.0
Pacing & feasibility
4.2
≈ €160per person · 2 days