Antwerp Neighborhoods: Where to Stay

Neighborhoods

• Historisch Centrum

  Dense, old, and still a working city center rather than a museum piece. The Grote Markt's guild houses date to the 1560s, and on weekday mornings you'll hear the clatter of delivery trucks over the cobblestones before the tourists arrive. The Cathedral of Our Lady, finished in 1521, dominates the skyline from nearly every angle. Side streets like Pelgrimstraat and Vlasmarkt smell of fresh waffles and old beer. The buildings lean slightly. Pigeons own the rooftops.

  Best for

  First-time visitors, architecture lovers, anyone who wants to walk to everything without relying on transit

  Key streets

  Grote Markt for the guild facades, Groenplaats for the Rubens statue and the cafe terraces, Handschoenmarkt for the cathedral's west front, Suikerrui running down to the river, and Vrijdagmarkt where a small antiques market still sets up on weekends

• Het Eilandje

  Antwerp's old port district north of the center, redeveloped since the mid-2000s around the MAS museum, which opened in 2011. The architecture swings between 19th-century red-brick warehouses and sharp contemporary glass. Wind comes off the Bonaparte dock and the Willem dock, so it feels cooler than the rest of the city, especially after sunset. The neighborhood is still filling in. Some blocks are polished residential, others are half-construction-site. It's quiet at night compared to the center, though the restaurants along the Kattendijkdok-Oostkaai have been drawing a steady dinner crowd.

  Best for

  Couples and design-minded travelers who prefer modern apartments and waterfront walks over historic hotel rooms

  Key streets

  Kattendijkdok-Oostkaai for the restaurant row along the dock, Nassaustraat for the older warehouse conversions, and Montevideostraat where Felix Pakhuis (a converted 1920s warehouse) houses a brasserie and food hall

• Het Zuid

  South of the center, anchored by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA), which reopened in 2022 after an 11-year renovation. The neighborhood runs roughly from the Museumstraat down to the Vlaamse Kaai along the old south docks. Gallery spaces cluster on Leopoldstraat and Verschansingstraat. The food scene here tends toward the ambitious. Restaurants like The Jane (in a converted military chapel on Paradeplein) hold Michelin stars, but you'll also find a strong middle tier of wine bars and small-plate spots on Marnixplaats. The buildings are mostly late 19th-century, wide and tall, with carved stone details that catch the afternoon light.

  Best for

  Art and food-focused travelers, people who want a slower pace than the center but still want to walk to dinner

  Key streets

  Museumstraat for the KMSKA and gallery row, Marnixplaats for its ring of cafe terraces and weekend market, Vlaamse Kaai along the old south dock basin, and Leopold de Waelplaats where the museum faces a triangular plaza with benches under old trees

• Sint-Andries

  Wedged between the center and Het Zuid, Sint-Andries is Antwerp's fashion quarter. The area around Kammenstraat and Nationalestraat holds a dense run of Belgian designer shops, vintage stores, and independent labels. The MoMu fashion museum sits on Nationalestraat 28. The streets are narrower than Het Zuid's, the buildings lower, and the foot traffic tends younger. You'll hear music from open shop doors. The smell of coffee hangs around Kloosterstraat, which runs south into a strip of antique dealers and secondhand furniture shops. It gets loud on Friday and Saturday nights when the bars on Kammenstraat fill up.

  Best for

  Fashion shoppers, younger travelers, anyone who wants to be close to both the center and Het Zuid without paying top rates for either

  Key streets

  Kammenstraat for streetwear and independent shops, Nationalestraat for MoMu and the Belgian designers, Kloosterstraat for antiques and mid-century furniture, and Schuttershofstraat where Dries Van Noten's flagship store sits behind a modest storefront

• Zurenborg

  East of the center, past Antwerp-Berchem station, Zurenborg is a residential quarter built between 1894 and 1906. The architecture is the point. Cogels-Osylei, the central avenue, lines up Art Nouveau, neo-Gothic, and neo-Renaissance townhouses side by side, each one trying to outdo its neighbor. The street is about 600 meters long. It's quiet. You hear birds and the occasional tram bell from Draakplaats. The food options cluster around Draakplaats and Dageraadplaats, two small squares with cafe terraces that fill up when the sun comes out. The neighborhood smells like linden trees in June.

  Best for

  Architecture enthusiasts, repeat visitors who've done the center, travelers who prefer a residential feel over a hotel district

  Key streets

  Cogels-Osylei for the full architectural parade, Transvaalstraat for smaller Art Nouveau details, Draakplaats for its cafe terraces and Saturday bustle, and Dageraadplaats for a calmer version of the same

• Meir and Stadspark

  The Meir is Antwerp's main commercial street, running about 800 meters from the Meirbrug to the central station. It's pedestrianized and wide, lined with chain retailers in 18th- and 19th-century facades. The Stadspark, a 14-hectare green space laid out in 1868, sits behind the station to the east. The streets between the park and the Meir hold a mix of business hotels and residential blocks. The pace here is fast during shopping hours and empty by 7 PM. The noise level drops dramatically once you step one block off the Meir into the side streets around Huidevettersstraat or Schoenmarkt.

  Best for

  Business travelers, shoppers, anyone who wants to be within a 5-minute walk of Centraal Station for easy train connections to Brussels (45 minutes) or Amsterdam (2 hours)

  Key streets

  Meir for the main shopping run, Leysstraat connecting to Groenplaats, Wapper for the Rubens House museum at number 9, and Frankrijklei along the old ring where the larger hotels cluster

• Borgerhout Intramuros

  Directly east of the center, inside the ring road, Borgerhout is Antwerp's most multicultural district. Turnhoutsebaan, the long commercial street, has Turkish bakeries, Moroccan grocery shops, and South Asian fabric stores packed shoulder to shoulder. The smell of fresh flatbread and roasting lamb hangs in the air around midday. The buildings are mostly 19th-century workers' housing, 3 or 4 stories, with narrow fronts. It's louder and busier than the center on a Saturday. The neighborhood has been drawing a younger crowd in recent years, with small bars and studios opening on side streets like De Pretstraat.

  Best for

  Travelers interested in food from North Africa, Turkey, and South Asia at local prices, and anyone curious about a part of Antwerp that most tourist itineraries skip entirely

  Key streets

  Turnhoutsebaan for the full commercial stretch, De Pretstraat for newer bars and a community garden, Plantin en Moretuslei where the tram runs along the edge of the district, and Kroonstraat for some of the better bakeries

• Linkeroever

  The left bank of the Scheldt, connected to the center by the Sint-Annatunnel, a 572-meter pedestrian tunnel that opened in 1933. You take a wooden escalator down about 30 meters, walk under the river, and come up on the other side. Linkeroever itself is mostly mid-20th-century residential towers and a long riverside promenade. The appeal is the view back toward the old city skyline, the cathedral, and the cranes of the port. It's windy. The promenade runs about 2 kilometers and is popular with joggers and cyclists. There is not much in the way of restaurants or shops on this side.

  Best for

  Photographers after the classic Antwerp skyline shot, joggers, and anyone who wants a 30-minute break from the old city without taking a tram

  Key streets

  Sint-Annastrand along the waterfront for the skyline panorama, and the Sint-Annatunnel entrance on Sint-Jansvliet square on the city side