Where should I stay in Antwerp?

The area around Groenplaats, the square directly south of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, is the right first pick. You're a 4-minute walk from the Grote Markt, 8 minutes from Rubenshuis on Wapper, and 12 minutes on foot from Antwerp-Centraal. Hotels on or near Groenplaats run $130 to $220 for a four-star. The cobblestones on Groenplaats stay wet more often than not. Antwerp gets rain about 200 days per year, and June afternoons currently sit around 16°C with damp air that smells faintly of the Scheldt. You'll hear the cathedral bells from most rooms facing the square. Waffle stands open on Groenplaats by 9am, well before the tour groups arrive around 11. That two-hour window is worth using.

Het Zuid sits south of the center around Leopold de Waelplaats. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts reopened here in September 2022 after an 11-year closure, and the wine bars along Volkstraat have filled in since. Restaurants like Fiskebar on Marnixplaats and the bistros lining Vlaamse Kaai draw locals, not tour groups. A boutique hotel in Het Zuid costs $110 to $180 per night. The trade-off is a 20-minute walk or 10-minute tram ride to the Grote Markt. To be fair, De Lijn trams connect Leopold de Waelplaats to Groenplaats every few minutes throughout the day. Het Zuid is the better base if your evenings in restaurants matter more than early mornings at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal.

Het Eilandje is the old port district north of the cathedral quarter, rebuilt around Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), which opened in 2011. The rooftop terrace at MAS is free and gives you the clearest view of the Scheldt curving north toward the Dutch border. Converted warehouses line the Bonaparte dock and Willemdok. Hotels start around $100 per night. The wind off the Scheldt feels noticeably colder than Groenplaats in the evenings, so pack a layer even in June. The dining options along Bonaparte dock are still thinner than Het Zuid or the Oude Stad, and you're a 15-minute walk from the Grote Markt. Het Eilandje tends to suit repeat visitors who already know the center.

Antwerp-Centraal, finished in 1905 and extensively restored in the 2000s, is one of the most striking train halls in Europe. Direct trains reach Brussels-Midi in 35 minutes and Amsterdam Centraal in about 1 hour 50 minutes. Hotels within 5 minutes of the station run $90 to $160 per night. The diamond district, Diamantwijk, sits between the station and the old city. That walk, about 10 minutes down the Meir shopping street, is flat and direct. Mind you, the blocks around Antwerp-Centraal are functional rather than atmospheric. The Meir fills with chain stores during the day, and the side streets around Pelikaanstraat quiet down after shop hours.

Skip booking in Seefhoek or around Stuivenbergplein north of the center. Rooms there drop to $60 to $80, but the streets feel deserted after 9pm and you'll spend $12 to $17 on taxis from any restaurant worth eating at. June through September is high season, and Antwerp's hotel stock is smaller than you'd expect for a city of about 530,000. Book 3 to 4 weeks ahead for summer weekends. De Lijn's tram network runs until roughly midnight, and a 10-ride card costs about €17. If you stay anywhere between Groenplaats and Centraal station, you can walk to nearly everything on a first-visit list.