Antwerp is easily accessible from Brussels in about ~1 hour by train or ~40 minutes by bus. Compared to Brussels, Antwerp is small and charming.

I would recommend starting the day with Legends of Antwerp tour. One great thing about this tour is that you get to see both a church and a museum for a short time for free. Both of these have entry tickets otherwise.

This statue of a man throwing the hand of a giant (who used to demand tribute and punish sailors if they didn’t pay) into the sea gave the name to Antwerp. “Hand werpen” means “to throw a hand” in Dutch.

Antwerp statue
Antwerp statue that gave Antwerp its name

Under the Scheldt River, there is a tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists. It is the only tunnel where I have seen a wooden escalator.

Wooden escalator in the Scheldt river tunnel
Wooden escalator in the Scheldt river tunnel

You will also see the statue of Lange Wapper, a giant who used to scare drunk people by growing in size.

Lange Wapper statue in Antwerp
Lange Wapper statue in Antwerp

And it is hard to miss the Nello & Patrasche Statue near the Cathedral of Our Lady. It is from a British novel, A Dog of Flanders, which, forgotten in Belgium, is really popular in Japan.

Nello & Patrasche Statue in Antwerp
Nello & Patrasche Statue in Antwerp

I would recommend taking the river ferry from Antwerp to Lillo. It costs 4 euros (one-way) and a 6-euro round trip. The one-way journey is about 1 hour. And you see great views on the Scheldt River along the way.

Ferry on the Scheldt river in Antwerp
Ferry on the Scheldt river in Antwerp

I did a small hike in Lillo. Spending 30 minutes to an hour is worth it here.

Hike in Lillo near Antwerp
Hike in Lillo near Antwerp

Note

  1. Eurostar Supermarket has great Indian food and groceries. It is run by people from Nepal.
  2. A day or two is more than enough for Antwerp.