TRAVEL TIPS

Tours

Flandria operates 50-minute boat trips (€8) on the river Scheldt, departing from the Steenplein pontoon, next to the Steen. These run Easter weekend and daily May–September. The company also offers 2½ to 3-hour boat tours (€15) of the port, which leave from Quay 14 near Londonstraat. These tours run Easter weekend, daily from May through August, and September through October on weekends. Both tours have English-speaking guides.

Touristram operates hour-long tram tours with cassette commentary in the Oude Stad and old harbor area. Tickets are sold on the tram, and tours leave on the hour—there's even a pub crawl option. Departure is from Groenplaats. From April to September tours leave daily, 11–4; in October, daily noon–4; from November to mid-December, tours run only on weekends noon–4; and from mid-December to mid-February, tours run only by appointment.

You can arrange for a personal English-speaking guide through the Toerisme Antwerpen (the city tourist office). This requires two days' to three weeks' notice, depending on the season. You can ask your guide to show you any part of the city that interests you, either by neighborhood or by theme (fashion, history, architecture, etc.). The tourism bureau also sells booklets that sketch out walks through the city focusing on fashion and architecture.

Tour Contacts

Antwerpen Toerisme and Congres. Grote Markt 13, Oude Stad, Antwerp, 2000. 03/232–0103; www.antwerpen.be.

Flandria. Flandria Antwerp, 03/231–3100; www.flandria.nu.

Touristram. Touristram Antwerp, 0497/11–39–74; www.touristram.be.

BACK TO

Ready for a trip of a lifetime to Antwerp?

CONTACT US TODAY