A Long Weekend in Antwerp: The Offbeat Plan
Three days builds on the free-sights core of Antwerp’s weekend plan with a full day inside the Diamond District and the world’s only individually UNESCO-listed museum. This is the version for travelers who want the city’s odder, less-photographed side, not just the Grote Markt. See the 2 day , 4 day , 5 day , 6 day and full week versions, or the guide to Antwerp’s hidden gems .
Book these before you go:
- Check rates near Centraal on Booking.com
- Book a diamond district tour for Day 3
- Book an old town walking tour for Day 1
Day 1: Grote Markt and the railway cathedral
Start at the Grote Markt, the Brabo Fountain and its hand-throwing founding legend, and the guild houses ringing the square. Walk up to Antwerpen-Centraal, the “railway cathedral” whose 1905 domed hall Mashable named the world’s most beautiful station in 2014. In the afternoon, visit the Cathedral of Our Lady (EUR 12, free under 18) for Rubens’ own Descent from the Cross and Elevation of the Cross, since the Rubenshuis itself stays closed until 2030. Evening: a Bolleke of De Koninck at a cafe near the square, roughly EUR 2.50-3.50.
Day 2: The river, for free
Visit the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) for its free rooftop panorama, no ticket required (galleries EUR 10 plus EUR 2 for temporary shows). Continue to Het Steen for its free courtyard and rooftop. In the afternoon, walk the free Sint-Annatunnel under the Scheldt, 572 meters built in 1933, and return on the free Sint-Anna ferry, running 24/7 since September 2025. De Lijn’s premetro tram tunnel under the river is closed for renovation from May 2026 to roughly the end of March 2027, so this pedestrian crossing is the reliable route this year.
Day 3: Diamonds and prints
Spend the morning walking the Diamond District, roughly 380 workshops clustered near Centraal Station; go on a weekday, since much of it closes Saturdays for its large Orthodox Jewish community. The DIVA museum (EUR 12) tells the trading-hub story properly, worth more than any storefront “diamond experience” aimed at tourists. Antwerp trades roughly 84 percent of the world’s rough diamonds, but the actual cutting of most stones by volume happens in India today, not here.
In the afternoon, visit the Plantin-Moretus Museum (EUR 12, free the first Wednesday of the month), the only museum in the world individually inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, holding the world’s oldest surviving printing presses inside a perfectly preserved 16th-century printing house. Finish with a walk down Meir, Antwerp’s main shopping street, back toward Centraal Station.
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Grote Markt, Antwerpen-Centraal, Cathedral of Our Lady |
| Day 2 | MAS free rooftop, Het Steen, the free Sint-Anna tunnel and ferry |
| Day 3 | Diamond District, DIVA museum, Plantin-Moretus UNESCO print house |
If three days becomes four, the 4 day itinerary adds the Cogels-Osylei Art Nouveau street and the KMSKA gallery on top of this exact plan.