Antwerp suggestions

[Babcia7]

We will be on Uniworld's Tulip and Windmills cruise April 1-10, and arrive in Brussels early Saturday morning.  If all goes well we should be in Antwerp and on the ship mid morning, so we'll have plenty of time to do some exploring on our own.  Any suggestions for places to go within walking distance from the port?

 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, Babcia7 said:

We will be on Uniworld's Tulip and Windmills cruise April 1-10, and arrive in Brussels early Saturday morning.  If all goes well we should be in Antwerp and on the ship mid morning, so we'll have plenty of time to do some exploring on our own.  Any suggestions for places to go within walking distance from the port?

 

You have your first whole day in Antwerp (unless you take the Brussels excursion). However, the ship docks right at the old town, and I would suggest you just wander over. If there are any museums that you want to see, that might be a good time to do them since you won't on the walking tours. Don't forget that you will likely be somewhat jetlagged; it is better not to try to do too much.

(On my tulips and windmills in 2010, I didn't arrive at the ship until dinner was underway due to the problems with travel during the Icelandic volcano eruption so I can't tell you what anyone did that afternoon.)

[Babcia7]

Thanks for the response!  Good to know that the ship docks so close to the old town.  My husband and I always try to stay awake and outdoors on the day we arrive, and even though a bit jet lagged, we find that we adjust to the time change much better if we just opt for an early bedtime shortly after dinner!

[DougK]

Although it's about 4 miles away (so you'd probably want to bike or taxi), if the weather's good, I would highly recommend going to the Middleheim Museum. It's a very large sculpture park, with sculptures dating back to about 1900 and continuing up to the present day. When I was there last year, it was a little scattered and the signage/maps didn't totally align with the actual sculptures, but it's supposedly undergoing a large renovation this year, so perhaps it's better. Even with that minor shortcoming, I loved it--probably the best sculpture park I've ever visited.

[CPT Trips]

Red Star Line Museum -  https://redstarline.be/en. It’s right along the river about a mile walk if you dock here.

Along the way you’ll also pass MAS - https://mas.be/en which has an observation deck on top. 

 

 

[franski]

If you are just looking to wander, you might enjoy the Sint Annatunnel. 

 

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/the-scheldt-tunnel-in-antwerp/

 

Interesting walkway - under the river -  accessed by very steep wooden escalators.  We wandered over to the other side - and just sat on a bench seeing Antwerp from a different perspective. 

 

Fran

[Babcia7]

Thank you all for your suggestions! We are really looking forward to this trip!