Getting Around

Getting Around in Antwerp

This section provides maps and information to help you find your way and get to wherever you want to go in Antwerp quickly and conveniently. For some inspiration you can always visit the Pubs in Antwerp and Dining in Antwerp sections.

Maps of the city centre

Click on the link below to find a map of the city centre of Antwerp, with marks for the Central (train) Station, The Conference Center and the Franklin Rooseveltplaats (central bus and tram stop). The shortest route from the Central Station to the Hof Van Liere (Conference Center) has also been marked on the map.

You could also take tram 10 or tram 11 (direction Melkmarkt) at the bus and tram stop on the Astridplein (square in front of the Central station). The bus and tram stop is, in relation to the station, at the other side of the square. Get off the tram at the second stop (Sint-Jacobstraat). You're now in the Kipdorp. Come back until you meet Prinsesstraat (on your left), follow the street until you cross Prinstraat, then turn left. Follow the street until you see the conference building on your right. The tram stops are indicated on the map above.

Public Transportation

The public transportation company De Lijn has a dense network of buses, trams, and pre-metro connections in the city and wide area around it. You can buy cards of €8 (10 fares) at fixed points in town (newspaper shops, supermarkets, ticketdispensing machines at the stops, Tourism Antwerp) or buy them inside buses. If you don't have a card you pay more inside the bus (€2 per fare). For one fare, you can ride up to an hour within the entire city center limits. If you want to travel out of the city center you have to pay more for the extra zones travelled. The central public transportation point is the Franklin Roosevelt plaats, near the central train station. Most busses leave from there or from the train station. The trams and pre-metro (underground tram) also cross through the whole town.

You can find on overview of all bus and tram lines on this map.

Taxi and cars

Taxis are available, but they can be quite expensive. They await customers at specific locations around town (waving your hand will seldom work) like the Groenplaats or the railway station. You can recognize these places by an orange TAXI sign. The prices are fixed in the taximeter.

Driving in Antwerp is not as difficult as many big cities in the world, but crossroads can seem very chaotic for foreigners. There are few free parking spaces, but many spaces where you have to pay (on the street or in underground car parks). The underground car parks are well-signposted. The prices are typically €2 per hour.

There are many one-way roads, that can make it difficult to get to a specific place. Try to park your car as close as possible and go on foot.

Bicycle

The city has many special areas for cyclists. Most one-way roads can be accessed both ways. It's very easy and comfortable. Make sure to lock your bike to a fixed object, however, or it will be stolen! Around town there are a few places that are specially prepared for hosting bicycles for free, like at the Groenplaats.

Bicycles can be rented at several places in town like De Ligfiets, De Windroos (Steenplein), or De Fietsdokter (Verschansingsstraat).

On foot

Most things to see are near or within the Boulevards, the half-moon of avenues where there were once 16th century city-walls. This old town center, with a diameter of about 1.5 km can be walked, but there is excellent public transport.

Links

  • Check the Antwerp page of this up-to-date, and reliable worldwide travel guide: Wikitravel
  • The official “visit Antwerp” website: City of Antwerp