Antwerp’s Bourla theatre opened in 1834 and still holds its original wooden stage machinery. The €98m renovation that will keep it has been pushed back to after the summer of 2027.
Category: 🏰 Landmarks
Experience iconic landmarks in Antwerp with our curated selection of must-see attractions. From historic buildings to modern monuments, discover the city.
Brabo threw the hand, but Antwerp’s name probably came from a riverbank
Legend says Silvius Brabo cut off a giant’s hand, threw it in the Scheldt and gave Antwerp its name. The fountain on the Grote Markt dates from 1887; the name is a good deal older.
Het Steen: Antwerp’s oldest building is now its front door
Het Steen was built between 1200 and 1225 and served as a prison until 1827. Since its contested new wing opened in 2021, more than two million visitors have come through the door.
The Boerentoren, a farmers’ bank tower waiting for its crown
The Boerentoren went up on the Schoenmarkt in 1931 and 1932, 87.5 metres of art deco for a farmers’ bank. Katoen Natie bought it in 2020, and Daniel Libeskind is adding a crown.
The St Anna tunnel still crosses the Scheldt on wooden steps
Since 1933 the St Anna tunnel has carried walkers and cyclists 572 metres under the Scheldt, 31 metres down. Most of its 3.5 to 4 million users a year still take the wooden escalators.
The Vlaeykensgang: the 1591 alley saved from a car park
Behind a door at Oude Koornmarkt 16, Antwerp’s Vlaeykensgang has twisted between about ten houses since 1591. The city wanted a car park; in 1969 Axel Vervoordt bought the houses instead.
Groenplaats: Antwerp’s old churchyard waits for its trees
The Groenplaats was the cathedral’s cemetery until Joseph II banned burials in 1784. From spring 2027 the square is to be dug up again, for 50 new trees and a bicycle store for 400 bikes.
Antwerp’s Grote Markt, where the town hall turned to face its square
Antwerp’s Grote Markt was given to the city in 1220. Its town hall dates from the 1560s, its Brabo fountain from 1887, and most of its guildhalls are younger than they look.
Port of Antwerp: Europe’s second port, seen from the water
Port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 266.5 million tonnes of cargo in 2025 and is run from a Zaha Hadid building on an old fire station. The way in is a boat from the Asiadok, from €23.
Antwerp’s Meir is getting the world’s largest Zara and a new floor
The Meir has been car-free since 1993 and draws more than 1.4 million visitors a month. Zara is building its largest shop in the world on the corner, and the city plans to relay the street from facade to facade, starting in 2028 at the earliest.