The Société Royale d’Harmonie opened its concert hall and garden on the Mechelsesteenweg in 1846. The city bought both in 1923, and since 2021 the ballroom has been the district’s town hall.
Category: 🌳 Parks
Take a stroll through Antwerp’s beautiful green spaces. Our guide to the best parks helps you find the perfect spot for a picnic, jog, or afternoon relaxation.
Middelheim Museum: 75 years of free sculpture in an Antwerp park
Antwerp’s open-air sculpture museum began with 167 sculptures in Middelheim park in 1950. Seventy-five years on it holds about 440, across some 30 hectares, and still charges nothing.
Rivierenhof, the Deurne estate the province bought for everyone in 1921
The Province of Antwerp bought the Rivierenhof in 1921 to keep the houses out. A century on, the 132-hectare park in Deurne draws more than a million visitors a year and still charges none of them.
Park Spoor Noord turned a rail yard into Antwerp-Noord’s garden
A 24-hectare railway yard divided three districts of Antwerp-Noord for more than a century. Since 2008, 18 hectares of it have been a park, with barbecues for streets where one home in eight had outdoor space.
Den Botaniek and the Botanic Sanctuary: a free garden and a five-star neighbour
Den Botaniek on Leopoldstraat has grown medicinal plants since the 16th century and still charges nothing to walk in. Next door, the old Sint-Elisabeth hospital is now the 108-room Botanic Sanctuary.