Getting to Antwerp by Train
Antwerp is a city you should arrive in by train, and not only because parking here is a punishment. Antwerpen-Centraal is a destination in its own right, and it puts you in the middle of everything before you have even found the exit.
Book to Antwerpen-Centraal, not Antwerpen
Antwerp has several stations. The one you want is Antwerpen-Centraal, sometimes written Antwerp Central. Booking sites also offer Antwerpen-Berchem, which is a perfectly good station about two kilometres south and a useful stop if your hotel is in that direction, but it is not the one with the dome.
If a fare to Berchem is noticeably cheaper, take it and ride one more stop. It is four minutes.
The connections
From Brussels. Trains run several times an hour and the journey takes about forty-five minutes from Brussels-Midi, a few minutes less from Brussels-Central. This is the connection that makes Antwerp a day trip from anywhere in Belgium.
From Brussels Airport. Direct trains run from the station under the terminal and take about half an hour. You do not need to go into Brussels first.
From Amsterdam. Both the intercity and the high-speed service run this route. The high-speed train does Amsterdam in one hour fifteen; the intercity is cheaper and stops more often. Either way you arrive at Antwerpen-Centraal.
From Paris. High-speed trains run north through Brussels, and the total journey is a little over two hours.
From London. Change at Brussels-Midi and continue north. Check current services before booking, because this route has been changing.
Timetables move. Treat the numbers above as an order of magnitude and check the operator before you book.
Arriving: give yourself four minutes
The train drops you on one of four levels. Before you head for the exit, walk up to the top.
The station opened in 1905 to a design by Louis Delacenserie, and the ticket hall is a stone dome under a glass and iron train shed, finished in more than twenty kinds of marble. It gets called one of the most beautiful stations in the world often enough that it has stopped being a claim. It costs you nothing and four minutes.
On the way out, the building puts you straight into two things: the diamond district, which starts at the station door, and Antwerp Zoo, which is literally next to it and has been since 1843.
From the station to the rest of the city
On foot. The Meir, the main shopping street, is a fifteen minute walk. The Grote Markt and the cathedral are around twenty-five.
By tram. The network runs underground from the station to Groenplaats and Meir in a few minutes. Tram 24 runs east through Zurenborg.
Luggage. There are lockers at the station, and most hotels will take your bags before check-in. At VIA Antwerp that is free, before or after your stay.
Coming back, and going on
Antwerp works well as a base for the rest of Flanders. Ghent is about an hour and Bruges about an hour and a half, and Rotterdam is close enough for a day out. If you have a spare afternoon, going somewhere and coming back is easier here than almost anywhere.
Where to stay if you arrive by train
VIA Antwerp is a six minute walk from Antwerpen-Centraal, or a few stops on tram 24. The walk runs through Zurenborg, the Art Nouveau district, which means the first thing you see of the city is the Cogels-Osylei rather than a ring road. Tram 24 to Joe English, Collegelaan puts you at the door if you would rather not walk.
Four stars, seven room types, a reception that is open all night for late arrivals, and MEA downstairs for dinner and cocktails. Best Hotel Design of the Year at the Independent Hotel Show in Amsterdam, April 2026.
