Getting there
We give you the inside track on how to get to Antwerp and how to get around this on-the-pulse city
- Planes
- There are direct flights daily with VLM Airlines (www.flyvlm.com) from London City and Manchester to Antwerp Deurne airport, four miles north of the city centre. BA and Virgin both fly to Brussels, which is about 30 minutes away by taxi – you may be able to get a special rate of around €50–€60 if you book the transfer through your hotel.
- Boats
- You can take a boat trip all the way to Brussels or out into the nearby Dutch countryside. Boats depart from the quay on Steenplein.
- Trains
- Eurostar takes two and a half hours from London to Brussels Midi, where you can catch a connecting train to Antwerp from the same station (you can book a connection through Eurostar’s website, www.eurostar.com – Eurostar tickets are valid to/from any Belgian station). Antwerp’s Central Station is a spectacular turn-of-the-century monument to the age of steam.
- Automobiles
- Hiring a car isn’t necessary, as Belgium has a good train network connecting its major cities, and besides, even its largest urban areas are easily walkable and bicycle-friendly.
