City Guide: Antwerp + Day Trips To Bruges & Ghent
My Mom & I had a great 4 days exploring Belgium! We had no agenda so we walked everywhere, ate a lot and did a little more than a little shopping! We stayed in Antwerp and spent a day visiting both the charming towns of Ghent & Bruges. We met extremely kind people along the way, took tons of fun photos AND collected a whole slew of recommendations for your next trip to Belgium! It was one of the only trips I’ve taken with zero plans and let me tell you… exploring this country with no agenda was SO much fun! My best advice for your trip to Belgium? Eat all the Belgian waffles! HA! Ok but in all seriousness… we have tons of AMAZING recommendations for you all for your time in Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges! Let me know if you have any questions about this beautiful European destination and ENJOY!
ANTWERP
WHERE TO EAT
Sophie’s Place: Graanmarkt 1, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Tamo: Volkstraat 44, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Bourla: Graanmarkt 7, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
De Arme Duivel: Armeduivelstraat 1, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Yam Thai: Volkstraat 76, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Sumac: Vrijheidstraat 61, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Middle Eats: Graaf van Egmontstraat 2, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Mai Thai: Suikerrui 26, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Indigo Antwerp City Centre: Koningin Astridplein 43, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium
This is where we stayed and we were so happy with it! Super fun vibe, trendy, beautiful rooms and super close to the train station which ended up being the perfect location! We could walk everywhere which was extra good because we learned that taxis are few and far between in this city!
THIS LINK also has tons of great hotel recommendations! I would definitely say staying close to the train station is a great bet when visiting Antwerp!
WHAT TO DO
You MUST visit Antwerp’s train station. Likely, you will take the train from the airport to the city so you will see it! BUT! I recommend taking another visit to really taken it all in. It is known to be the most beautiful train station in the world. We were abolsutely in awe. (photos above)
SHOP!
The shopping in Antwerp is INCREDIBLE. We had a blast wandering into shop after shop admiring the beautiful pieces! One thing to note! Belgium’s VAT tax is 21% so ask for the forms at each store you shop at! Then, at the airport you show your VAT receipts and each piece you purchased and you will get the 21% back! Make sure to do this before you check your bags or pack your new items in your carry on! Here are our favorite stores we found!
Verso: Lange Gasthuisstraat 9, 2000 Antwerpen
This was an extremely high end department like store. It looked like a fine art museum. A great place to admire high end designer pieces!
Essentiel Antwerp: Antwerpsestraat 63Lier, 2500 Belgium
These stores are all over Belgium! They are filled with unique, fun pieces! Mom and I both found a few things here (like my orange FURY hat pictured above)!
Princess: Lange Gasthuisstraat 12, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium
Another STUNNING store. We found amazing designers I had never heard of! They also had fabulous sales happening!
GHENT
WHERE TO EAT
Kin Khao: Donkersteeg 23, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Otomat: Kleine Vismarkt 3, 9000 Gent, Belgium
A Vegan and Belgian-inspired pizza joint!
Eat Love La Mamma: Onderbergen 25, 9000 Gent, Belgium
The menu features an Italian grandpa’s recipes!
Alice: Onderbergen 6, 9000 Gent, Belgium
If you’re looking for a fairytale-esque spot to grab a coffee!
Romain Roquette: Nederkouter 7, 9000 Gent, Belgium
This place had really healthy salads when my mom and I decided we needed a clean meal break!
WHAT TO DO
Graslei Disctrict
A great view of the river!
Jan Breydelstraat: 9000 Gent, Belgium
A beautiful European street to take a stroll down!
Vlaanderenstraat: 9000 Gent, Belgium
Great shops to wanter and beautiful 19th century architecture!
Joost Arijs: Vlaanderenstraat 24, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Bakery famous for cakes and Belgian chocolate! Yum!
BRUGES
Bruges is a 1 hour and 45 min train ride from Antwerp and absolutely worth a visit! With Ghent being directly on the way, it made it totally possible to visit both cities in one day. It made for a long day but was well worth it! In Bruges, we just explored. So, while I may not have a bunch of food recommendations I will say this… Bruges is LOVELY. It looks like a fairytale and I highly recommend spending at least a few hours here if you are able! If you’re looking to spend more time in Bruges… check out my friend Whitney’s guide HERE for tons of awesome recommendations. Included in her guide is also Brussels & more about Ghent as well!
(Photos of Mom & I were taken with Flytogrpaher! An amazing photography company that pairs you with wonderful professional photographers all around the world! We worked with Elke from Flytographer in Bruges and had a great time! You can use code: ALI50! It is valid for $50 off with Flytographer until the end of 2020! It can be used towards a Flytographer shoot or gift card).
We had a great time in Belgium. The stunning architecture, kind people, delicious food and time for adventure made for the perfect few days! I’m excited to visit Belgium again one day!
xx Ali