Cities / Antwerp
Belgium
Antwerp: The richest city in Europe, then the closed river, then Rubens.
For sixty years in the sixteenth century Antwerp was the trading capital of the world. A historian walks the Grote Markt and the cathedral of that age, the year the river was closed, the city Rubens painted in, the printing house of Plantin, and the quay where two million emigrants boarded for America.
The timeline the walk follows
The first purpose built exchange; Antwerp is Europe’s market.
Mutinous troops sack the city; the golden age ends.
The Scheldt is closed; trade moves to Amsterdam.
The house and studio on the Wapper; the Baroque city.
Emigrant ships to New York until 1934.
Themes
Choose one, or name your own.
Two hours covers one theme well. Three hours links two.
- The golden age: Grote Markt, cathedral and Bourse
- Rubens and the Baroque city
- Plantin and the printing revolution
- Red Star Line: two million emigrants
- Diamonds and the Jewish quarter
- The port and the closed Scheldt
Private walk
Your group only, your questions, your pace.
Group walk
Schools, companies, cruise and coach groups. Larger groups split.
Your theme
A period, a person, a family story. We find the historian who knows it.
Led by
A historian from Antwerp, from LocalBini’s vetted network
Meeting point
Central, confirmed in your booking email
Not included
Entry tickets to monuments and museums
Questions
About Antwerp.
Rubens House?
Reopened after renovation with its own ticket; the walk stops there and can end at the door.
Is the diamond quarter safe to walk?
Yes, it is a working business district next to the station. The walk explains the trade from the street.
Cancellation?
Free cancellation up to 7 days before the walk. Within 7 days the walk is non refundable, since the historian has reserved the time. We reschedule for severe weather at no cost.
Walk Antwerp with a historian.
Date, time, length and theme. We reply within a day and confirm your historian within two to three.