This guide follows a line across Antwerp from the railway station to the river Scheldt: Antwerpen-Centraal, the Groenplaats, the Cathedral of Our Lady, the Grote Markt with its City Hall and Brabo Fountain, the medieval castle of Het Steen and the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) on the docks. It runs from the newest building on the list, opened in 2011, back to the oldest, begun around 1200, and you can walk it in a single day.
Antwerpen-Centraal
Antwerp's main station was built between 1895 and 1905, with a stone-clad terminal building by Louis Delacenserie. Because of the great dome over its waiting hall, people call it the railway cathedral. Behind it, the iron-and-glass train hall by the engineer Clément Van Bogaert was built tall so that steam from the locomotives could escape. Between 1998 and 2007 the terminus was turned into a through station, with platforms on two underground levels, and today trains run on four levels. The station is the first stop on our scavenger hunt.
- The domed waiting hall that gave the station its nickname, seen from inside and from the square in front.
- The tall iron-and-glass train hall, and the tracks on several levels below it.
Groenplaats
The Groenplaats, Green Square, lies just south of the cathedral. From at least the 13th century this was the burial ground for the poorer people of the parish, until Emperor Joseph II banned burials inside the city walls in 1784. The square was laid out in the early 19th century, under French rule, and was first called Place de l'Égalité and then Place Bonaparte. Today it is a busy meeting place with the premetro station of 1975 under it, and it is a stop on our scavenger hunt.
- The statue of Peter Paul Rubens in the middle, designed by Willem Geefs in 1840 and put up in 1843.
Cathedral of Our Lady
The Cathedral of Our Lady is the largest Gothic church in Belgium. Building began in 1352 to designs by Jan and Pieter Appelmans and the first phase ended in 1521, but the church was never finished: only one tower got its spire, which rises to 123 metres, while the second tower was never completed. The bell tower is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Belfries of Belgium and France.
The building survived a fire on the night of 5 to 6 October 1533 and a wave of Protestant iconoclasm on 20 August 1566, when much of the interior was destroyed. Today it holds four altarpieces by Rubens: The Raising of the Cross (1610–1611), The Descent from the Cross (1612–1614), The Resurrection of Christ and The Assumption of the Virgin (1626). The cathedral is a stop on our scavenger hunt.
- The two great triptychs, The Raising of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross, painted within a few years of each other.
- The carillon in the tower, with 49 bells; the largest, Karolus, was cast in 1507.
Grote Markt and City Hall
The Grote Markt is Antwerp's main square, lined with guild houses and dominated by the City Hall. Cornelis Floris de Vriendt built the City Hall between 1561 and 1565 in a Renaissance style that mixes Flemish and Italian ideas. During the Spanish Fury of 1576 it burned out completely and was restored three years later; it is also part of the UNESCO belfries listing.
In front of it stands the Brabo Fountain by Jef Lambeaux, unveiled in 1887. It shows a legend of the 15th century: the giant Druon Antigoon made boatmen on the Scheldt pay a toll and cut off the hands of those who refused, until the Roman soldier Silvius Brabo killed him and threw the giant's hand into the river. The story claims that this is where the name Antwerpen comes from, from hand and werpen, to throw, but most language historians link the name to a mound or a wharf. Both the City Hall and the Grote Markt are stops on our scavenger hunt.
- Brabo on top of the fountain, shown in the very moment he throws the giant's hand.
Het Steen
Het Steen, on the bank of the Scheldt, is Antwerp's oldest building. It was built between 1200 and 1225 as the gate of a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant, most of which was pulled down in the 19th century. Rebuilt around 1520 under Charles V, it served as a prison from 1303 to 1827 and later housed a maritime museum. After a renovation finished in 2021 it reopened as a visitor centre, with a modern extension. Het Steen is a stop on our scavenger hunt.
- The statue of the Lange Wapper at the entrance, a giant of local legend said to have frightened the people of medieval Antwerp, with two small human figures at his feet.
Museum aan de Stroom (MAS)
The MAS opened on 17 May 2011 in the Eilandje, the old dock district, on the site of the former Hanzehuis. Designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects, the tower is 60 metres high and built of red Indian sandstone and curved glass. It is the largest museum in Antwerp, with about 470,000 objects on the city's trade by sea, its history and art from around the world. It is not on our scavenger hunt route, but it makes a good end to the walk.
- The visible store, where 180,000 objects can be seen in their storage cases.
- The facade of red sandstone and curved glass, best seen from the quayside of the docks around it.
How to see them in one walk
Start at Antwerpen-Centraal and walk west along the Meir, the main shopping street, to the Groenplaats. From there the cathedral is right in front of you; after visiting it, walk round to the Grote Markt for the City Hall and the Brabo Fountain. Head down to the river and Het Steen, then follow the Scheldt quays north to the Eilandje and the MAS. Most of the walk is flat, and the old town streets are cobbled, so wear comfortable shoes.
See Antwerp with World City Trail
Our Antwerp scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from Antwerpen-Centraal to the Grote Markt, and six of those stops are in this guide: the station, the Groenplaats, the Cathedral of Our Lady, Het Steen, the City Hall and the Grote Markt. The other four are Sint-Jacob, St Charles Borromeo Church, the Plantin-Moretus Museum and the Vleeshuis. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Antwerp, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Antwerp scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Antwerp →
Play the outdoor escape game in Antwerp →
Facts checked in October 2026.