Antwerp 3 Day Itinerary (Belgium Base)
Three days builds on the 2-day version of this itinerary: Antwerp itself on day 1, Ghent on day 2, and on day 3 a 17-minute hop to Mechelen, the day trip most Antwerp guides skip entirely despite being the shortest and cheapest one on offer. See the full Antwerp Belgium day-trip guide for the two options this trip still leaves out.
Book these before you go:
- Hotel near Antwerpen-Centraal : book before weekend rates climb
- Ghent day tour on GetYourGuide : worth it if you’d rather skip the walk from Gent-Sint-Pieters station
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Antwerp |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antwerp: Grote Markt, the Cathedral, De Koninck evening | none, you’re already here |
| 2 | Ghent day trip: Gravensteen, the Van Eyck altarpiece | 46 min-1h each way |
| 3 | Mechelen half-day, back to Antwerp by evening | 17-20 min each way |
Day 1: Antwerp itself, before the day trips start
Fly into Brussels Airport (BRU); the direct train to Antwerpen-Centraal takes 25-40 minutes. Centraal Station itself is worth ten minutes, the 1905 “spoorwegkathedraal” hall sitting directly above the modern through-tracks beneath it.
Walk up the Meir to Grote Markt, ringed by guild houses and the 1564 Stadhuis. The Cathedral of Our Lady is a few steps away, EUR 12 adult, holding several Rubens altarpieces still in the building he painted them for. Close the day with a Bolleke of De Koninck, the amber Spéciale Belge brewed in Antwerp since 1833.
Day 2: Ghent, the day trip that beats Bruges from here
Direct trains take 46 minutes to just over an hour, fare roughly EUR 9-14; check current times at belgiantrain.be . Ghent has the canals, the Gravensteen castle, and the Van Eyck brothers’ Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo’s Cathedral, with none of Bruges’ midday coach crowds. See visit.gent.be for current opening hours before you plan the day.
Budget the 20-25 minute walk from Gent-Sint-Pieters into the old center, or take a short tram. Spend the afternoon at Graslei and Korenlei, the guild-house waterfront, then head back to Antwerp by early evening.
Day 3: Mechelen, the underrated half-day win
Trains run every 8-15 minutes and take 17-20 minutes each way, the shortest and cheapest trip on this whole itinerary. St Rumbold’s Cathedral and its carillon anchor a compact, walkable Gothic old town that’s genuinely covered by early afternoon.
Is Mechelen actually worth a dedicated day trip?
Not a full day, but yes as a half-day. Its old town is small enough to see comfortably in a morning, which is exactly why most Antwerp itineraries skip it in favor of Ghent or Brussels. Pair it with an afternoon back in Antwerp exploring the Zuid neighborhood or the Diamond District, rather than blocking out a whole day for a town this compact.
Return to Antwerp by mid-afternoon and spend the rest of the day on anything the first two days missed; the Antwerp city guide covers the free MAS rooftop and Plantin-Moretus if you have a few extra hours.
Before you go
Keep a few euros in coins on you for station lockers. If three days leaves you wanting more, the 4-day and 5-day versions of this itinerary add Brussels and Bruges without changing anything you’ve already done.