Antwerp 6 Day Itinerary (Belgium Base)
Six days extends the 5-day version of this itinerary with a coastal day: Antwerp on day 1, Ghent on day 2, Mechelen on day 3, Brussels on day 4, Bruges on day 5, and on day 6 the 1h34-1h45 train out to Ostend and the Belgian coast. This is all 5 Belgium day trips this cluster recommends, run back to back; see the Antwerp Belgium day-trip guide for why Lille didn’t make the cut.
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
- Bruges day trip on Viator : the Belfry queue sells out on summer weekends, book ahead
| 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 |
| 4 | Brussels day trip: Grand-Place, the Atomium | 45-48 min each way |
| 5 | Bruges day trip: canals, the Belfry climb | 1h25-1h35 each way |
| 6 | Ostend and the coast, seasonal (May-September) | 1h34-1h45 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. Walk up the Meir to Grote Markt, then visit the Cathedral of Our Lady, EUR 12 adult. Check visitantwerpen.be for current hours, then close with a Bolleke of De Koninck.
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 belgiantrain.be for current times. Ghent has the canals, the Gravensteen castle, and the Van Eyck brothers’ Ghent Altarpiece. See visit.gent.be for opening hours, spend the afternoon at Graslei and Korenlei, 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 itinerary. St Rumbold’s Cathedral and its carillon anchor a compact old town covered by early afternoon. Return to Antwerp by mid-afternoon and spend the rest of the day in the Zuid neighborhood.
Day 4: Brussels, the essential half-day add-on
Trains run roughly every 15 minutes and take 45-48 minutes, fare around EUR 9-11. The Grand-Place, the Atomium, and the Magritte Museum are all doable there-and-back in an afternoon; head back to Antwerpen-Centraal by early evening.
Day 5: Bruges, worth it once, but plan the whole day around it
The direct train takes 1h25-1h35, longer than the same trip from Brussels, and it’s the one day trip on this list that genuinely eats a full day. Take the earliest reasonable train out; check visitbruges.be for current Belfry hours. Restaurants ringing the Markt are priced and mediocre the same way Brussels’ Rue des Bouchers is; walk a few streets back for a better meal.
Day 6: Ostend and the coast, the seasonal day trip
Trains run roughly hourly and take 1h34-1h45 each way. This is a beach-and-promenade day, not a heritage-sightseeing one, and the Kusttram runs the length of the Belgian coast if you want to add a stop at a resort town like De Haan.
Is a coast day trip worth adding to this itinerary?
Only May through September. Outside that window, the long ride isn’t worth it for a grey winter beach walk, and the day is better spent as a second Antwerp day instead (see day 7 of the 7-day version for what that looks like). In season, though, it’s the one genuine change of pace on a week that’s otherwise all canals and cathedrals.
Before you go
Keep a few euros in coins on you for station lockers. If six days leaves you wanting more, the 7-day version of this itinerary adds a bonus Antwerp day for the Diamond District and MoMu without changing anything you’ve already done.