Antwerp: Easy Escapes Near the City
Not every day trip has to eat a whole day. If Antwerp is your focus and you just want an easy half-day out, these escapes sit so close you are back in the city for dinner. They keep you in the Antwerp orbit rather than committing you to a long haul across Belgium.
Mechelen, 17 minutes out
The shortest real trip on any Antwerp list: trains run every 8 to 15 minutes and take 17 to 20 minutes. St Rumbold’s Cathedral, its carillon and a compact Gothic old town are all covered by lunchtime, so it is the classic half-day with a train home whenever you please. Fare is only a few euros each way.
Lier, the little town next door
Even closer in feel, Lier is about 15 minutes by train southeast of Antwerp, a quiet town of canals and gabled squares in Antwerp province. Its landmarks are the Zimmertoren astronomical clock tower and a peaceful begijnhof, the walled beguinage courtyard typical of Flanders. It sees a fraction of Mechelen’s visitors and makes a genuinely low-key morning out.
The left-bank beach, across the water
For an escape that barely leaves the city, cross the Scheldt on the free Sint-Anna tunnel or ferry (the tram tunnel is closed until roughly March 2027) to Sint-Anna beach and the Galgenweel lake. It is river sand and open sky with the skyline across the water, a half-day of green and swimming without a train ticket at all.
Kalmthoutse Heide, the nearby heath
North of the city and still in Antwerp province, the Kalmthoutse Heide is a broad border heathland of heather, sand and pine, laced with easy flat trails. It is the nearest true nature escape, a change of scene you can reach and return from in a day.
Ghent, if you want one bigger day
When you do want a fuller day out, Ghent is the easy step up at 46 minutes to an hour: canals, a castle and the Van Eyck altarpiece, with fewer crowds than Bruges and a livelier local feel. It is the one longer trip that still leaves the evening back in Antwerp.
Keeping it easy
None of these need a car or advance tickets; buy on the day and go. Under the 2025 rail reform, weekend and under-26 fares are cheaper, so check the applicable price before you tap through.
Read more: for the full Belgium roster see our Antwerp Belgium base guide , or plan the city itself with the Antwerp 4-day itinerary .