Antwerp: Walks Inside the City
Antwerp is a flat port city, so set expectations first: there are no hills or trails inside it, only good long walks along the river and through the parks. That suits a city you cover on foot anyway. Here are five green routes you can string together without leaving the tram map, all free.
The Scheldt embankments
The reworked riverside promenade running past Het Steen is the city’s best straight-line walk, wide and open with the full skyline on one side and the river on the other. Follow it north toward the Eilandje docks and the MAS, or south toward Het Zuid; either direction gives a couple of easy, flat kilometres with plenty of benches.
Linkeroever and Sint-Anna beach
Cross the river on the free Sint-Annatunnel or the free Sint-Anna ferry, which run 24/7 and carry bikes, and you reach the left bank’s Sint-Anna beach and the Galgenweel lake. It is the classic local move: a river-sand beach and a lakeside loop with the best view back at the old town. With the tram tunnel closed until roughly March 2027, the pedestrian tunnel and ferry are the only ways across anyway.
Stadspark
A short walk from the centre, this compact landscaped park with its curving pond is the easiest green break between sights, busy with locals on a fine day and quiet on a weekday morning.
Rivierenhof
East of the centre in Deurne, Rivierenhof is the big city park, with tree-lined paths, water and open lawns spread over enough ground for a proper hour-long circuit. It is where Antwerp goes to actually walk, and an open-air theatre runs there in summer.
Middelheim sculpture park
South of the centre, the Middelheim open-air museum sets modern and contemporary sculpture across a free, walkable park. It doubles as a garden stroll and a gallery, an easy pairing of art and green with no ticket.
Practical notes
None of these need boots; ordinary trainers are fine on flat, surfaced paths. Pack for maritime weather, since rain is possible any month and the best window runs roughly May to September. A single De Lijn ticket, about EUR 3 for 60 minutes, reaches Rivierenhof and Middelheim from the centre. The riverside and left-bank routes need no ticket at all, since the pedestrian tunnel and the ferry are both free.
Read more: pair a walk with the built city in our Antwerp city guide , or the wider-region Antwerp Belgium nature guide .