Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join

How Many Countries Have You Visited?

Track every country you've been to and earn passport stamps in the Atlas Obscura app.

Track your countries

How Many U.S. States Can You Check Off?

Mark each state you've visited to reveal your total.

Start Your Map!

It’s Spooky Season.

Explore strange places, curious stories, and eerie events around the world, online and in person.

Explore Spooky Season
All Belgium Antwerp

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Antwerp

16 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Antwerp, Belgium

Updated January 13, 2026
Email
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories

Unusual Attractions in Antwerp

Wooden escalators, can’t slide down the middle.

Antwerp, Belgium

St. Anna's Tunnel

Rare wooden escalators lead deep down into an otherwise staggeringly monotonous tiled tunnel.

Antwerp, Belgium

Cafe Beveren

This small corner bar is home to a rare 1930s dance organ that still plays tunes for one Euro.
The Little Boat in Antwerp.

Antwerp, Belgium

Het Bootje (The Little Boat)

The patron of this extravagant Art Nouveau confection insisted that nothing less than a boat should project from its facade.
Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The Nello and Patrasche sculpture in Handschoenmarkt.

Antwerp, Belgium

Nello and Patrasche

This statue dedicated to the story of a Flemish boy and his dog was relatively obscure in Belgium, but a cult sensation in Japan.
The Antwerp Ruien

Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp Ruien

An open-air sewer system that was covered piece-by-piece over 300 years.

Antwerp, Belgium

Plantin-Moretus Museum of Printing

Most prolific publishing house in the 1600s open to the public.
Brabo Fountain.

Antwerp, Belgium

Brabo Fountain

A man throwing a giant severed hand towers over Antwerp’s main square.
See All 16 Things To Do in Antwerp

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Antwerp

Antwerp, Belgium

Cafe Beveren

This small corner bar is home to a rare 1930s dance organ that still plays tunes for one Euro.

Antwerp, Belgium

Elfde Gebod

According to this bar, God gave an “11th commandment” to Antwerp: Thou shalt drink beer.
Permanently Closed

Antwerp, Belgium

Kulminator

To enter this cluttered-yet-cozy sanctum of Belgian brews, ring the bell and tell the gatekeepers you've come “to taste beer.”
In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore Antwerp, Belgium

Statues 5
Sculptures 5
Giant 3
Unique Restaurants & Bars 3
Architecture 3
Legends 3
Bars 3
Tunnels 2
Hands 2
Castles 2
Music 2
Outsider Art 2
Art 2
Design 2
Beer 2
Subterranean Sites 2
Museums 2
Sewers 1
Fountains 1
Art Nouveau 1

Antwerp Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Fred Cherrygarden profile photo
    Fred Cherrygarden
    6
  2. ahvenas profile photo
    ahvenas
    2
  3. H Hilde profile photo
    Hilde
    1
  4. Rebekah Otto profile photo
    Rebekah Otto
    1
  5. Tony Dunnell profile photo
    Tony Dunnell
    1
Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to Antwerp.

Places Edited

  1. Fred Cherrygarden profile photo
    Fred Cherrygarden
    7
  2. CoolCrab profile photo
    CoolCrab
    6
  3. G goldylocks profile photo
    goldylocks
    5
  4. philoursmars profile photo
    philoursmars
    4
  5. M Martin profile photo
    Martin
    2

Places Visited

  1. G gerardvanelzen profile photo
    gerardvanelzen
    15
  2. Ruggero Ullan profile photo
    Ruggero Ullan
    15
  3. J jonnygates666 profile photo
    jonnygates666
    15
  4. L lucclement67 profile photo
    lucclement67
    15
  5. Jeffwraithes2 profile photo
    Jeffwraithes2
    15
Join the Ranks!
Visit a place in Antwerp.

Recent Antwerp Activity

  • W wayneknevett profile photo

    wayneknevett

    has been to Brabo Fountain

  • W wayneknevett profile photo

    wayneknevett

    has been to Vlaeykensgang

  • W wayneknevett profile photo

    wayneknevett

    has been to St. Anna's Tunnel

  • W wayneknevett profile photo

    wayneknevett

    has been to Lange Wapper Statue

  • W wayneknevett profile photo

    wayneknevett

    has been to Ruckersplaats Hands Monument

Stories About Antwerp

Is This $88 Portrait the Work of a 17th-Century Flemish Master?

Science and historical research say….maybe.
by Sarah Durn, Atlas Obscura
January 28, 2022
It’s a shame we don’t yet have the technology to digitize the Library’s famous Nottebohm Room.

The Ambitious Plan to Digitize 100,000 Historic Texts in Belgium

Two major Antwerp institutions are putting some of their voluminous holdings in the cloud.
by Matthew Taub, Atlas Obscura
April 7, 2020

The Best 18th-Century Toilets Were Designed to Look Like Books

This shit is lit.
by Jessica Leigh Hester, Atlas Obscura
January 9, 2020
Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2026 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.