Antwerp is a modern city with cool architecture, great food scene and some gorgeous galleries. It’s also a great place to spend a night about a third of the way into a cycling holiday from Amsterdam to Paris.
An ancient port city, it’s historical and hip, foodie and fun, with highlights including the now iconic Museum aan de Stroom in the dockside area of Eilandje, Grote Markt in the heart of the Old Town with its ancient guild houses and coffee houses.
From the top, head to nearby Parc de la Citadelle where the view is fantastic, across this busy Belgian city in the French speaking Wallonia region. The Musée de la Vie Wallonne is another top spot to learn about Wallonia’s cultural heritage, as is the city’s Opéra Royal de Wallonie.
Ghent is gorgeous stop on our Belgium holidays and even more so when you arrive after a day of cycling from Antwerp en route to Paris, pedalling past dykes, castles and the peaceful waterfront wetlands of the River Scheldt. In Ghent itself, you’ll see a city that has revitalised itself from a little bit sleepy classical to contemporary cool.
