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Antwerp Central Station

Antwerp Central Station

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Antwerp Central Station

Recommended by 447 hikers out of 453

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Location: Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

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Best Hikes to Antwerp Central Station

4.2

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1. 10,000 steps in Antwerp

9.26km

02:22

30m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

4.7

(107)

713

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2. Brabo Fountain – Grote Markt, Antwerp loop from Van Eeden

14.7km

03:47

60m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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4.5

(14)

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3. Grote Markt Antwerp – Brabo Fountain loop from Plantin

11.9km

03:03

50m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

Tips

Katrien

April 15, 2021

Antwerp Central Station, also known as the Central Station or Railway Cathedral by Antwerp residents, was put into use in 1905. The building consists of a steel platform roof and a stone station building in eclectic style. In 2007, a tunnel opened under the station, meaning Antwerp Central is no longer a terminal station. Central Station has been voted several times as one of the most beautiful stations in the world.

The station opened on August 11, 1905. In 1975 it became a protected monument and from 1986 it was thoroughly renovated. Between 2000 and 2009, the railway hall was doubled in capacity, including platforms on two underground levels. In the past, trains had to drive in and out again. Now they can continue thanks to the railway tunnel between the station and the north of the city.

Translated by Google •

Dirk V 🚲 🚶📷

July 19, 2022

Antwerp Central Station is the central station at Koningin Astridplein in Antwerp. From 1873 to early 2007 it was a terminus where all trains had to reverse their direction. On March 23, 2007, a tunnel with two through tracks was opened under part of the city and under the station.

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Viviane

June 3, 2022

The first Antwerp station was the terminus of the Mechelen-Antwerp railway line, which opened on June 3, 1836. It was then simply called Antwerp or Anvers station. The area around the station was not yet built up much and the Spanish ramparts of the city were still intact. When the track was extended in 1840 via the Rijnpoort to the Antwerp-Dokken en -Stapelplaats station on the Oude Leeuwenrui, the name Antwerp (Borgerhout) began to be used to avoid confusion. The original station building was made of wood and was replaced by a new and larger building on the occasion of the opening of the new international connection to the Netherlands in 1854-1855.

In 1873 the station became a terminal station again. The ground-level continuous connection to the Netherlands could no longer be maintained in the growing and busier city. For the connection with the Netherlands and the Antwerp Docks and Stapelplaces station, an elevated ring track was constructed around the city on the east side. In 1879, a new freight station named Borgerhout was opened on this ring track and the name of the most important Antwerp station was changed to Antwerp (East) or Anvers (Est). The station was managed jointly with Grand Central Belge.

When the new station building was festively opened in 1905, the name changed again to the current Antwerp Central Station.
Source: Wikipedia

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🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

September 23, 2022

The Central Station is also called the Railway Cathedral and overwhelms every visitor with its beauty. The current Antwerp Central station building was built between 1899 and 1905 as a terminal station. The building consists of a steel platform roof and a stone station building. The canopy is 43 meters high (height needed to absorb the smoke from the locomotives), 186 meters long and 66 meters wide and provided space for ten end tracks.
The stone station building (reception building) was built between 1899 and 1905 and has a monumental dome of 75 meters high.

The station has received the award and recognition to continue as the most beautiful railway building in the world.
In February 2009, the American weekly magazine Newsweek ranked the station among the best in the world. The Americans visited a number of prestigious stations and came to the conclusion that the Antwerp railway cathedral is worth fourth place. Antwerp Central Station was chosen as the most beautiful station in Europe in 2010 by visitors of StedenTripper.com. In 2014, the station was named the most beautiful train station in the world by the British-American news site Mashable.

You will leave the station full of awe and with a chance of a stiff neck from staring at marble domes and giant greenhouses.

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Kermit

July 5, 2024

Great train station with interesting architecture.

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Maik

January 22, 2019

Antwerp's main train station is affectionately known by Antwerp as the "railway cathedral". Noteworthy are the magnificent station building and the glass roof of the platform hall. The grandiose building was inaugurated in 1905.

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Christian

April 5, 2024

I have rarely seen such an impressive train station. It looks like a mighty cathedral. Really beautiful.

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__🚴__ Olaf

August 19, 2024

An unforgettable visit to one of the most beautiful train stations ever. Amazing! Please position your camera carefully when taking photos.

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Ingrid S.

June 13, 2024

Antwerp Central Station is rightly called the railway cathedral and was opened in 1905.

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DirkWi

January 20, 2025

Because here - to the annoyance of another user, who neglected to fill in the indicated gap - there was still a lack of information about the designers, architects of this "Railway Cathedral":
The steel platform roof was constructed between 1895 and 1899 according to plans by engineer Clément Van Bogaert by the Compagnie Centrale de Construction. The roof is 43 metres high (height that was necessary to absorb the smoke from the locomotives), 186 metres long and 66 metres wide and offered space for ten dead-end tracks.
The stone station building (reception building) was built between 1899 and 1905 by Louis Delacenserie (assisted by Charles Poupaert) in eclectic style (a combination of stylistic elements from earlier periods). Delacenserie himself spoke of "baroque-medieval eclecticism". He was inspired by the old station building of Lucerne from 1896 and by the Pantheon in Rome. After the laying of the foundation stone in 1895, the work progressed so slowly that people in Antwerp started to speak of a "station in quietly style". Gradually, the monumental building was built, with the 75-metre high dome as its highest point. The richly applied symbolism included the Antwerp coat of arms, the Belgian Lion and the initials of King Leopold II. The station was opened on 11 August 1905.
Source: Wikipedia

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JPS

March 5, 2025

Impressive historic station hall and the integration of the new railway tracks over several floors.

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Katrien

November 3, 2021

Antwerp Central Station, also known as the Central Station or Railway Cathedral by Antwerp residents, was put into use in 1905. The building consists of a steel platform roof and a stone station building in eclectic style. In 2007, a tunnel opened under the station, meaning Antwerp Central is no longer a terminal station. Central Station has been voted several times as one of the most beautiful stations in the world.
The station opened on August 11, 1905. In 1975 it became a protected monument and from 1986 it was thoroughly renovated. Between 2000 and 2009, the railway hall was doubled in capacity, including platforms on two underground levels. In the past, trains had to drive in and out again. Now they can continue thanks to the railway tunnel between the station and the north of the city.

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Pascal Prioul

July 11, 2024

Beautiful station.🥰

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JULIO TENDERO ROSELL

July 22, 2024

For those of you who arrive in Antwerp by train, the city welcomes us with a beautiful station. According to what we were told, this train station occupies 4th place in the ranking of the most beautiful stations in the world.

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pfälzer

July 9, 2017

Great building, inside even better

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Focus01

September 19, 2019

One of the most beautiful stations in Europe

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Micky

May 31, 2025

Central Station

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Will

April 4, 2019

Absolutely worth seeing station, should be planned with an Antwerp visit

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R Smits

September 28, 2023

To previous writers of text about Antwerp Central Station.
Nothing, absolutely nothing about the designer/artist, the builders.
Saddening.
Head, Tail station, ... if that is your main experience of such a beautiful work of art.
.

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 70 m

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Location: Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

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Antwerp Central Station

1. 10,000 steps in Antwerp

2. Brabo Fountain – Grote Markt, Antwerp loop from Van Eeden

3. Grote Markt Antwerp – Brabo Fountain loop from Plantin

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