As is the case with every great Flemish city, Antwerp’s medieval heart is a classic Grote Markt (market square). Here the triangular, pedestrianised space features the voluptuous, baroque Brabo Fountain depicting the hero of Antwerp’s giant-killing, hand-throwing foundation legend. Flanked on two sides by very photogenic guildhalls, the square is dominated by an impressive Italo-Flemish Renaissance-style stadhuis completed in 1565.
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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0.08 MILES
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Nearby Antwerp attractions
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Piled with symbols in a refreshing fountain spray, this baroque sculpture's uppermost figure depicts Brabo, hero of Antwerp’s giant-killing, hand-throwing…
0.03 MILES
Presiding over the vast Grote Markt, the 1565 stadhuis has a palatial facade blending Flemish and Italian styles in an innovative departure from the…
0.08 MILES
This picturesque passage dates to 1591 and was originally a street of shoemakers.
4. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal
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Belgium’s finest Gothic cathedral was 169 years in the making (1352–1521). Wherever you wander in Antwerp, its gracious, 123m-high spire has a habit of…
0.14 MILES
Outside Het Steen castle is a humorous statue of Lange Wapper, a tall folkloric ‘peeping Tom’ figure showing off his codpiece to two diminutive onlookers.
0.15 MILES
On a riverside knoll, Het Steen is a dinky but photogenic castle dating from 1200 and occupying the site of Antwerp’s original Gallo-Roman settlement…
0.16 MILES
Presiding over Groenplaats, with Antwerp's cathedral rising splendidly behind it, this 1840s bronze Rubens statue was sculpted by Borgerhout-born…
0.19 MILES
Rubens turned interior designer as part of the team that created this superb 1621 baroque church, designed to give worshippers a very visceral foretaste…
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- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
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