Museums in Antwerp

The Rubenshuis is the palatial studio and home where Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) lived and worked for 25 years. The Baroque garden, portico, and art studio have been meticulously restored. The collection includes works by Rubens himself, his pupils, and contemporary Flemish masters.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) houses one of the world's finest collections of Flemish Masters in a Neoclassical building reopened in 2022 after an 11-year renovation. The collection spans seven centuries, from Van Eyck and Memling to Rubens, Ensor, and Magritte.

The Plantin-Moretus Museum is the only museum on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the world's oldest surviving printing workshop. Housed in a Renaissance patrician mansion, it preserves the world's two oldest printing presses and a library of 30,000 pre-modern volumes.

The Red Star Line Museum is housed in the original embarkation and inspection halls where over two million Europeans — including Albert Einstein and Irving Berlin — boarded ships for America between 1873 and 1934.

The MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) is a striking 60-metre tower on Antwerp's Eilandje docklands, clad in red Indian sandstone and curved glass. Its nine stacked galleries tell the story of Antwerp's role as a global port, while the free rooftop panorama gives 360° views across the city and port.

Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest surviving building, a 13th-century stone fortress on the banks of the Schelde. After a major restoration completed in 2021, it now serves as the city's visitor centre and cruise terminal, with a rooftop terrace overlooking the river.

The Middelheim Museum is one of Europe's largest open-air sculpture parks, set in a 30-hectare park south of the city centre. Over 200 sculptures by Rodin, Henry Moore, Ai Weiwei, and Erwin Wurm are displayed amid lawns, woodland, and the historic Middelheim Castle.

The MoMu (Fashion Museum) celebrates Antwerp's status as a global fashion capital, driven by the legendary 'Antwerp Six' designers who exploded onto the fashion scene in the 1980s. The museum is housed in the ModeNatie building on Nationalestraat.

FOMU (Fotomuseum Antwerpen) is Belgium's premier photography museum, located in the South Quarter (Zuid) district near the KMSKA. Its rotating exhibitions showcase historical and contemporary photography in a converted warehouse space.

DIVA (Diamond, Jewellery, and Silver Museum) explores Antwerp's 500-year history as the world's diamond capital. The museum in the Grote Markt area showcases diamond cutting, jewellery design, and silversmithing, culminating in a glittering vault room.

Snijders&Rockoxhuis is a combined museum in two adjoining 17th-century townhouses — the former homes of painter Frans Snijders and burgomaster Nicolaas Rockox. The collection includes paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, and Brueghel in their original domestic setting.