Anybody spent time in Antwerp?

[TJ D]

Hi all,

We're sort of scoping around for a place to spend next winter, and the NW part of the continent would be convenient for us. We'd be on the boat for some of the time, others not. We know what the weather is in the area, not an issue for us.

I see there's a fairly big marina in downtown Antwerp, one good review on activecaptain.

Has anybody ever spent any time there, by chance? Any other Dutch or Belgian places that you could recommend as a winter spot? Ideally, there would be some liveaboards around (sitting in a dead empty marina is a drag), a town within walking distance, etc. The usual.

We're a fairly big boat, (55'), and DEEP, 10 feet. So, we probably can't tuck into some of the favorites.

Thanks for the tips. TJ

[Jim Thomsen]

We are Americans and have spent time in the downtown Antwerp Marina. There are two marinas, one right next to town. Not many liveaboards there but you are in downtown Antwerp with a 5 minute walk. It's still one of my very favorite cities. The other marina is across the river (no bridge but a walking/biking tunnel under the river.) it's probably a 30 minute walk to downtown. We did not stay in that marina but visited it many times while in Antwerp. There seemed to be more liveaboards there but we really didn't meet any.

The downtown marina has perfect security and excellent shops for boating things. One of the great things about Antwerp for us (being Americans) is that everyone speaks English.

It's been awhile since we were there, but we talked with the marina people last year when we thought we would return. Here are some photos, but from 2006: Home Page

[iGrf]

Don’t have any real experience with the marina’s in Antwerp but live in the city.
Most of the Antwerp sailors have their boats in the south of Holland as there is lot more room for sailing.
But for spending the winter Antwerp sounds great.
I don’t know how many live aboard there are/will be in either of them but there are 2 marina’s in Antwerp :
- one downtown (on the right bank) in a new and improved neighborhood called ‘het eilandje’, next to some musea, great places to eat and not far from the city center (maybe 20 min on foot). (Onze haven)
- The other is located on the left bank which is more quiet, has a nice view on the city center and is connected to the right bank via a pedestrian tunnel (real beauty built in the 1930 so definitely a must see in the city). (jachthaven Antwerpen)
Downside of this marina is that it’s only accessible during high water, then again due to the strong current on the Schelde river you would choose to arrive or depart at high water anyway …..

For getting round the city you can use these convenient city bikes : https://www.velo-antwerpen.be/en

Feel free to send a me message if you want more info on what to do in Antwerp, or let me know when you are there and I’m happy to show you a couple of my favorite spots in town.

Grf

[TJ D]

Thanks, Jim.

We took a drive to the downtown marina to have a look at it, and it looks like it's in a fine spot, for sure. Antwerp is indeed a very nice little city. It will be hard not to pack on some pounds there with all the good restaurants.

And, the price is great to boot. It's on the short list for a winter berth.

TJ

[Jim Thomsen]

TJ,
Good restaurants and maybe the best beers in the world.
And it's walking distance to the high speed train to Paris..less than 2 hours and even more places to eat too much.

Jim

[iGrf]

Originally Posted by Jim Thomsen

TJ,
Good restaurants and maybe the best beers in the world.

Should be :

Maybe the best restaurants and for sure the best beers in the world.

Very special place to try them :

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1232/

Grf

[Jim Thomsen]

We lived in central Antwerp for 5 years. Probably (or "for sure") one of the nicest cities to live in.

[Numawan]

I live in Brussels, Belgium. My home port is Zeebrugge.

I also think that Antwerp is a good choice to spend the winter. There are other safe marinas on the coast (Zeebrugge, Nieuwpoort, Ostend) that would be suitable. But these places live largely from tourism in summer and are rather quiet in winter compared to a big city like Antwerp. Antwerp also provides good connections not only to the rest of Belgium, but also to Amsterdam, Paris, London or Köln.