Antwerp: Guided City Walking Tour offering multiple options
ID: GYG1241142-1902805
Category:
Country: Belgium
Duration:
02:00 hours
Description
Discover Antwerp's history and culture on a guided walking tour. See the city's most famous landmarks, including the Cathedral of Our Lady, and learn about the city's history and culture.
Embark on a guided walking tour of Antwerp and discover the city’s rich history and culture. Choose from a variety of tours that suit your interests, whether you want to explore the city’s main historical sites, learn about its architectural gems, or uncover the secrets of its cathedral. Please indicate 1 of the 5 options listed when making your reservation.
Option 1
Walk from one of the most beautiful railway stations in the world to the first skyscraper in Europe and discover how the city created an atmosphere of grandeur, which reflects the importance of the European capital of trade, port, or diamonds. Together with your guide, pull down the 16th-century Spanish Walls and expand the city that Antwerp actually became. End the tour in Wall Street at the Schelde, once the financial area of this port city, thanks to the oldest trade fair in the world.
Option 2
Alternatively, walk from the castle 'het Steen', where it all started, to the citadel in the south of Antwerp. Discover how the city gradually sought new boundaries, making use of natural borders. Learn how this city developed its business relatively independently but had to deal with Dukes, Kings, and Emperors that restricted the freedom of religion and tolerance.
Option 3
Take the time to learn about and discover the biggest cathedral of the Netherlands (including Flanders and Brabant), a Gothic pearl of architecture, which, however, has suffered fire, iconoclasm, destruction, and restoration. And now it shines like never before. Of course, you will meet 3 of the most famous paintings of master Pietro Paul Rubens, painter, diplomat, and knight of the English King Charles the First. But learn as well about life in the Middle Ages in and around the cathedral.
Option 4
If you prefer a first introduction to the city of Antwerp and discover the main historical places, buildings, and stories, join the Historical History Tour.
Option 5
For those who want to get a critical view of what the cathedral of Antwerp is showing off, choose the 'The Cathedral 'mis'leads' Tour. The cathedral, an outstanding, almost perfect Gothic church in the heart of Antwerp... But is that really the case? The building, the artworks, the history, the stories... are subject to intentional or unintentional disruptions to the chronological coherence of the situations or events described. Sometimes these disruptions are of historical reality, of the biblical narratives, of the coloring of and by the passage of time... Are Rubens's parents-in-law buried in the cathedral? Did Godfrey of Bouillon found the Antwerp chapter? Did John, the beloved disciple, really lie on Jesus' right breast during the Last Supper... This will be a critical and humorous encounter with the blunders of history, art, or restoration.
Highlights
- From railway cathedral to skyscraper, the grandeur of a city explained
- Immerse yourself in the history and secrets of the cathedral
- A short stop in Antwerp? Feel like you've seen it all
- Fancy a critical tour of the cathedral? Just a bit of humor and a keen eye.
- Experience how a small settlement grows into a world port
Guiding languages
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Wear comfortable shoes
Be prepared for walking tours
Check weather conditions for appropriate clothing and bring an umbrella or one-time rain poncho
Statue of Pieter Paul Rubens
INCLUDED
- Guided city walk
- Visit to Antwerp's historical sites
- Stories about Antwerp's history and culture
- Visit to the biggest cathedral of the Netherlands, when this option was chosen
- Viewing of Rubens' paintings, when cathedral option was chosen
- External visit of most historic buildings
- Internal visit of the railway station, when this option was chosen
NOT INCLUDED
- Transportation to starting point
- For option visit of the cathedral: entry to the cathedral to be paid at the entrance desk
- Drinks and tastings, when requested by the customer
When should I book?
To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.
Cancellations
This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 24 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 24 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.