Antwerp in 5 Days: Budget Belgium Day Trips
Antwerp in 5 Days: Budget Belgium Day Trips
Five days builds on the 4 day Antwerp base and adds Bruges, the longest and priciest of Antwerp’s Belgian day trips, saved for last once the shorter, cheaper trips are already behind you. Only have 4 days? Drop back to that version. Have a 6th or 7th day free? The 6 day and 7 day versions add the coast and Lille onto this same spine.
Book these before you go:
- Search Antwerp hotels near Centraal on Booking.com
- Browse Ghent day-trip tours on GetYourGuide
- Check Brussels day tours on Viator
- Book a Bruges Belfry tower ticket on GetYourGuide
| Day | Focus | Travel time / cost |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Antwerp orientation on foot | Home base |
| Day 2 | Mechelen half-day, Antwerp diamonds in the afternoon | 17-20 min each way, €6-9 one way |
| Day 3 | Ghent day trip: Graslei, Gravensteen, St Bavo’s Altarpiece | 46 min-1h, €9-14 one way |
| Day 4 | Brussels day trip: Grand-Place and one paid sight | 45-48 min, €9-11 one way |
| Day 5 | Bruges day trip: Markt, canal loop, Belfry tower | 1h25-1h35, €14-19 one way |
Day 1: Antwerp Orientation
Land at Antwerpen-Centraal, the “railway cathedral” itself, worth ten free minutes under its dome before you go anywhere else. Walk Meir toward Grote Markt (20-25 minutes) or ride a De Lijn tram, about €3 a trip (current fares at delijn.be ).
Grote Markt, the guild houses, and the Brabo Fountain cost nothing to see. The MAS rooftop panorama, also free, gives a full 360-degree view over the port and river without a museum ticket. Lunch is a frituur cone, €3-5; dinner, a budget bistro plate with a Bolleke, runs €20-25.
Day 1 spend: roughly €25-32, hotel not included.
Day 2: Mechelen Half-Day, Then Antwerp’s Diamonds
Morning: the train to Mechelen takes 17-20 minutes, roughly €6-9 one way, the shortest and cheapest of any Belgian day trip from Antwerp. St Rumbold’s Cathedral and its carillon anchor a compact, walkable old town, genuinely covered by lunchtime; don’t plan a full day around it. Check current hours at visitmechelen.be .
Afternoon: back in Antwerp by early afternoon, walk the Diamond District for free, respectfully, since much of it closes Saturdays and Jewish holidays given the neighborhood’s large Orthodox Jewish community.
Evening: a Bolleke at a real De Koninck cafe, €2.50-3.50, closes out the day cheaper than a sit-down dinner.
Day 2 spend: roughly €20-30, including the Mechelen round trip.
Day 3: Day Trip to Ghent
Ghent runs 46 minutes to just over an hour by direct train, roughly €9-14 one way, cheaper and shorter than the same trip to Bruges. Walk the Graslei waterfront, step into Gravensteen castle, and see the Van Eyck brothers’ altarpiece inside St Bavo’s Cathedral; full details at visit.gent.be . Lunch in the Patershol district runs €12-15, noticeably less than a comparable meal in central Bruges.
Day 3 spend: roughly €35-45, including the round-trip fare.
Day 4: Day Trip to Brussels
Brussels runs 45-48 minutes by direct train, roughly €9-11 one way, with departures about every 15 minutes, the most frequent service on this list. Grand-Place costs nothing; add a single paid choice, either the Atomium (about €17) or the Magritte Museum (about €13), rather than rushing both. Current opening hours sit on visit.brussels .
Day 4 spend: roughly €30-45, including the round-trip fare and one paid sight.
Day 5: Day Trip to Bruges
Bruges runs 1h25-1h35 by direct train, genuinely longer than the same trip from Brussels, at a one-way fare of roughly €14-19, the priciest of the Belgian legs. The Markt, the canal loop, and the 366-step Belfry climb (no lift) are worth the extra time, but the Belfry’s timed tickets can sell out by early afternoon on busy summer days, so book ahead on GetYourGuide rather than risk it. Current hours for the rest of the historic core sit on visitbruges.be .
Day 5 spend: roughly €45-60, including the round-trip fare and the Belfry ticket.
Is Bruges worth the extra travel time and cost from Antwerp?
Yes, but plan a full day around it, not a half one. The 1h25-1h35 ride and the €14-19 fare both run higher than any other trip on this list, yet the canal loop and the Belfry climb still deliver more per hour than a second day added anywhere else in Belgium.
See the Antwerp Belgium day trips guide for how Ostend and Lille compare if a 5-day trip stretches into a full week.