Have you been to Belgium? I get to visit it once a year, as my family lives in Ghent. It is a great place to explore more cities in Belgium. In this article, I will share everything about our weekend in Antwerp & Dinant.
What to expect in this article:
- A quick getaway, a lasting impression
- Why visit Belgium?
- A Dutch holiday escape to Belgium
- Basecamp Antwerp: where our journey began
- Food adventures at Grote Markt
- Street eats: Shell soup & borek delights
- Cathedrals and cultures: A day in Antwerp
- Tibetan flavors in Antwerp's Chinatown
- A scenic car ride to Dinant
- Saxophone and citadels: Dinant's unique charm
- Dining by the Meuse: Local flavors & friendly faces
- Final thoughts: 48 hours of Belgian beauty
A quick getaway, a lasting impression
Sometimes the best trips are the short ones. With a public holiday in the Netherlands, we packed our bags and headed south for a 2-day escape to Belgium. With just enough time to explore one bustling city and a fairytale riverside town, this spontaneous adventure left us with memories, stories, and some seriously good food.
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Why visit Belgium?
Belgium is a small yet culturally rich country in Western Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Luxembourg. It is often a country people will forget about, while it does have charm. Because of its medieval towns, Renaissance architecture, and world-famous chocolates. Did you know that the country has three official languages—Dutch, French, and German—which gives each region its distinct charm. Whether you’re in the vibrant streets of Antwerp or the quiet beauty of Dinant, it feels different everywhere.
Don't forget to book an activity in Antwerp
A Dutch holiday escape to Belgium
In the Netherlands the 5th of May is a holiday where we remember our fallen foes, celebrate the end of the Second World War and the liberation of the Netherlands. It’s profound, deep and cherished with festivals across the country.
Now with a holiday in mind I was off with my boyfriend to meet his friend in Belgium. Our itinerary was simple. Stay at Antwerp for 2 days, use it as a base to first discover Antwerp and then a short trip to a small and beautiful town called Dinant.
Basecamp Antwerp: where our journey began
At Antwerp, our plans were this:
Places to visit:
Central Station
Cathedral
China Town
Grote Markt
- A whole lot of food
After leaving our belongings in our Airbnb on the outskirts of Antwerp, we took the public transport and straight into the heart of the city, by the colossal Central Station. It was beautiful, classic and chic at the same time. The hustling and bustling aside, the architecture was magnificent along with stores inside that made this place a great place to start with.
Food adventures at Grote Markt
A couple of minutes later our Antwerp Specialist (Nai’s friend) arrived. After the usual catch up it was time to head for some food.
First stop was the Grote Markt and my god it was busy. It’s near the Theaterplein with people coming in and out like bees. Buzzing away at the different types of cuisine. You would find any cuisine in the world there and we tried some great ones.
Street eats: Shell soup & borek delights
At Theaterplein, we had some lekker (tasty) shell soup which we had seen on YouTube the previous day.
It’s a small stall set up with a van behind called Karakol D’Anvers. A metal pot streaming with soup while the gentleman was chirping away. It had some spices, a thin broth and some tasty shells that exploded as soon as we took our first taste and continued until it was all in our belly. Muah!
We followed that up with a borek that was filled with spinach, cheese and chicken. A Middle Eastern traditional food, along with some coffee. It was splendid..
Our friend also picked some of the flavors on the market and had some good food.
Cathedrals and cultures: A day in Antwerp
Not far from the Grote Markt we found ourselves beneath the soaring spire of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp’s majestic Gothic cathedral. Its buttressed walls and intricate stone tracery seemed to climb endlessly skyward, while inside, Rubens’s monumental altarpieces glowed in the filtered light.
After pausing to admire the kneeling angels and the echo of whispered prayers, we wandered toward Antwerp’s compact Chinatown.
Once I have my own house, I also want this map!
Tibetan flavors in Antwerp’s Chinatown
Nestled around the Van Arteveldestraat, Chinatown featured different markets, aromatic noodle shops, dim sum parlors and vibrant Asian grocers. We’d had some great Chinese & Tibetan food at Kunthun. The noodles, momos, broccoli & prawn serving filled us up after a long day. That was Antwerp!
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A scenic car ride to Dinant
After completing Antwerp, the next morning we set off for Dinant, just under 2 hours.
Stepping off at the river Meuse glinted in the early light, flanked by the jagged limestone cliffs that give Dinant its unmistakable silhouette.
Saxophones and citadels: Dinant’s unique charm
We crossed the old stone bridge, pausing to admire the rows of brightly painted saxophones, each one a tribute to Adolphe Sax, Dinant’s most famous son. From there we followed the narrow Rue Sax toward the base of the citadel. We didn’t take the cable car (11 euros/person). But the top has the stunning view of the 11th-century citadel, the red-roofed houses clustering along the riverbank framed by steep crags and verdant forests.
Don't forget to book an activity in Dinant!
Dining by the Meuse: Local flavors & friendly faces
Back down in town, we ducked into the Notre-Dame de Dinant, its Gothic façade carved with scenes of Meuse-valley life.
Lunchtime called for local specialties, so we popped into a riverside bistro.
We shared a lovely coffee, an Andalusian sandwich and spoke some French with the locals serving us. The riverside terrace was alive with chatter in French, Dutch and German, a reminder that here cultures meet as easily as the river meets the sky
Final thoughts: 48 hours of Belgian beauty
We walked around, saw more saxophones and whiffed up the smell of some great delicacies before returning to Antwerp. Two days may not seem long, but between Antwerp’s grand façades and Dinant’s river cliff romance we felt we’d tasted the rich tapestry of Belgium in full.
À la prochaine and au retour home!
Did you like reading this article? Have you been to Belgium? I would love to know, so make sure to message me on my social media or leave a comment below.
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