Belgium · Flanders · Antwerp
Berchem, Antwerp — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Berchem is a southern district of Antwerp, a former town of three quarters strung along the Grote Steenweg, the old road from Brussels.
About Berchem
Where to stay in Berchem
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Beds here answer to the Grote Steenweg. The old road between Brussels and Antwerp runs the length of the district, and almost every useful address in Berchem is measured by how far it stands from that line rather than by which quarter it falls in. Oud Berchem holds the old village core. Groenenhoek and Nieuw Kwartier account for the rest.
Under six square kilometres holds all three, so nothing here is far from anything else.
About Berchem
What are the main landmarks in Berchem?
Berchem's own list is short. The Vlaams Tram- en Autobusmuseum is the district's museum, a collection of Antwerp trams and buses. Most of the weight sits over the boundary in the Antwerp district, where the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, M HKA and the FOMU Photo Museum Antwerp hold the city's art collections.
Further in stand the Rubenshuis and Museum Mayer van den Bergh. The Antwerp Zoo draws the family traffic.
What is the history of Berchem?
Berchem grew up on a road. The Grote Steenweg has carried traffic between Brussels and Antwerp for several centuries, and the settlement that sat astride it took its shape from that road rather than from a harbour or a river. Antwerp absorbed the town.
What had been an independent municipality became one of the city's districts, and Oud Berchem keeps the name of the core it grew from. Groenenhoek and Nieuw Kwartier came later.
Where is Berchem?
Berchem sits south of central Antwerp. Under six square kilometres, the district shares edges with Borgerhout, Deurne, Wilrijk and the municipality of Mortsel.
Good for
More areas in Antwerp
Updated September 2026