Belgium · Flanders · Antwerp
Borgerhout, Antwerp — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Borgerhout is Antwerp's smallest district, a tight grid of streets east of the old centre and a short walk beyond Antwerpen-Centraal.
About Borgerhout
Where to stay in Borgerhout
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Antwerpen-Centraal marks the western edge. Streets on that side of Borgerhout put the Antwerp Zoo and the platforms within a few minutes on foot, which suits anyone stepping off a train with luggage. Southward the grid runs into Zurenborg, and eastward it thins toward Deurne.
If you want a working Antwerp neighbourhood a short walk from the centre, this district answers.
About Borgerhout
What are the main landmarks in Borgerhout?
The big names sit west. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Rubenshuis and Museum Plantin-Moretus stand in the historic core of Antwerp, while Het Steen and Museum aan de Stroom hold the waterfront a little further on. Closer in, the Antwerp Zoo backs onto Antwerpen-Centraal at the district's western edge.
Borgerhout itself carries its weight in ordinary streets rather than monuments, which is what makes the walk between the two worth taking.
What is the history of Borgerhout?
Borgerhout sits outside the old core. Antwerp's oldest monuments, Het Steen and Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal among them, stand west of the district on the ground the city first occupied, which left Borgerhout to fill in later as the built-up area pushed outward. Antwerpen-Centraal stands between the two, and Borgerhout begins just past its platforms.
Deurne carries the same eastward line further out, so the district reads as one step in a city that kept expanding away from its historic centre.
Where is Borgerhout?
Borgerhout occupies a compact stretch of ground east of Antwerpen-Centraal, with Zurenborg along its southern edge and Deurne carrying on eastward.
Good for
More areas in Antwerp
Updated September 2026