Belgium · Flanders · Antwerp
Eilandje, Antwerp — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Eilandje is Antwerp's old port quarter, ringed by the Schelde, Willemdok and Bonapartedok, the docks that closed it into an island in 1869.
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Where to stay in Eilandje
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
Eilandje puts guests on the water. Hotels and serviced apartments fill former warehouses along Willemdok and Bonapartedok, a short walk from Museum aan de Stroom and a tram ride from Antwerp's old centre. Evenings run quiet.
Guests who want Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal and Museum Plantin-Moretus at the door should look south into the old centre, because this quarter trades that density for brick warehouses, wide quays and dock water.
Find hotels in Eilandje
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Willemdok
Warehouse conversions on Willemdok look straight onto the dock, with Museum aan de Stroom two blocks along the quay.Find hotels in Willemdokwalkers heading for Het Steen and the Schelde quaysBonapartedok
Bonapartedok marks the seam where Eilandje meets the Schelde quays, so Het Steen and the old centre stay inside a walk.Find hotels in Bonapartedokvisitors here for the Red Star Line Museum and the open ScheldeRed Star Line Museum quarter
The Red Star Line Museum end faces open Schelde water instead of a dock, and its old shipping buildings set the scale of the streets around it.Find hotels in Red Star Line Museum quarterHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Antwerp
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
8- Museum Plantin-Moretus UNESCO
- Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal Heritage
- Het Steen Heritage
- Rubenshuis Heritage
- Museum Mayer van den Bergh Heritage
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- Red Star Line Museum Heritage
- Vleeshuis Heritage
- Snijders&Rockox House Heritage
Churches & Religious Sites
6- Carolus Borromeuskerk Heritage
- St. James' Church, Antwerp Heritage
- St. Paul's Church Heritage
- St. Andrew's Church, Antwerp Heritage
- Kapel van het Allerheiligste Sacrament Heritage
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- Brabantsche Olijfberg Heritage
worth knowingacross 2 categories in and around Antwerp
About Eilandje
What are the main landmarks in Eilandje?
Three museums anchor the quarter. Museum aan de Stroom stands beside the Bonapartedok, the Red Star Line Museum keeps the old shipping buildings near the Schelde, and the Eugeen Van Mieghem Museum sits on the same dock front. Hessenhuis stands on the Nieuwstad ground that Gilbert van Schoonbeke laid out, and Het Steen guards the river where the quays run south toward the old centre.
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal and Museum Plantin-Moretus lie beyond that, in the centre proper.
What is the history of Eilandje?
The name came late. Gilbert van Schoonbeke, a land speculator and town planner, cut the sea-canal vlieten of Brouwersvliet, Timmervliet and Middelvliet through this ground and built it out under the name Nieuwstad. Only in 1869 did the docks close the ring.
The Schelde, Kattendijksluis, Kattendijkdok, Verbindingsdok, Willemdok, Bonapartedok and Bonapartesluis of the old port enclosed it completely, and the quarter took the name Eilandje, meaning little island.
Where is Eilandje?
Water rings this quarter. Eilandje holds old port ground north of Antwerp's centre, enclosed by the Schelde and by Kattendijkdok, Willemdok and Bonapartedok.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Eilandje?
Willemdok: guests who want Museum aan de Stroom on foot from Willemdok. Bonapartedok: walkers heading for Het Steen and the Schelde quays. Red Star Line Museum quarter: visitors here for the Red Star Line Museum and the open Schelde.
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Updated October 2026