Belgium · Flanders · Antwerp
Schipperskwartier, Antwerp — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Schipperskwartier is Antwerp's old sailors' quarter beside the port, the city's red-light district and the subject of a long rebuilding push.
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Where to stay in Schipperskwartier
Where visitors usually base themselves, and why.
The quarter is compact and walkable. Most rooms in Schipperskwartier stand within a few streets of Falconrui and Falconplein, which leaves the Scheldt quays, the old warehouses, and Antwerp's centre within a short walk. Sint-Pauluskerk marks the southern edge.
The northern blocks toward Museum aan de Stroom swap late noise for dock-side quiet, while the lanes around Verversrui keep the quarter's older business and the traffic that comes with it.
Find hotels in Schipperskwartier
Direct booking searches for these neighbourhoods.
Around Falconplein
Open-square blocks where Falconplein's shops and cafés give the quarter its widest daylight and its easiest bearings.Find hotels in Around FalconpleinSightseers pairing the Vleeshuis and Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal with a short walk back to bed.By Sint-Pauluskerk
The southern lanes under Sint-Pauluskerk, where Schipperskwartier runs into Antwerp's medieval core and its museum streets.Find hotels in By Sint-PauluskerkShip-watchers and museum-goers who prefer quiet water to late-night streets.The dock edge
Northern blocks facing the old basins, a short walk from Museum aan de Stroom and the Red Star Line Museum.Find hotels in The dock edgeHotel 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
5- Carolus Borromeuskerk Heritage
- St. James' Church, Antwerp Heritage
- St. Paul's Church Heritage
- St. Andrew's Church, Antwerp Heritage
- Brabantsche Olijfberg Heritage
worth knowingacross 2 categories in and around Antwerp
About Schipperskwartier
What are the main landmarks in Schipperskwartier?
Sint-Pauluskerk rises over the quarter's southern lanes, its Gothic bulk left from the Dominicans who built here by the old port. Het Steen guards the river a short walk upstream. Further north past the old basins, Museum aan de Stroom stacks red sandstone floors above the dock water, and the Red Star Line Museum holds the sheds where emigrants once boarded for America.
Hessenhuis still stands on Falconrui. The Vleeshuis and Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal wait a few minutes south, inside Antwerp's medieval core.
What is the history of Schipperskwartier?
Sailors gave the quarter its name. Ships tied up at the old port, and the streets behind the quays filled with crews, lodging houses, and the trade that follows a working waterfront, prostitution among it for centuries. Antwerp tolerated, policed, and pushed back that business by turns.
Urban renewal reshaped Schipperskwartier in the twenty-first century, confining the window trade to a few designated streets around Verversrui and Schippersstraat while the surrounding blocks were rebuilt.
Where is Schipperskwartier?
Schipperskwartier lies north of Antwerp's historic centre, a flat grid of dock streets set back from the Scheldt and the old port basins.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Schipperskwartier?
Around Falconplein: Travellers who want a square at the door and the Scheldt quays five minutes off.. By Sint-Pauluskerk: Sightseers pairing the Vleeshuis and Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal with a short walk back to bed.. The dock edge: Ship-watchers and museum-goers who prefer quiet water to late-night streets..
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Updated October 2026