Museum aan de Stroom (MAS)

MAS’s five themed floors of interactive displays make use of nearly half a million artifacts—which range from Old Master paintings, model boats, and newsreels to penny farthings, model ships, and personal accounts on video—to trace Antwerp’s development into one of Europe’s largest ports and the center of the diamond trade. On the 9th floor, an outdoor terrace offers views stretching over the city to the River Scheldt. Outside is the MAS Boulevard, with a couple of small temporary exhibition galleries.

• You can buy an admission ticket for just the permanent exhibition, or a combo pass that covers both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
• The museum has a cloakroom, restrooms, escalators, and an elevator, and is wheelchair accessible.
• You can listen to audio guides throughout the museum using your own headphones, or you can buy headphones from the counter.
• There’s both a casual café and award-winning fine dining at the museum.

Standing just north of the city center on a dock commissioned by Napoleon in 1811, the Museum aan de Stroom is hard to miss. The closest tram stop is Antwerpen Mas, on tram line number 7, and the museum is a 30-minute walk from Antwerp central station.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from morning until evening; the promenade surrounding the building stays open until late at night, and even later during the summer months. The museum is closed Mondays and on public holidays.

Unusually for a museum, MAS also has the triple-Michelin-starred restaurant Zilte, presided over by chef Viki Geunes. Set on the 9th floor, the restaurant takes visitors on a gastronomic journey that focuses primarily on seafood, drawing inspiration from Antwerp’s rich maritime history. Since tables book up months in advance, be sure to make a reservation early.