Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ venues, listening bars and late-night dives in Antwerp.
Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ nightlife, listening bars and late-night dives across Antwerp, with where to go and what is worth the late night.
Ampere in Antwerp on Simonsstraat is the city's defining sustainable techno club. Two rooms run house and electronic Fri-Sat with an international booking line.
Tip: Pre-sale tickets through Resident Advisor save the door queue. Closing sets after 04:00 run hardest.
Café d'Anvers in Antwerp sits in a 16th-century former church in the red-light district. The nightclub has run since 1989 with house and techno across two rooms.
Tip: The door selection runs strict on busy nights. The summer open-air sets at Sint-Jansplein are listed separately.
TRIX in Borgerhout on Noordersingel is Antwerp's larger live-music and club venue. Concerts and electronic nights across two rooms; programming runs eclectic.
Tip: Tickets through the venue or Bandsintown. The tram 1 stops outside.
Bar Burbure in Antwerp on Vlaamsekaai pours cocktails and a 600-bottle wine list, open since 2016. The sommelier behind the bar built a career across Belgian Michelin-starred kitchens before opening the room.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The cocktail list rotates quarterly. Reserve the bar for two seats.
Den Engel on Grote Markt 3 stays open until 01:00 weekdays and 03:00 weekends. The brown cafe has been on the corner since 1903; the building dates to the 14th century.
Tip: Weekend last orders around 02:30. The terrace fills before the bar inside.
't Oud Arsenaal on Maria Pijpelincxstraat has poured Belgian beer since 1924. Unchanged interior, vintage signs, antique wallpaper and two cats by the stove.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Cash works fastest. The Saturday early-morning sitting fills with regulars.
Witzli-Poetzli in Antwerp's cathedral shadow on Blauwmoezelstraat is a candle-lit artists' bar open daily until 02:00. The vintage room runs late on weekends.
Tip: Back tables are quieter; the front bar fills after 23:00. Cash works best.
Café Quinten Matsijs is Antwerp's oldest pub, a 1565 inn on the corner of Moriaanstraat with stained glass, beer steins on every shelf and a 250-year-old tonspel still in the corner.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Bolleke De Koninck on draft is the local pour; the Trappist list runs deep.
Paeters Vaetje in Antwerp on Blauwmoezelstraat pours Belgian abbey, Trappist and lambic styles in the cathedral shadow. The cellar list rotates weekly.
Tip: Order a Westvleteren 12 if it is in stock. The cellar list runs deep.
Billie's Bier Kafétaria on Kammenstraat pours 10 taps and 200 bottles across Trappist, lambic and modern Belgian craft. Small bites at the bar.
Tip: Closed Monday. The list rotates weekly; ask for what is just on tap.
Titulus Antwerpen on Oever in Sint-Andries pours natural Belgian and European wines. The room runs small, the kitchen tight, the cheese board the dinner anchor.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. The cheese plate works as full dinner with three glasses.
Tannin in Antwerp on Volkstraat is a Mediterranean-leaning natural-wine bar in Het Zuid. Italian, Loire and Champagne growers fill the cellar list.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The kitchen runs four small plates; cheese is the safe bet.
Patine on Leopold de Waelstraat in Het Zuid is a natural-wine bistro. The list runs orange wines; the kitchen builds small plates around them.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Bar seats six; reserve a table for busier nights.