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Brabo Fountain, Antwerp

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Antwerp Local time

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Belgium

Travel to Antwerp

Flying to Antwerp

Antwerp's tiny no-frills airport lies 7km (4.5 miles) southeast of the city centre. Airlines operating flights to Antwerp from the UK include Air France and no-frills airline City Jet (flying from London City and Manchester airports). The flight time from London to Antwerp is one hour. Another option is to fly into Brussels Airport, which is only 40km (25 miles) from Antwerp.

Flight times: 

From London - 1 hour.

Travel by road

Summary:

Antwerp traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years. Major towns are connected by toll-free motorways. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways and dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) on single carriageways outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. A valid national driving licence is required. EU nationals taking their own cars to Belgium are advised to obtain a Green Card, as basic insurance is mandatory for driving in Belgium.

Emergency breakdown service:

Touring Club de Belgique (tel: 070 344 777).

Routes:

Antwerp has good motorway links with Brussels to the south, and to major Dutch cities in the north, as well as with the Channel port at Zeebrugge, where ferries from the UK arrive in Belgium.

Coaches:

Most coaches/long-distance buses arrive and depart from the station on Franklin Rooseveltplaats, a short distance northwest of Centraal station. Information is available from a kiosk in Centraal Station. De Lijn (tel: 03 218 1411; www.delijn.be) is the main operator.

Eurolines (tel: 0871 781 8181, in the UK; www.eurolines.com) operates a daily service from London Victoria coach station to Antwerp via the Dover-Calais ferry or the Le Shuttle train, stopping at Bruges and Ghent. Antwerp can also be reached from around Europe on the Eurolines network, direct or via Brussels or Amsterdam.

Travel by rail

Services:

The express Thalys service (www.thalys.com), which runs between Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, stops at the Antwerpen-Berchem station, 4km (2.5 miles) from the centre of Antwerp.

Operators:

The Belgian train operator is NMBS (tel: 02 528 2828; www.b-rail.be). Eurostar (tel: 08432 186 186; www.eurostar.com) runs from London to Brussels Midi in 1 hour 51 minutes. From here your Eurostar ticket allows a free connection to anywhere in Belgium. Fast frequent services take around 40 minutes from Brussels to Antwerp Centraal.

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