Tours in Antwerp
Has anyone done the Belgium and Holland in Spring? On day 3 we have a choice of either visiting the Red Star Line Museum or Antwerp Beer Tour and Tasting. I am challenged as to which tour to select as i don't really enjoy beer. Thank you
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Then take the Red Star
I was on a different Tauck tour that had extended docking time in Antwerp. We were free to walk on and off the ship as we pleased. I soon fell in love with the city. It is easily walkable. If the two excursions mentioned are your only choices, I would choose the museum especially if you do not care for beer. Time permitting, you are free to skip the excursions and plan your own activity. Just be sure to inform the tour director(s).
I look forward to your thoughts on this trip after your return. Enjoy.
Unless changed, the 2025 and 2026 published itinerary on Tauck's website lists the Fine Arts Museum. I highly recommend that.
The 2025 tour includes a choice between the Red Star Line and beer. We will be on the northbound tour on the 12th but are spending 4 days before traveling on our own. We will be using one of those days to go to Antwerp because I didn't feel one day was enough. During that day we will go to the Red Star Line, the Print Museum and have a tour of the Cathedral of our Lady. We then are planning on going on the Tauck beer tour but may leave early if we want to do something else. All of the pubs on the Tauck video are in the old town area.
You can sign up for the Red Star tour and then opt out later. You always have the option of planning something else as long as you are back to the ship on time. My guess it is that it wouldn't leave until at least 4 PM but that is only a guess. It appears the ship docks right next to the old town at about the same level as the main square. You could go to the Fine Arts Museum, check out the train station, go to the Print Museum(not open on Mondays) or wander around and buy diamonds. There is a possibility that the ship will stay in Antwerp overnight if the wind is too high for sailing to Ghent. If that is the case, the Fine Arts Museum is open on Thursday until 10 PM if that is the day you are in Antwerp. If you schedule a tour on your own, you can always leave the walking tour early and/or not go back to the ship for lunch allowing you an earlier start time for your own tour.
The choice of museums differs depending on the tour...Hidden Waterways versus Springtime (per website). It's a moot point since there are so many enriching things to do in Antwerp. And yes, we docked right in front of the main square.
I look forward to reading reviews. Enjoy.
Thanks to each of you who responded. I have never been disappointed with a Tauck excursion. I was just looking for some insight Thanks again.
This was years ago, Maybe things have changed. I did not like the Red Star Museum. I love museums but found it boring, looking at china from the shipline, etc. An American problem: there was no option to see/hear an English version of the text. We did not get a guided tour or headset tour. That was years ago so maybe Tauck has added a guide. It may be meaningful if you have Dutch heritage or had family who traveled on the Red Line.
We went to Rubens House on our own. https://rubenshuis.be/en but I just saw the residence is closed for restoration. That was the best part since you got to see the cramped quarters and then the magnificant room where Rubens and other artists did their painting! I loved it even though I am not a fan of his art. We followed that with a visit to the church when some of his works were on display.
What I remember most about Antwerp was the miserable weather in late April. Dress to stay dry and warm.