Markets in Antwerp
Antwerp's markets are mostly a weekend affair: a big Sunday market and a Saturday exotic food market on the Theaterplein, small antiques by the river, a Friday-morning auction on the Vrijdagmarkt and a Christmas market in the old town. Here is what is open when, what you will find and how to reach it from the sights on our routes.
This week at a glance
Weekly markets, by day of the week. Tap a market for details.
| Monday | No regular market |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | No regular market |
| Wednesday |
|
| Thursday |
|
| Friday |
|
| Saturday |
|
| Sunday |
|
Seasonal and occasional
- Winter in Antwerpen (Christmas market) · 4 December 2026 – 3 January 2027
Vogelenmarkt (Sunday market) Large · the city's biggest weekly market
📍 Theaterplein, Oudevaartplaats and surrounding streets · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 4/7 Oudaan
- 🕗 Hours: Sunday 08:00–13:00 (until 14:00 in summer time)
- 🛍️ What's sold: Fruit & veg, cheese, flowers and plants, clothes, household goods, street food
- 💡 Tips: Despite the name, live animals are no longer sold: Flanders banned animal sales at weekly markets from 1 January 2026. Arrive before 11:00, when the stalls are fullest.
- 🚶 On foot from Rubens House: 🚶 0.4 km · 5 min walk · Rubens House
Exotic market (Saturday market) Medium–large
📍 Theaterplein and Oudevaartplaats, under the big canopy · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 4/7 Oudaan
- 🕗 Hours: Saturday 08:00–16:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Fruit & veg, spices, olives, North African and Turkish breads and pastries, Asian street food
- 💡 Tips: Come hungry: graze on loempia, msemen and Turkish pastries under the canopy. Most food stalls take cash and cards, but bring some cash.
- 🚶 On foot from Rubens House: 🚶 0.4 km · 5 min walk · Rubens House
Vrijdagmarkt second-hand auction Small
📍 Vrijdagmarkt, old town (in front of Museum Plantin-Moretus) · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 4 Groenplaats (5 min walk)
- 🕗 Hours: Friday morning ~09:00–13:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Auctioned household goods, furniture, bikes and boxes of bric-a-brac (often from bailiff sales)
- 💡 Tips: It is an auction, not a flea market: an auctioneer calls the prices and buyers bid from behind a rope. Fun to watch even if you don't buy.
- 🚶 On foot from MoMu Fashion Museum: 🚶 0.3 km · 3 min walk · MoMu Fashion Museum
Sint-Jansvliet antiques market Small · about 40 stalls
📍 Sint-Jansvliet, old town (by the St Anna pedestrian tunnel) · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 4 Groenplaats (8 min walk)
- 🕗 Hours: Sunday 09:00–17:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Small antiques and curiosities: silver, glass, porcelain, coins, old books, vintage crockery
- 💡 Tips: Combine it with a walk through the St Anna tunnel under the Scheldt for the skyline view from the left bank.
- 🚶 On foot from Vlaeykensgang: 🚶 0.4 km · 5 min walk · Vlaeykensgang
Falconplein organic market Small
📍 Falconplein, between the old town and Eilandje · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 7 Brouwersvliet
- 🕗 Hours: Sunday 09:00–16:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Organic produce and food
- 💡 Tips: A 5-minute walk from the MAS: an easy stop on a Sunday in Eilandje.
- 🚶 On foot from MAS (Museum aan de Stroom): 🚶 0.5 km · 6 min walk · MAS (Museum aan de Stroom)
Sint-Jansplein market
📍 Sint-Jansplein, Antwerpen-Noord · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 1/24 Paardenmarkt (5 min walk)
- 🕗 Hours: Wednesday and Friday 08:00–13:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Fruit & veg, meat, fish, clothes, household goods
- 💡 Tips: A neighbourhood market with everyday prices, popular with local families.
- 🚶 On foot from St James' Church: 🚶 1.0 km · 13 min walk · St James' Church
Dageraadplaats market
📍 Dageraadplaats, Zurenborg · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 11 Dageraadplaats
- 🕗 Hours: Thursday 08:00–13:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Fruit & veg, cheese, bread, flowers
- 💡 Tips: On a square full of café terraces, a short walk from the Art Nouveau houses of the Cogels-Osylei.
- 🚶 On foot from ZOO Antwerpen: 🚶 1.4 km · 18 min walk · ZOO Antwerpen
Winter in Antwerpen (Christmas market) Large
📍 Old town (Grote Markt, Groenplaats and around) and Operaplein · Map
- 🚇 Getting there: Tram 4 Groenplaats
- 🕗 Hours: 4 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027 · Sun–Thu 12:00–22:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–00:00 (Operaplein closes 1 h earlier) · 4 Dec from 14:00 · 24 & 31 Dec until 18:00 · closed 1 Jan · 3 Jan until 17:00
- 🛍️ What's sold: Christmas chalets, food and mulled wine, ice rink with winter bar, lights
- 💡 Tips: Free entry. New Year's Eve fireworks on 31 December; weekday afternoons are the quietest.
- 🚶 On foot from Grote Markt & City Hall: 🚶 0.1 km · 2 min walk · Grote Markt & City Hall
Not a market (anymore)
- Vogelenmarkt ("bird market"): no birds or other live animals any more. Flanders banned animal sales at weekly markets from 1 January 2026; it is now a general Sunday market.
- Vrijdagmarkt: not a flea market with stalls but a Friday-morning auction, and not the big Vrijdagmarkt square in Ghent.
- A daily flea market: Antwerp has none. Sint-Jansvliet has antiques on Sundays only.
- Grote Markt: there is no weekly market on the main square, only the Christmas market in December.
Plan your Antwerp trip → Build a day around a market, with walking times and restaurants.
Last updated: 1 October 2026