Antwerp

The City of Antwerp

Antwerp is a metropolis on a human scale. Large but navigable. Permanently innovative, but building on the foundations of its rich history. Full of diversity, but always recognisable.

That’s why you will instantly feel at home. You can experience every taste, style and colour here, benefit from a huge range of expertise, and encounter both thinkers and doers (just check out the city’s many startups).

In Antwerp, you’ll find common ground and sources of inspiration – ideal for enriching your INSPIRE conference experience.

Incidentally, Antwerp is one of Belgium’s top three destinations! You will be able to hop directly from cultural and architectural ‘must sees’ to trendy ‘must shops’. After participating in the “must attend” conference of course …

And with a restaurant or café on virtually every street corner of a city centre steeped in history, Antwerp will certainly enlighten your taste buds and satisfy your cultural appetite, all amidst the magnificent ancient buildings centering around the imposing Grand-Place.

Climate

The best advice would be to pack your suitcase like a Northerner with the wardrobe of a Southerner. The climate in Antwerp (and Belgium) is a temperate maritime climate, fancy code words for “a daily mix of everything with a shower mixed in for good measure”.

September is a pleasant month for visiting Antwerp with average high temperatures hovering around 19°C. During September Antwerp experiences gradually increasing cloud cover with a 50/50 % chance of overcast sky during the time of the conference. The good news is that the chance of a wet day is gradually decreasing during September with a 29% chance of precipitation on September 22nd.

Language

Dutch is the official language in Antwerp. Many locals and especially people who work in the tourism industry speak a smattering of English, French and sometimes German.