Antwerp is as lively after dark as it is busy during the day. To check what’s going on while you’re in the city, pick up a copy of Antwerpen, a monthly publication available at the tourist office. You can get information about and purchase tickets for concerts, theater, and other cultural events from Prospekta.

Main entertainment areas are Grote Markt and Groenplaats, which both contain concentrations of bars, cafes, and theaters; High Town (Hoogstraat, Pelgrimstraat, Pieter Potstraat, and vicinity) for jazz clubs and bistros; Stadswaag for jazz and punk; and the Centraal Station area for discos, nightclubs, and gay bars. The red-light district here, concentrated in Riverside Quarter, is much seedier and less tourist-oriented than the one that’s a big visitor attraction just a few hours drive up the road in Amsterdam, in neighboring Holland.

Antwerp takes pride in being a citadel of Flemish culture. Two of the region’s stellar companies are based here: The Vlaamse Opera and the Koninklijk Ballet van Vlaanderen. To house its vibrant cultural life, the city has no shortage of performance venues. Top of the line for theater and classical music is the Stadsschouwburg. For music and ballet, there’s the classically orientated Koningin Elisabethzaal and the more modernist deSingel.

The Belgian Muppets–Take the kids to the delightful Van Campen Royal Puppet Theater, where the plot lines are always easy to understand.

Along De Keyserlei and its side streets, there’s a conglomeration of disco and strip bars — some very classy, others frankly smutty or vulgar. If you’re looking for a respectable disco, check the area between Groenplaats and Grote Markt.

Antwerp just about bursts at the seams with great bars. When the sun goes down, the people of Antwerp head for their favorite cafe or bar for an evening of Belgian beer and good conversation — and you’ll be very welcome to join their circle. If you don’t spend an evening in this manner, it’s safe to say that you haven’t really seen Antwerp! Street cafes are generally found in Groenplaats and Grote Markt; “brown cafes” (traditional pubs) and bistros are clustered on Hoogstraat, Pelgrimstraat, Pieter Potstraat, and the surroundings; beer cellars are on Stadswaag; taverns and boulevard cafes are strewn along De Keyserlei; artists’ cafes and bars are in Quartier Latin near the City Theater; and gay bars are mostly in the Centraal Station area.