The baroque garden
The pavilion and flowers of Rubens' era — beautifully restored.
CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ricardalovesmonuments — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ricardalovesmonuments — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FrDr — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Rubens House is the palace Peter Paul Rubens built for himself in 1610 on returning from Italy as Europe's most famous painter: an Italian-style house-and-studio with an inner courtyard, a baroque portico and a Renaissance garden, where he lived and worked with his pupils (Van Dyck among them) and produced hundreds of paintings for Europe's courts. Faithfully rebuilt in the 1940s and full of his works and art collection. An important note: the house itself has been closed for a major restoration since 2023, and its reopening has slipped from 2027 to **2030 at the earliest**. What is open: the beautifully restored baroque garden (free) with its pavilion and the flowers of Rubens' era, and the "Rubens Experience" in the new adjoining library building (2024) — an exhibition on his life and work plus a research library — so today's visit is a garden and exhibition, not the house. In the city centre on the Wapper near the Meir — for the Rubens lover: see his paintings first in the cathedral and St James's Church, and check the house's reopening date.
The pavilion and flowers of Rubens' era — beautifully restored.
The Italianate entrance Rubens designed himself.
His life and work in a new exhibition and library.
Wapper 9-11, 2000 Antwerp
Palace on the MeirThe Palace on the Meir is a rococo palace of 1745 in the heart of Antwerp's most1 minute walk4.2
Antwerp Stock Exchange (Handelsbeurs)The historic exchange building in central Antwerp, among the first buildings any4 minutes walk4.6
St James's Church (Rubens' Tomb)St James's Church is Rubens' resting place: a huge late-Gothic church (1491–16564 minutes walk4.6
Museum Mayer van den BerghThe Museum Mayer van den Bergh is a small museum of the first rank: a neo-Gothic4 minutes walk4.7
Botanical Garden (Den Botaniek)Antwerp's botanical garden ("Den Botaniek") is a small enchanting garden in the 5 minutes walk4.5Antwerp is full of him: the cathedral (four major masterpieces), St James's Church (his tomb with his painting above it), St Paul's Church, the KMSKA (the huge Rubens hall), and St Charles Borromeo's Church whose façade he designed. The Rubens House remains the garden and the experience until reopening — check the official site.