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A must when in Europe

Best of IgoUgo

A travel journal to Belgium by Jctravel1983

Rubenshuis Photo - Rubenshuis, Antwerp, Belgium

Quote: A must when in Europe

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We thought we would enjoy Antwerp more than we did, but that’s maybe because we really enjoyed Bruges a lot. Antwerp isn’t that far from Bruges and thinks it was around one hour driving on a straight highway. The difference was immediately noticeable since Antwerp is a very large city while Bruges is a small one. The highway suddenly changes into five lanes and you are surrounded by traffic. Welcome to Antwerp.

One of the main attractions of Antwerp is the House of Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens was a famous painter in the early seventh century and is one of the most famous Baroque painters. He’s is the pride of Belgium. When in Antwerp as a tourist you almost must have to visit the house. It’s worth the trip and it’s not that difficult to visit.

The house is located around five to ten minutes away from the city center. You can visit the museum every day between 10 am and 7 pm, except for Monday. We thought the price was a little bit steep at 8 euro’s. Surprisingly the entrance price is only one euro if you are between the age of 12 and 26. Very good to attract the young people to the museum.

I’m not the biggest cultural fan but even I was excited about visiting this museum as it’s one of the top attractions to visit in Antwerp. The artist bought this house in 1610 and turned the house into a large studio in the Italian Baroque style which you can still admire today. The entire house was been refurbished in 1946 and turned into a museum.

At the house you can admire the living quarters of Ruben and his family as well as the studio. The art room he added is based on the Pantheon in Rome to display antique sculptures. When you wonder through the house you can admire the work of Rubens as well as the work of other painters.

The house was actually larger than it looks like from the outside and has a courtyard where you can wonder around. Throughout the complex you can clearly see the features of the time that Rubens lived here. The museum has been decorated beautifully and really gives you the feeling you are back in the time when Rubens lived here.

Although I do think the eights euro’s was a little bit steep, I think it’s worth the money. It wasn’t busy here when we visited the house but I can imagine it will be busy during the weekend. Four stars for me!
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 13, 2012

Rubenshuis
Wapper 9-11
Antwerp, Belgium 2000
+ 32 3 201 15 77