Antwerp is easily accessible from Brussels in about ~1 hour by train or ~40 minutes by bus. Compared to Brussels, Antwerp is small and charming.

I would recommend starting the day with Legends of Antwerp tour. One great thing about this tour is that you get to see both a church and a museum for a short time for free. Both of these have entry tickets otherwise.

This statue of a man throwing the hand of a giant (who used to demand tribute and punish sailors if they didn’t pay) into the sea gave the name to Antwerp. “Hand werpen” means “to throw a hand” in Dutch.

Under the Scheldt River, there is a tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists. It is the only tunnel where I have seen a wooden escalator.

You will also see the statue of Lange Wapper, a giant who used to scare drunk people by growing in size.

And it is hard to miss the Nello & Patrasche Statue near the Cathedral of Our Lady. It is from a British novel, A Dog of Flanders, which, forgotten in Belgium, is really popular in Japan.

I would recommend taking the river ferry from Antwerp to Lillo. It costs 4 euros (one-way) and a 6-euro round trip. The one-way journey is about 1 hour. And you see great views on the Scheldt River along the way.

I did a small hike in Lillo. Spending 30 minutes to an hour is worth it here.

Note

1. Eurostar Supermarket has great Indian food and groceries. It is run by people from Nepal.
2. A day or two is more than enough for Antwerp.