Beveren

Beveren is municipality of 48,000 people (2018) between Ghent and Antwerp in East Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Beveren proper, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: Waaslandhaven) is in Beveren, on the left bank of the Scheldt, facing the port of Antwerp on the other side of the river.

From Beveren it is possible to visit several historic towns and villages on the banks of river Schelde (Doel, Hulst, the villages on the Scheldt between Temse and Rupelmonde), and it offers a good starting point for cycling trips along the beautiful tidal landscapes on the river shores.

Understand

• 1 Tourist office, Grote Markt 2, ☏ +323 750 15 80, toerisme@beveren.be. M-F 08:30—12:30 and 13:30—17:00, Sa 09:00—12:00; closed on Sundays. (updated Feb 2016)

Get in

By train

Trains from Ghent and Antwerp run every hour, Ghent is 30 minutes away while Antwerp takes about 15 minutes. From Brussels there is no direct train, but it is very easy to go via Antwerp or Ghent, changing trains there. The trip from Brussels takes around 1 hour if the connection goes smooth. Finally, there are also direct trains to Beveren from the coast (Ostend) via Bruges (once an hour, takes 1 hr 20 min). Beveren's train station is 600 m from the centre.

By car

Beveren is located between the E34 (Antwerp - Knokke-Heist) and E17 (Antwerp - Ghent) on the N70. There are lots of free parking spaces in the centre of the municipality.

By tram

Tram line 3 takes you from the centre of Antwerp to a Park & Ride zone in Melsele, which is still 3.5 km from Beveren centre. You can take buses here.

By bus

Bus lines 81 through 85 and 89 take you from Antwerp to Beveren. Lines 81 and 82 go to Sint-Niklaas, Waasmunster and Lokeren, while 83, 84 and 85 take you to smaller villages in or near Beveren's municipality (such as Doel). Line 31 also takes you to Sint-Niklaas.

By taxi

Taxi Freddy, ☏ +32 3 755-06-06 is a 24h taxi company headquartered in Melsele.

Get around

The centre of Beveren, which is not very big, is easily explored on foot. To get to know the region, cycling is recommended because there are lots of bike routes as well as a dense Cycle Node Network covering all of Flanders .

See

• 1 Castle of Cortewalle, Zwarte Dreef 2, ☏ +32 37 75 70 40. This 15th-century castle, surrounded by water in a nice park, is near the city centre. For individuals (as opposed to groups), there are free guiding tours every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month (May–September). Free. 
• 2 Castle Hof Ter Saksen, ☏ +32 37 75 28 51. An 18th-century castle, also located in a park. Free. 
• 3 Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Gaverland Chapel, Oude-Beewegstraat (Melsele), ☏ +32 37 55 51 30. Well-known pilgrimage spot since 1511, boasting a 19th-century chapel and an Ommegang in the adjacent park. Free. 
• Beveren has kept several centuries-old houses, manors, chapels and churches.

Further afield

• 4 Fort Liefkenshoek. Near the village of Kallo about 11 km north of Beveren, Fort Liefkenshoek a fort dating back to the 16th century and was built to protect the city and port of Antwerp against the Spanish troops lead by Farnese. 
• 5 Doel Nuclear Power Station, Scheldemolenstraat. The Doel Nucleqr Power Station is one of the two nuclear power plants in Belgium and has a visitor's and information centre as well as a bike route. The plant lies on the bank of the Scheldt, 20 km north of Beveren, and covers an area of 80 hectares. With a height of 176 m, the two cooling towers are the most visible structure in the Port of Antwerp. Since 1995, one of the cooling towers has hosted a nest of peregrine falcons. 
• 6 Fort Haasdonk, Vestingstraat. Fort Haasdonk was built just before World War I for Antwerp’s protection. Bunkers can still be seen nearby. Not far from recreatiedomein De Ster, it is 6 km south-west of Beveren. 

Do

• 1 Ter Vesten Cultural Centre, Gravendreef 2, ☏ +32 37 50 10 00. Concerts frequently take place in this building. 
• 2 Sport & recreatiebad De Meerminnen, Pastoor Steenssensstraat 108, ☏ +32 37 50 35 00. A swimming pool not far from the centre, featuring a spa, wellness and a water park. 
• 3 Dropshot, Hendrik Consciencestraat 45, ☏ +32 37 75 09 57. Closed on M. A bowling cafe/restaurant, offering squash and snooker as well. 
• Cycling. Towards the south of Beveren, there are some beautiful rural biking routes (Haasdonk and further towards Kruibeke, Bazel, Temse, ...). Towards the north you can explore the rather typical polder landscape. The tourist office has maps for local bike routes, or you can use the Cycle Node Network to plan a custom excursion. (updated Nov 2016)

Events

• Beverse feesten. A free 3-day-festival which takes place in August 
• Sint Maarten. This event takes place on 11 November and celebrates Martin of Tours. Traditionally, people will gather in the market square and candy will be handed out (or thrown) for the children. 

Buy

• 1 Warande Shopping Centre, Warandestraat (located in the centre of Beveren). This shopping centre comprises most of the centre and makes Beveren the biggest shopping village in Flanders. Free parking spaces. 
• 2 Belgian Wines, Kapelstraat 3, Melsele (Next to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Gaverland Chapel), ☏ +32 3 755-87-55, info@belgianwines.com. Only on request. A shop specialised in Belgian wines. Their main shop is in Antwerp, but here they have a storage room. 

Eat

Look for restaurants, snackbars, fastfood places and fries shops ("Frituur") on the market square and adjacent streets.

• 1 De Mops, Gaverlandstraat 131-133 (Melsele), ☏ +32 37 55 59 57, info@demops.be. Popular restaurant in Melsele, not far from the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Gaverland Chapel. 
• 2 Tafel van de Heilige Geest (Eng: Table of the Holy Spirit), Leurshoek 76 (Bus 83, between stops 'Gaverlanddam' and 'Hagewinde'), ☏ +32 3 296 18 50, info@heiligegeest.be. Th-Su 12:00-14:00 and 17:00 - .... Main courses start at €17; 3-course meals are €20 - 40. (updated Nov 2016)

Drink

Near the centre, at the market place, there are lots of pubs to choose from.

• 1 Plato, Grote Markt 7 (Market square), ☏ +32 32 98 58 90. Daily 09:00—01:00. One of the bars at the market square. 

Sleep

• 1 Van der Valk Hotel Beveren, Gentseweg 280, ☏ +32 3 775-86-23. €65 economy room - €200 suites. 
• 2 B&B De Kogge, Marktplein 1, Kieldrecht, ☏ +32 3 651-48-57. €36-53 pp. 
• 3 B&B Het Schalienhuis, Appelstraat 54, Melsele (€50-100 pp), ☏ +32 476 30-71-69. 
• 4 B&B Euverbraeke, Brielstraat 83, Melsele (Bus 83, stop 'Melsele Dijk'), ☏ +32 3 755-72-59. located on an old farm yard (1545). The owner is a professional hoof smith and practises draft horse driving (four-in-hand). €40-55 per person per night. (The cheaper prices apply for 2 persons and/or multiple nights.) Children under 10y 30% off. 

Connect

• The local public library has Wi-Fi. It also has "internet computers". You might have to register as a member in order to use them.

Nearby

• The village of Doel houses a 17th-century windmill, one of the oldest in Flanders (about 20 km north of Beveren).
• The polders north of Beveren offer a unique landscape, reminiscent of the southern Netherlands (see also Fort liefkenshoek, Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe and Doel Nuclear Power Station).
• Recreatiedomein De Ster - About 7 km southwest of the centre along the N70, this recreation area comprises a large artificial lake suitable for swimming and sailing. There is a sandy beach, a playground for children, a swimming pool, several outdoor sports courts, and a little tourist train running around the lake to connect all these places.
• The Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe is a natural landscape on the border of Belgium and The Netherlands near the sea, at the mouth of the Scheldt river. It is 3580 hectares and is the biggest brackish water area in Europe. It is 20 km north of Beveren.

Go next

• Antwerp and Sint-Niklaas are both about 10 km away, Antwerp being an international port-city of 500,000 inhibitants, while Sint-Niklaas has around 70,000 inhibitants and breathes more of a 'local' atmosphere.
• Temse, Lokeren, Ghent, ...