As competition for rail routes through the Channel Tunnel hots up, Eurostar has announced the launch of a new direct London to Antwerp service that will operate from 14 December 2026, taking travellers from the heart of the British capital to a Belgian city Lonely Planet calls the “capital of cool.”
Passengers can currently get from London St Pancras to the historic Belgian port city’s Central Station with Eurostar, but it’s via a three-and-a-half-hour journey and a change at Brussels. The new direct London–Antwerp journey will slash 20% off that trip time, taking just two hours 41 minutes, and timetables appear to promise, will not add any additional delay before reaching other existing stops along the route in Lille (France), Brussels (Belgium), or Rotterdam (Netherlands).
There is one drawback, however: the direct Antwerp stop will happen on the existing London to Amsterdam route, but not on the way back from Amsterdam to London. Eurostar explained in a statement that it’s not possible to board in Antwerp for direct travel to London because Antwerp Central Station is not equipped to carry out the necessary international border and security checks. That means those checks will continue to be conducted at Brussels.
Known for its world-famous diamond quarter and design credentials, Antwerp was a medieval powerhouse port that once handled 70% of international trade. It boasts an “intriguing medieval heart with plenty of café-filled cobbled lanes, a riverside fortress and a truly impressive cathedral.” Those delights go hand-in-hand, Lonely Planet says, with a “vibrant fashion and entertainment scene, along with its startling architectural and cultural contrasts.”
Eurostar says, “the new timetable enhances rail connectivity between London and Belgium’s second-largest city, offering a faster and more convenient option for both business and leisure travellers.”
On the Eurostar website, passengers can purchase a combined ticket, covering both the outward Eurostar and the return domestic rail trip from Antwerp to London, including the necessary change and border checks at Brussels-South. Travel Tomorrow found return tickets ranging from around €110 to €383 for a week-long trip starting on the service launch date in mid-December.
That launch comes in time for Antwerp’s Christmas season. The city’s Christmas Market is spread across some of the city’s most iconic locations including the 16th-17th century Grote Markt, Handschoenmarkt, the Groenplaats, and the charming Hendrik Conscienceplein. The 2025 market and Winter in Antwerp festivities attracted over 1.5 million visitors, an uptick of 200,000 year-on-year.
Looking further ahead, an exhibition on the so-called Antwerp Six fashion school will be coming to Antwerp’s MoMu in spring 2027.
