Antwerp's Red Light District

Antwerp (or Antwerpen) in Belgium has a single red light district in an area known as 't schipperskwartier. This translates to 'shipper's quarters' and covers Schippersstraat, Vingerlingstraat, Verversrui and Villa Tinto. Villa Tinto is a building / area (see photo above) which resembles a kind of shopping thoroughfare and you could easily imagine boutiques there. It was opened in 2005 and is supposedly "Europe's most high tech bordello". It even has it's own mini police station though to me it just looked like a door which wasn't used these days.
Schippersstraat, Vingerlingstraat and Verversrui are all quite similar. They have obviously been pedestrianised and done up quite recently and even have shiny new urinals. The area is spacious and feels quite safe with a near constant police presence. Apart from the windows there are a few snack bars, stores and a Chinese restaurant. There are also two adult shops, one of which doubles up as a peep show on Vingerlingstraat.
When I was there in January 2012 Verversrui 28 was just being finished and appears that way in my photo. There is a closed building at Schippersstraat 12. This seems to be some kind of derelict shop and will need extensive work before it's likely to open again. Windows and a burger bar appear on some maps at Schippersstraat 1A. These are now closed (June 2011 + January 2012).
If you do visit don't forget the rest of the city. Antwerp is very beautiful and small enough to do in one day. I highly recommend it.

All photo links on this page were taken by myself on the 7th, 8th June 2011 and 12th January 2012. I stayed at the Internationaal Zeemanshuis which is a hotel right next to the red light district and about 20 minutes walk from the main railway station. The hotel was originally for seamen though is now open to everyone. My single room was 47.50 Euros for the night and had TV and private toilet and shower. It suited me fine though it was pretty basic. I was on the 5th floor with a great view across the city.
Below you will see my interactive map. I have tried to make it accurate though with such a short time to gather the information and take the photos I suspect there are errors. In Villa Tinto for example it was not clear what all the rooms were, whether two adjacent windows were one or two rooms etc. Click here for a high res printable version. 
Unlike my Amsterdam maps it is unlikely I will be able to update my Antwerp map very often. Last checked and updated- January 2012.

Put your ad here

For details of pricing
george.map@hotmail.co.uk