Eurostar has announced it’ll begin offering a direct route to a lesser-known European city, cutting down on travel times and meaning passengers no longer need to take a connecting train.

While Eurostar does already offer the ability to book tickets to the Belgian destination, at the moment passengers need to travel to Brussels Midi, get off the train and walk to another platform to take the local SNCB to the city. This means the journey time is currently around three-and-a-half to four hours.

But from December 14, passengers will be able to book direct trains from London St Pancras International to Antwerpen-Centraal, which take just two hours and 41 minutes, cutting down the journey time and making it so much more convenient.

Antwerp will be added as an additional stop on the existing London to Amsterdam line, which already stops at Lille-Europe, Brussels-Midi, and Rotterdam-Centraal. Up to four services a day are expected to run.

However, return journeys will be slightly less convenient. Because Antwerpen-Centraal doesn’t have the facilities to process departing international travellers, such as a UK border or customs and security desks, at the moment passengers will still need to connect via Brussels-Midi on their return.

Antwerp is Belgium’s ‘second city’, known for its Renaissance architecture, historic dockyards, and stunning market square. However, it’s often overlooked by those who visit the country.

The new Eurostar service arrives just in time for Antwerp’s Christmas Market in the city’s central square. It’s famous for its gigantic Christmas tree, hundreds of wooden chalets selling handcrafted items, a Ferris wheel, and a sparkling ice rink. The traditional guildhalls, cobblestone streets, and fountain create the perfect festive atmosphere.

Visit outside the Christmas period and there’s still plenty to enjoy in this cultural city. The incredible Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady is famous for its Baroque artworks by Rubens, while the Plantin-Moretus Museum has some of the world’s oldest printing presses, as well as being packed with antiques, tapestries, and books.

See a more modern side of the city at MAS – Museum aan de Stroom – which you can spot easily thanks to its boxy red brick design. Inside, it’s full of unique exhibitions about the city’s history, culture, and arts scene.

A statement from Eurostar read: “Adding Antwerp as a direct stop on our London–Amsterdam services will make journeys to the city quicker and more convenient, providing customers with a more comfortable city centre to city centre travel experience.”

Antwerp isn’t the only destination Eurostar is looking into as it attempts to expand its network. Over the summer it has announced it wants to offer London to Switzerland trains in the future, while last year it also committed to offering direct Cologne and Frankfurt trains. But it’s worth keeping in mind that these routes may not be available until the early 2030s.

Eurostar is also facing competition from rivals looking to offer services via the Channel Tunnel in the next few years. One of the best-known is Virgin Trains, which announced its intentions to run up to 20 daily return journeys connecting London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam as early as 2030.

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