Antwerp is not on the river Ant, but on the river Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary.  There are no sea locks (or other locks further up) to gain entry to the river, as there are with Amsterdam, it is still tidal at Antwerp.  The river leads up to the city from the wide estuary in a similar way to the Thames leading to London, with meanders once the river narrows.

The cruise terminal is right by the city center, but of course like other major historic cities it is a big city.  If you just want to wander around and grab a beer, then you can get off the ship, and do just that with only a ten minute walk.  If you want to do some serious sightseeing then some research will be needed.

It is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north from Brussels, and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the Dutch border.  The Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally.  Antwerp was also the place of the world´s oldest stock exchange building, originally built in 1531 and re-built in 1872, although it has been derelict since 1997.

Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, both economically and culturally, especially before the Spanish Fury (1576) in the Dutch Revolt.  The inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific seņor or French seigneur, "lord", referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century.  Today Antwerp is a major trade and cultural centre, and is the world´s second most multi-cultural city (after Amsterdam), home to 170 nationalities.  It is also known as the "diamond capital" of the world for its large diamond district.