Currently not available because of the renovation of the Rubens House
The Antwerp of PP Rubens
On this tour in 21st century Antwerp, we will try to discover Rubens’ city of yesteryear.
The painter shows us his many faces; collector, artist, diplomat, loving husband and father, friend, …
We see him in the gardens of his friends Moretus and Rockox who shared his refined lifestyle. In the Carolus Borromeus Church where he displays his versatility and especially in his own house on the Wapper, where he spent most of of his life.
During this walk we will briefly visit the Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady, where you can admire no less than four masterpieces by Rubens.
Rubens even comes up in the trendy fashion district. Today’s fashion designers illustrate an astonishing creativity that they allow their employees to execute. Just like the master did a few centuries ago. 
The walk culminates where Rubens’ inspiration was constantly bubbling up: the Rubens House. We take a look at the private world of an Antwerp world citizen during the Golden Age. We peek into his kitchen, visit his art room, walk past bedrooms and other private rooms of the Rubens family. Finally we enter the studio where the grand master gave birth to his immortal works.
Pietro Paulo Rubens. Antwerp’s most famous ambassador. The man whose life reads like a novel.
A life full of emotion, high peaks and deep troughs. His mother who gave up the family fortune to save his adulterous father from the scaffold. The loss of his first wife, Isabella, to a terrible illness. The death of his daughter much too early … 
But a few years later the tide turned. He again knew happiness at the side of Helena Fourment, a beautiful young woman. She became his muse, an inexhaustible source of endless inspiration during his last years of life.
Peter Paul Rubens has left us a wonderful legacy and without him Antwerp would not be the city it is today.
Highlights of this walking tour are a visit to the Cathedral of Our Lady where you can admire four paintings by Rubens and listen to their extraordinary background story, and a tour of the Rubens’ house.
- Maximum 15 participants.
- From Tuesday till Saturday.
- Duration: 3 hours
- Price (VAT/BTW included):
- Up to and including 4 participants: 195€ in total.
- For each additional participant: 5€
- Example: 6 participants = 195€ + (2×5€) = 205€
- Example: 9 participants = 195€ + (5×5€) = 220€
- Example: 15 participants = 195€ + (11×5€) = 250€
- including tasting of 2 typical Antwerp regional products.
- Excluding eventual entrance fees.
Info and reservation, click here.
Rubenshuis (cp Ans Brys)