“This was a fantastic swap! Joost and his wife were terrific to communicate with all the way through the process, from first contact until inside each other's homes, and I am certain that they are very nice honest genuine people (unfortunately we haven't met)! Their home in Antwerp is amazing - the house covers four floors (including the basement) with six separate sleeping areas, three separate bathrooms and four separate lavatories. Plus a wonderful big kitchen, lounge-room and dining room joined space. So it is ideal for a group of friends, two families or just one big family! Joost's home is extremely comfortable, cozy, stylish and contains all mod cons. You will very much enjoy staying in this beautiful old renovated home, which is just a few minutes walk from a supermarket + newsagents + pharmacy in one direction and a lovely park with a tram stop on the edge for multiple tram routes (which will quickly take you into the city centre and all over Antwerp) in the other direction. We didn't really know what to expect from Antwerp, but it was a very enjoyable place to spend three weeks. The city is small, so can easily be traversed on foot or by bicycle (or tram) and thoroughly explored. Plenty of interesting museums, galleries, architecture (old and new), bars, cafes, restaurants, live music/dj venues, shops, churches etc. We loved the warm and atmospheric old brown cafes (small bars serving local beers and snacks) and found it hard to stay away from places such as Café de Kat, Pelikaan, De Ware Jacob and Den Engel. We also loved the extraordinary St Pauls Cathedral, just a little north of the main town square, an incredible restored church you can just wander into and even be there alone admiring paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck. Antwerp was a very pleasant surprise for us - so much to see and do in and around the broader city centre (including Borgerhout, a must visit area) and all within such an inspiring and authentic old Flemish European vibe. Then of course, there is so much to explore that is near Antwerp. If you swap cars with Joost (or just use the train) you can easily visit places like Brussels, Bruges and Gent as a day trip - all highly recommended! You can also do day trips to eastern Belgium and the southern Netherlands. Plus of course it is very easy to make longer train trips to nearby cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam etc, if you are visiting Antwerp from outside Europe. It is just one hour on the train from Antwerp to Brussels, a city which rewards two or three separate day trip visits, as there is so much going on there culturally. In summary, I cannot recommend doing a house swap with Joost & his family highly enough! We had a magical and memorable family holiday in their home (and car), their neighbourhood, their city and their country and I am certain that you will too. ”
