Café Oud Arsenaal

The story

Café Oud Arsenaal has operated as an authentic Antwerp public house since 1924 in an early nineteenth-century building. Its tiled frontage and Art Deco interior date from 1932, while vintage beer signs, worn furniture and a famously convivial atmosphere keep the city’s brown-café tradition alive.

Why Café Oud Arsenaal is iconic

A protected piece of Antwerp café heritage whose compact, richly layered interior feels like a living archive of Belgian beer culture.

Selected by Ernst Aben · Information reviewed July 2026