At SmashingConf, we host events in the most memorable of venues. In Antwerp, our home for the conference is the magnificent Bourla Theatre – an unforgettable neoclassical venue that will make a quite an impression on you.

Conference

Bourla
Komedieplaats 18,
2000 Antwerpen,
Belgium
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Bourla Theatre

The building is designed in a neoclassical style on the site of the former Tapissierspand tapestry market. The theatre was designed on request from the city in 1827 by architect Pierre Bourla.

The top is decorated with statues of Apollo and the nine muses. Below the statues, in small niches, are seventeen busts of what was described as “the heroes of literary and musical drama”. The list of heroes included Schiller, Mozart, Sofokles and Shakespeare.

The Bourla Theatre will be your home for both conference days.

Hotels

Antwerp, the second biggest city in Belgium, is a beautiful port city and a tourist destination, and as such, has plenty of hotels to choose from. We will announce our favorite hotels in the upcoming weeks!

Getting into Antwerp

By Plane

Brussels, Belgium (formerly also known as Zaventem).
The closest airport is Brussels Airport, which is 40km away and has many great (and affordable) connections. From there, you can take a direct train, which needs approximately 30 minutes to get into “Antwerpen Centraal” (Antwerp Train Station), and from there it’s a 15-minute walk to the venue.

Amsterdam, Netherlands.
An even larger airport is Schiphol, Amsterdam, which has even more international direct flights available. You can take the train from there too, bringing you to Antwerp’s central station in approximately two hours.

If you need any help or advice planning your trip to Antwerp, don’t hesitate to send us an email, we love to help!

By Train

The central station in Antwerp is only a 15-minute walk away from the conference venue. Antwerp is a major (and beautiful) train station and has good connections in Belgium and to the European railway network, so it’s well accessible by rail from many directions. Check the Belgian Train website for more details.

Parking

Antwerp has a couple of P+Rs (Park and Ride) in and around Antwerp where you can park your car for free or for 1 euro a day and then use the trams, buses or bike sharing system to get rapidly into the city centre.

In the city centre, you can park on the street or at a paid public car park. The latter option is usually cheaper. Via dynamic parking guidance, you will be guided to a car park with available parking spaces.

The car parks offer different packages (per day or multi-day) to enable you to park safely at an affordable price. You can pay for your parking with a ticket, a parking card, an online reservation with registration plate recognition or with an app on your smartphone.

You can find an overview of P+R’s parking and car parks on the Visit Antwerpen website.