Which shops and supermarkets are open on Sunday in Antwerp?

You have just arrived for a few weeks and the fridge is empty on a Sunday morning. Or you work all week and Sunday is the only day you have for groceries. Belgian opening rules changed in 2026, so here is what is open now.

Are shops open on Sunday in Antwerp?

Shops in Antwerp may open on Sunday since 13 August 2026. A new federal law, published on 3 August 2026, ended the compulsory weekly closing day, VVSG reports. According to FOD Economie’s opening hours page, most shops may now open between 5:00 and 21:00, seven days a week.

Being allowed to open is not the same as being open. Each shop decides for itself, and staff rules on Sunday work still apply. In practice, Sunday opening differs a lot from shop to shop and from street to street. For your first weeks of living in Antwerp, check the hours of the shops you use most.

What can open on a Sunday in Antwerp

Shopping Sundays in Antwerp city centre: the 2026 dates

Antwerp’s historic centre is a recognised tourist centre, so shops there may open every Sunday. Stad Antwerpen also promotes the first Sunday of every month as a shopping Sunday (koopzondag). The tourist centre runs roughly from the quays along the Scheldt to the Leien and De Keyserlei.

The shopping Sundays still to come in 2026, according to the city’s shopping Sundays page, are:

• 1 November 2026 (All Saints’ Day)
• 6 December 2026
• 13 December 2026
• 20 December 2026
• 27 December 2026

Even on these Sundays, opening stays a choice. The city does not publish fixed hours; each shop sets its own.

Which supermarkets are open on Sunday in Antwerp?

Supermarkets in Antwerp are free to open on Sunday since 13 August 2026, but each chain and each store decides. Some open all day, some only in the morning, and many stay closed. There is no single list. The safest way is to check the store’s own website or map listing before you go.

Two kinds of shops are more reliable on a Sunday. Shops whose main business is food made on site, such as many bakeries, fall outside the general opening hours, according to FOD Economie. So do shops inside train and metro stations, which helps if you pass Antwerpen-Centraal.

Night shops in Antwerp: when are they open?

Night shops (nachtwinkels) in Antwerp follow their own rules. FOD Economie says they may open between 18:00 and 7:00, unless a city regulation sets other hours. A night shop may only sell general food and household goods. Its sales area is at most 150 m², and it must show the word “nachtwinkel” clearly.

That makes night shops useful for milk, bread or a forgotten ingredient on a Sunday evening. They are not a place for a full weekly shop.

Are shops open on public holidays in Antwerp?

Shops in Antwerp may open on public holidays, but many close or keep shorter hours. Belgium has ten national public holidays. The ones still to come in 2026 are All Saints’ Day (1 November), Armistice Day (11 November) and Christmas Day (25 December).

In 2026, All Saints’ Day falls on a Sunday and is also a shopping Sunday in the centre. In the tourist centre, the city adds one rule: on the Friday before a public holiday, shops close by 22:00 at the latest. If the holiday falls on a Monday, that rule applies to the Saturday.

Tip

Do a bigger shop on Saturday before a holiday weekend. Shop hours on Sundays and holidays change more often than on weekdays.

Groceries for a longer stay near Antwerp South

Groceries for a longer stay are easier when you can cook and store food. Every Hoost apartment has a kitchen with cooking basics and a dining table. The building at VIIde-Olympiadelaan 19 has a shared washing machine and dryer, so you can plan laundry and shopping around the weekend.

Trams 2 and 6 stop near the building and run to Antwerpen-Centraal, where station shops are not bound by the general opening hours. If you have a car, the building is outside the low-emission zone, and P+R Olympiade is about 0.2 km away. Driving into the centre inside the Ring does enter the LEZ; our guide to parking and the LEZ in Antwerp explains the rules. For the tram lines themselves, see getting around Antwerp by tram.

When Hoost is not the right choice

Hoost is not the right choice if you want a shop on your doorstep every Sunday. Sunday opening has been allowed longest in the historic centre. The building in Antwerp South is about 4.2 km from the Grote Markt in a straight line. Hoost may also not suit you if:

• you want meals served or daily cleaning: you cook yourself, and cleaning is done per booking;
• you need to register your address during the stay;
• you need parking on site;
• you plan to stay longer than 6 months in one booking.

For a stay of a few weeks or months, a kitchen and a weekly shopping rhythm work well. Read more about settling into the city for a few months in our living guide.