Fantastic city break in a hotel in Antwerp, Belgium Hotels in Antwerp

Weekend away in a hotel in Antwerp

Great Citytrip Antwerpen, Belgium

On Sunday 22 April, as it seemed half the world was preparing to line up at the start of the London Marathon I found myself on the opposite side of the English Channel, in Belgium, also preparing to run a marathon, that being the inaugural ‘Antwerp City Marathon‘. As I had done London a couple of times I had fancied a change of marathon venue and combining a weekend in Belgium with running a marathon seemed like a good idea. (How can running a marathon be described as being a good idea I hear you ask!) Anyway... All I had to do was take as many rest as possible in my hotel in Antwerpen where the marathon was.

We arrived in our hotels Antwerpen on Saturday late afternoon and having picked up our running numbers etc. found ourselves ready to experience the Saturday night attractions of Antwerp. As many of you will know, Belgium is famous for (amongst other things) the quality of its chocolate and beer. Although I have been known to sample a chocolate or two in my time I am probably better known for my passion for the latter of these two products. Possibly a difficult evening lay ahead and this proved to be the case as the very welcoming bars of Antwerp did their utmost to lure me into indulging my interest in the science of Belgium brews. However, with 26.2 miles looming the following morning and temperatures of 25 degrees C. forecast, I managed to restrict my intake to some moderate tasting, and it was off to bed at a fairly respectable hour, in my cosy and charming budget hotel in Antwerp.

The morning of the marathon brought sunshine, clear blue skies, and, as predicted, unseasonably high temperatures. As the residents of Antwerp prepared to do whatever Belgian people do on a sunny Sunday morning they were confronted with the sight of myself and around 1000 other allegedly sane individuals preparing to run 26 miles (or 42 kilometers in Belgium money). As the starters pistol sounded at 10am, it was already very warm. it was clearly going to be a day for cautious running.

The first 5 miles or so are run on the west bank of Antwerp’s river, the Scheldt, and pass through some attractive residential suburbs before crossing under the river to the east bank on which the city centre and larger part of Antwerp is situated and where my hôtels Anvers was also located. The lady at the counter was waving at me...

I would definitely recommend the Antwerp Marathon as an enjoyable alternative for a spring marathon. The route is almost 100% flat and although being predominately urban does take in a couple of local parks as well as passing through some attractive residential areas where local people offered enthusiastic support and encouragement.
Also make you sure you pick a right one out of all the <hotels Antwerpen, you have to have good food and a good night's rest before taking on a marathon. If a full marathon isn’t your thing the event also includes a 10mile and a 5K run. The city of Antwerp, particularly the medieval centre, with it’s magnificent cathedral and town hall, plus it’s overwhelming selection of restaurants, bars and hotels in Antwerpen, proved to be an excellent choice for a weekend break………..Maybe see you in Belgium next year, in of the hôtels Anvers!