There’s something wonderfully grown-up about a Christmas weekend by train. No airport queues, no liquids in tiny bags, just a coffee at St Pancras and a city break waiting at the other end. This winter, Antwerp just got a lot easier to reach.
From 14 December 2026, Eurostar will run direct trains from London St Pancras International to Antwerp-Centraal for the first time. That means no more hopping off at Brussels, and Belgium’s second city is suddenly only 2 hours 41 minutes away. It’s a small change on paper, but it turns Antwerp into a proper long-weekend contender: a city of fashion, diamonds and art, with one of Europe’s most celebrated hotels sitting inside its botanic gardens.
Here’s everything you need to know to plan a festive escape, including one important detail about the journey home.
Straight through to Antwerp-Centraal
The new service will run four times a day. Rather than launching a brand-new route, Eurostar is adding an Antwerp stop to its existing London–Amsterdam trains. So far, getting to Antwerp has meant taking the Eurostar to Brussels and switching to a Belgian domestic train for the final leg. The station-to-station journey via Brussels takes about 3 hours 15 minutes.
Cutting out the change saves around half an hour. More importantly, you no longer have to drag a weekend bag across a busy station in the middle of the trip. You board in London and you step off in Antwerp. Lovely.
One for the diary: 14 December 2026 falls on a Monday, so the first weekend you can try the direct train is 18–20 December. That’s perfect timing for a pre-Christmas getaway.
The catch on the way home
The direct train only runs one way. There’s no direct service from Antwerp back to London, so on your return you’ll take a Belgian train to Brussels-Midi and pick up your Eurostar there.
A Eurostar spokesperson told Head for Points: “Customers travelling from Antwerp to London can book a combined SNCB and Eurostar ticket on eurostar.com, connecting via Brussels-Midi where UK border and security checks take place. There are currently no plans to introduce direct services from Antwerp to London, as this would require dedicated UK border and customs facilities at Antwerp-Centraal.”
In practice, book the combined ticket and build a little buffer into your last afternoon. You’ll be heading home a bit less glamorously than you arrived, but you’ll be fully stocked with chocolate.
A monastery in the botanic gardens
Waiting at the end of the line is Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp, which sits within the city’s Botanic Gardens and close to its fashion, diamond and art quarters. The hotel is spread across five historic buildings on a 20,000-square-metre site. Its story begins in 1238, when the Sint-Elisabeth hospital moved here, and some sections of the monastery and chapel date to the 15th century.
Today those buildings hold 108 rooms and suites, six restaurants and a 1,000-square-metre spa. That’s a lot of hotel, and people have noticed. Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp topped the European hotels ranking in Condé Nast Traveller’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards with a score of 98.93. Only votes from the magazine’s UK readers determine the results, so plenty of British travellers have clearly already made the trip (the long way round) and come home raving.
Rates start from €400 per night on a bed-and-breakfast basis.
Champagne on the terrace
From mid-November to mid-January, the hotel is running the Wintergarden by Ruinart, a seasonal lodge created with the house often described as the world’s oldest champagne maison.
According to the hotel’s festive season guide, the Wintergarden sits on the terrace at the heart of the hotel. It serves festive bites alongside a selection of Ruinart champagnes by the glass. It’s open daily from 10:00 to 23:00, and it’s walk-in only, so there’s no reservation required.
That walk-in policy is the best bit. You can wander back from the Christmas market with cold fingers and slide in for a glass without having planned a thing. A morning glass at 10am? It’s the festive season. We won’t judge.
The Wintergarden is part of a broader winter programme at the hotel, which also includes festive dining and spa experiences.
Michelin stars and an 18-metre pool
If you’re the type of traveller who plans a city break around dinner reservations (guilty), Botanic Sanctuary makes it easy to stay put. Of its six restaurants, two are Michelin-starred concepts, so you could quite happily have one of your best meals of the year without leaving the grounds.
Then there’s the Botanic Health Spa, with its 18-metre pool spread across 1,000 square metres. The spa has a new partnership with Natura Bissé, the Spanish skincare house known for its high-performance anti-ageing treatments and award-winning professional facials. After a few days of market-hopping, mulled wine and champagne, a facial feels less like an indulgence and more like essential maintenance.
Winter in Antwerp
The city puts on its own show this time of year too. Winter in Antwerp, the official winter festival, runs from 4 December 2026 to 3 January 2027. Its Christmas market spreads across the historic centre and Operaplein, with an ice rink and winter bar, the JOE X-mas House, festive lights, Christmas trees and a nativity scene.
It’s big. Last year, over 1.5 million visitors came to the event, and it was the largest Christmas market in Flanders. Expect crowds at peak times, and expect to be very glad of a quiet champagne lodge to retreat to afterwards.
How to plan your long weekend
The sweet spot is the stretch between 14 December, when the direct train launches, and 3 January, when the market closes. During those three weeks you get the easy journey out, the Christmas market (closed on 1 January) and the Wintergarden all at once. The lodge stays open until mid-January, so a quieter post-New Year trip still gets you the champagne, even if the market stalls have packed up.
A long weekend gives you time for everything. Take a morning train out of St Pancras and you could be in Antwerp by lunchtime. Spend an evening at the market, book dinner at one of the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurants, and leave a slow morning for the spa and pool. The hotel also suggests arranging a private jeweller appointment in the diamond quarter, if you’re in the market for something sparkly that isn’t in a glass. All in the name of Christmas shopping, of course.
Booking information
Getting there: Direct Eurostar services from London St Pancras International to Antwerp-Centraal launch on 14 December 2026, with four departures a day and a journey time of 2 hours 41 minutes. The return journey connects via Brussels-Midi. Book a combined SNCB and Eurostar ticket at eurostar.com.
Staying there: Rates at Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp start from €400 per night on a B&B basis.
Wintergarden by Ruinart: Mid-November to mid-January, daily from 10:00 to 23:00, walk-in only.
Winter in Antwerp: 4 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, across the historic centre and Operaplein.
