Antwerp Photo Gallery - MAS Rooftop Deck

The Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) is part of Antwerp's rejuvenation story where the dry docks and the overall Het Eilandje area have been given a new life. The 10-storey museum has a free rooftop deck that offers a panoramic view of the city from the historic centre to the port along the Scheldt. The first dry dock was completed in 1863 as Antwerp developed beyond its city walls. The docks continued to expand to 10 by 1931 as Belgian engineers learned how to build them from the English. However, they were unable to accommodate larger vessels built after World War II and the district fell into decay by the late 1950s. MAS opened in 2011 to showcase Antwerp's history and importance, combining the shipping, ethnographic, and folklore museums under a single roof. Its design mimicks stacked containers into a giant storehouse. Having arrived first thing in the morning just before the museum opened, there was nobody at the ticket counters so I headed straight up the escalators to the roof. There are plenty of windows and seats as I headed up and the views got progressively better. Het Eilandje now has a big residential community with the new port looming in the distance. The rooftop deck offers views in all 4 directions with an unobstructed line of sight towards the historic centre. Antwerp has historically been among Europe's busiest ports, and the Scheldt plays an important part of the maritime trade, providing access to the North Sea.