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Following emigrants with our smartphone app

Families - Walk

Antwerp and the Red Star Line are inextricably linked together. Millions of emigrants arrived in Antwerp and then left. That left a mark on the city. The Red Star Line app focuses your attention on the traces they left behind and brings the stories back to life. Download the app and view the city through the eyes of the emigrants.

During the golden years of the Red Star Line every week two ships departed from Antwerp. And every week up to 3,000 migrants made their way from Central Station to Rijnkaai. The migrants often were amazed by the city and sometimes the local population didn't know what to expect from them. The migration economy was booming. The Red Star Line's presence was keenly felt in the city.

Several decades later the traces of this history have largely disappeared. Thanks to a smartphone app these are now brought back to life. You can see relevant places along the trail from Central Station to Rijnkaai and Red Star Line and find out what the migrants experienced here thanks to the Red Star Line app.

Practical

  • Available in Dutch and English
  • Duration: at your own pace
  • Distance: 4 kilometer
  • Free
  • For Android and iPhone
  • Start: Central Station
  • End: Red Star Line Museum

Instructions

Before your visit

Tip: download the app at home

Downloading the tour takes some time. We recommend doing this in a place with a fast Internet connection. Once you have downloaded the tour to your phone you no longer need to be connected to the Internet. 

  • Download and install the app on your phone.
  • Open the app.
  • Choose ‘tours’ at the bottom.
  • Choose the Dutch or English version.
  • Click the download button in the upperright corner.
  • Register via Facebook or create a new user account.

Tips:

  • take your phone charger with you. We will gladly revive your phone’s battery at the museum’s reception desk.
  • take headphones with you.

Departure

  • Click ‘tour’ again and then click the start button in the upperright corner.
  • Click the red button ‘go to the map’ under the photo.
  • Your route is now mapped out for you.
  • Walk from stop to stop and enjoy the Red Star Line stories as you go. The tour ends at the Red Star Line Museum. 
  • Naturally you can also take the walk in stages.

 

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