The city of Antwerp goes to great lengths to publicise its port, and with good reason: It’s Europe’s second-largest port, and one of the world’s most important for container traffic. It’s also a crucial factor in the economic life of Flanders; the region’s gateway to the whole wide world, and vice versa. And not just Flanders: Freight entering the port of Antwerp goes on to make its way to the whole of the continent.

So it must have seemed like a bright idea when someone thought of laying on a free bus tour around the port area for anyone interested. Nobody, though, can have imagined the response.

“Last year all of our buses were sold out, and that means we carried about 3,500 people,” explains Annik Dirkx, spokeswoman for the port of Antwerp authority. “We had to extend the planned service quite a lot to cope with the demand, including laying on extra buses at times.” Sure enough, on the Wednesday afternoon in August when I turned up for my reserved spot (reservations are absolutely necessary) the one bus that had been planned had been multiplied by three, so great was the demand.

This year, the programme has been extended, so that the tours started earlier this month instead of in July as last year, and will go on to the end of September (last year they ended in August). “In comparison with last year, we’ve increased capacity quite considerably,” said port alderman Marc Van Peel. “We wanted to give even more people the chance to discover all the well-known and not so well-known aspects of the port.

With its 146,500 jobs, the port is made up of a lot of people, but it’s also there for many more people who may be curious to find out what an international world our port is.”

Free for all

The programme can’t be cheap – though I couldn’t find anyone willing to put an actual price on the promotion – since it costs money to lay on luxury coaches three days a week in the middle of summer, and not charge a penny in fares.

“Yes, it costs us quite something,” Dirkx says. “But ultimately we think it’s important to make it as accessible as possible for people who want to know more about the port, and that’s why we decided, despite the huge interest and demand, to carry on offering the tours for free.” The guides on each bus – in our case last year an impressively knowledgeable man who had spent 30 years working in the docks as a customs officer – don’t cost anything. “Nothing has changed as far as the guides are concerned, because it was such a success,” Dirkx says. “Once more they’re volunteers, people who work here at the port pavilion. So the concept remains the same.”

There’s a new offering on the programme: a slightly shorter tour for families with children (minimum age six), which includes some entertainment along the way in Lillo, one of the more picturesque stops along the way. There, in the tiny vestige of what used to be a fort to hold the entrance to the Scheldt against a Spanish invasion (the Spanish invaded anyway but the resistance, like Asterix’s village, never gave up), story-tellers Kris Dockx – the unofficial mayor of Lillo – and Veerle Ernalstein will keep the kids amused before it’s time to climb aboard the bus once more.

“The contrast between the hyper-modern port and the picturesque village of Lillo is the inspiration for the stories I’ll be telling,” Ernalstein said. “If I can bring the children along with my fantasy to a place where they look at the port in a new way, my story will have been a success.”

The port of Antwerp bus tour takes place on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday until 28 September except on 30 and 31 August and 21 September. The guides’ commentary is in Dutch only. Reservation required.

www.portofantwerp.com/nl/de-haven-bustour

More from the port

The bus tour is not the only way to discover the port. If you prefer the freedom of the open road, and aren’t too afraid of the lorry traffic, the port offers a free cycle map with routes from 10km to 60km, and information on the various things you’ll see along the way. It’s not the same as having an expert guide along, but it does allow you to make your own itinerary. The map can be downloaded online (www.portofantwerp.com/nl/fietsen-de-haven) or picked up for free from the Havenhuis, which overlooks the Willemdok by the MAS museum.

• One of the best ways to see the port is from the water, and there are various operators who run tours on the river, with or without food and drink or other special themes. The website www.visitantwerpen.be has links to operators and other information, also in English.

• Ship spotters are also catered for, with a map (www.portofantwerp.com/en/ship-spotting) showing some of the best spots in the port area for seeing and snapping ships entering and leaving Antwerp. And of course the movements of all sea traffic in and out of the city can be monitored at www.marinetraffic.com/ais or www.vesseltracker.com/app

• Finally, if you want something to take away to remember your trip by, it might as well be a fish. Angling is permitted from land only at various places in the port area, but you’ll need a Flemish permit (available from any post office or from www.visverlof.be) and a municipal one (www.antwerpen.be). For a list of fishing spots, go to www.portofantwerp.com/en/ fishing-port