Bathing water quality in Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp has 22 official bathing waters in the EEA dataset for the 2025 season — all lake. 86.4% were classified Excellent — 18.5 points above the 67.9% across Belgium — and 1 was Poor. 12 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025.
Zwemwaterkwaliteit in Prov. Antwerpen
Van de 22 officiële EU-zwemlocaties in Prov. Antwerpen was in 2025 86,4% ‘uitstekend’; aantal locaties met ‘slecht’: 1.
official bathing waters
Excellent in 2025
Poor in 2025
Map of official bathing waters in Antwerp
Antwerp by arrondissement
Sites are placed in the Eurostat NUTS 3 arrondissements that contain their reported coordinates.
| Arrondissement | Sites | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor | Not classified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnhout | 17 | 16 (94.1%) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mechelen | 4 | 2 (50%) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antwerpen | 1 | 1 (100%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Most consistent Excellent sites
12 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025.
- HOOGSTRATEN DE MOSTEN 11 seasons · Turnhout
- KASTERLEE DE HOGE RIELEN 11 seasons · Turnhout
- KASTERLEE KORTE HEIDE 11 seasons · Turnhout
- LILLE LILSE BERGEN (GROOT) 11 seasons · Turnhout
- LILLE LILSE BERGEN (KLEIN) 11 seasons · Turnhout
- MOL FAMILIESTRAND POSTEL 11 seasons · Turnhout
- MOL NUCLEA 11 seasons · Turnhout
- MOL ZILVERMEER 11 seasons · Turnhout
- RETIE BERKENSTRAND 11 seasons · Turnhout
- RIJKEVORSEL DE MEIRHEIDE (BREEBOS) 11 seasons · Turnhout
- TURNHOUT BAALSE HEI 11 seasons · Turnhout
- WESTERLO CAMPING 'T HEULTJE 11 seasons · Turnhout
- MOL RESORT DE KEMPEN 10 seasons · Turnhout
- WILLEBROEK HAZEWINKEL 6 seasons · Mechelen
- RAVELS TULDERHEYDE 5 seasons · Turnhout
- LIER ANDERSTAD 4 seasons · Mechelen
- WESTERLO HOF VAN EDEN 3 seasons · Turnhout
- ANTWERPEN GALGENWEEL 2 seasons · Antwerpen
- MOLENZIJDSE HEIDE - MERKSPLAS 2 seasons · Turnhout
Rated Poor in 2025
For a Poor site the Bathing Water Directive requires management measures, including a bathing prohibition or advice against bathing, so check the authority before visiting.
- DESSEL - CAMPINASTRAND Poor in 1 of 11 classified seasons · Turnhout
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (0)
None.
Declined (2)
- DESSEL - CAMPINASTRAND Sufficient → Poor
- MECHELEN DE NEKKER (GROTE VIJVER) Excellent → Good
How Antwerp rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | 19 | 86.4% | 1 |
| 2024 | 22 | 20 | 90.9% | 0 |
| 2023 | 22 | 18 | 81.8% | 0 |
| 2022 | 21 | 18 | 85.7% | 0 |
| 2021 | 19 | 18 | 94.7% | 0 |
| 2020 | 18 | 15 | 83.3% | 0 |
| 2019 | 17 | 15 | 88.2% | 0 |
| 2018 | 17 | 15 | 88.2% | 0 |
| 2017 | 17 | 16 | 94.1% | 0 |
| 2016 | 17 | 16 | 94.1% | 0 |
| 2015 | 17 | 15 | 88.2% | 0 |
Places with the most bathing waters in Antwerp
Each site is matched to its nearest named place (GeoNames, within 8 km in a straight line), so beaches of one resort or lake shore can be compared together. Select a place to show only its sites in the full list.
| Place | Arrondissement | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dessel | Turnhout | 4 | 3 (75%) | 1 |
| Gierle | Turnhout | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
| Hulshout | Turnhout | 2 | 2 (100%) | 0 |
All 22 official bathing waters in Antwerp
Grouped by arrondissement, alphabetical within each group. Open a site for its 2015–2025 history, nearby alternatives, weather forecast and the national profile link.
Download all 22 sites as CSV (classes 2015–2025, coordinates, nearest place; EEA data, CC BY 4.0)
Turnhout 17 sites · 94.1% Excellent · 1 Poor
- DESSEL - CAMPINASTRAND Poor Poor in 1 of 11 classified seasons
- HOOGSTRATEN DE MOSTEN · Meer Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- KASTERLEE DE HOGE RIELEN Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- KASTERLEE KORTE HEIDE · Lichtaart Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- LILLE LILSE BERGEN (GROOT) · Gierle Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- LILLE LILSE BERGEN (KLEIN) · Gierle Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- MOL FAMILIESTRAND POSTEL · Dessel Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- MOL NUCLEA · Dessel Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- MOL RESORT DE KEMPEN Excellent Excellent 10 seasons in a row
- MOL ZILVERMEER · Dessel Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- MOLENZIJDSE HEIDE - MERKSPLAS Excellent Excellent 2 seasons in a row
- RAVELS TULDERHEYDE · Poppel Excellent Excellent 5 seasons in a row
- RETIE BERKENSTRAND Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- RIJKEVORSEL DE MEIRHEIDE (BREEBOS) Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- TURNHOUT BAALSE HEI · Ravels Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- WESTERLO CAMPING 'T HEULTJE · Hulshout Excellent Excellent 11 seasons in a row
- WESTERLO HOF VAN EDEN · Hulshout Excellent Excellent 3 seasons in a row
Mechelen 4 sites · 50% Excellent
- LIER ANDERSTAD Excellent Excellent 4 seasons in a row
- MECHELEN DE NEKKER (GROTE VIJVER) · Muizen Good Excellent → Good since 2024
- MECHELEN KEERDOK Good
- WILLEBROEK HAZEWINKEL · Heffen Excellent Excellent 6 seasons in a row
Antwerpen 1 site · 100% Excellent
- ANTWERPEN GALGENWEEL · Antwerp Excellent Excellent 2 seasons in a row
Compared with other provinces in Belgium
| # | Province | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antwerp | 22 | 86.4% | 1 |
| 2 | Limburg (Belgium) | 15 | 80% | 0 |
| 3 | West Flanders | 52 | 65.4% | 0 |
Provinces with at least 15 official bathing waters. Size, water type and how densely sites are designated differ, so the table is context rather than a verdict.
Quick answers
- How many bathing waters in Antwerp were rated Excellent in 2025?
- 19 of 22 (86.4%) in the official EEA 2025 classification; 2 were Good, 0 Sufficient and 1 Poor. That ranks Antwerp 1 of 3 Belgium provinces by Excellent share.
- Which beaches and lakes in Antwerp have the best long-term record?
- 12 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example HOOGSTRATEN DE MOSTEN, KASTERLEE DE HOGE RIELEN, KASTERLEE KORTE HEIDE. See the ranking.
- Which places in Antwerp have the most official bathing waters?
- Dessel (4, 75% Excellent), Gierle (2, 100% Excellent), Hulshout (2, 100% Excellent). See the place table; places are the nearest named settlement to each site.
- Were any bathing waters in Antwerp rated Poor?
- Yes, 1: DESSEL - CAMPINASTRAND.
- Where do I check whether swimming is allowed today?
- On Kwaliteit Zwemwater map (Flanders) (Regional authorities: VMM (Flanders) and SPW (Wallonia)). Temporary bans, pollution alerts and closures are published there and on signs at the water, not in the annual EEA class.
Belgium overview · All provinces of Belgium · Bathing waters near Brussels · Bathing season dates
Sources and method
Bathing-water records: European Environment Agency (EEA), data and coordinates reported by Belgium, licensed CC BY 4.0. Region and arrondissement boundaries: Eurostat NUTS 2024 (© EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries). Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). A site belongs to the area that contains its reported coordinates; a site up to 10 km off the generalised coastline is placed in the nearest area of Belgium. Counts, shares and rankings are calculated by BathingWaterFinder from the official records.