This fascinating museum occupies a large sixteenth century house that belonged to the printer Christophe Plantin, who moved here in 1576. The house is built around a courtyard, and its ancient rooms and narrow corridors resemble the types of interiors painted by Flemish and Dutch masters. The museum is devoted to the early years of printing, when Plantin and others began to produce books that bore no resemblance to earlier, illuminated medieval manuscripts.

Antwerp was a centre for printing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and Plantin was its most successful printer. Today, his workshop displays several historic printing presses, as well as woodcuts and copper plates. Plantin’s library is also on show and includes an array of beautifully made volumes, ranging from medical books to French literature. One of the gems here is a Gutenberg Bible.