Antwerp
Built in 1512 for the cloth-cutters' guild, this underrated little chapel honouring St Anne was given a major Gothic rebuild in the mid-17th century, from…
Must-see attractions in Belgium
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont
Wallonia
Chimay’s world-famous Trappist beers are brewed in this austere 1850 abbey 9km south of Chimay. The brewery doesn’t allow visitors, but you can enter the…
Namur
Housed in the photogenic Halle al'Chair, this small two-level museum houses a collection of artifacts spanning more than 2500 years. Highlights include…
Wallonia
There are some impressive pieces in the treasury in the heart of Tournai's cathedral, including a fabulous 'Last Judgement' châsse (casket), a striking…
Northeast Belgium
In an idyllic rural location on the northeast edge of town, Laermolen is small but still functioning watermill dating from 1381.
Northwest Belgium
Brussels isn't the only city in which a little boy statue relieves himself. Indeed, many locals insist that Geraardsbergen's Manneken Pis is the original…
The Ardennes
Learn about La Roche’s two main cottage industries in an imaginative hour-long audio-guided tour. Press-and-sniff buttons add some fun as you're…
West Flanders
Founded in 1946, this brewery in Watou can be visited on guided tours (phone or email ahead, minimum 15 people). Sample its wares in the brasserie. You…
Northwest Belgium
This simple, sweetly old-fashioned museum has no one distinct theme but features rooms with small collections of artefacts as diverse as matchboxes,…
Northeast Belgium
By the late 18th century, medieval city walls had become redundant and Mechelen's were torn down to create the space where the R12 inner ring road now…
West Flanders
The Texture museum is located in an 1902 flax factory and focuses on the town's flax and linen industry; you'll also see a lovely collection of damasks…
Belgian Coast
Belgium's only officially sanctioned nudist beach draws up to 1000 bathers on a summer's day. Be sure to stay within the designated nudist zone, as police…
Wallonia
This 1.4km-long slope, or 'sliding lock', at Ronquières is a curious 1968 contraption that lowers boats down a steepish gradient in a giant bathtub. It’s…
Former Palace of the Prince-Bishops
Liège
Behind an Italian Renaissance facade, this former palace is reputedly one of the largest secular Gothic buildings anywhere in the world. Prior to 1789 it…
Northeast Belgium
Established in 1889, this workshop is one of the few places in Belgium where you can see contemporary tapestries being woven and antique ones from all…
Namur
In a very fine 1753 former abbot’s house are displays of decorative arts in 23 beautifully furnished rooms around a formal courtyard garden. Don’t miss…
Antwerp
Though relatively modest by Zurenborg standards, Les Mouettes is a classic of art nouveau architecture with its curls of wrought-iron balcony detailing.
The Ardennes
At the heart of Durbuy is this fairly modest riverside castle that dates from 1756, the medieval original having been destroyed by the ravages of Louis…
Wallonia
The small church treasury displays Ste-Waudru’s shrouds and, in a reliquary, a sword-slashed skull – supposedly of sainted Merovingian king Dagobert II…
Ghent
Ghent has three widely separated begijnhoven; Oude Begijnhof is Ghent's most central. Unlike other surviving areas, there's no remnant enclosing wall so…
Wallonia
Built by the Count of Vianden, this impressive 13th-century castle is a photographer's wonderland, with impressive stone towers, a majestic chapel and an…
Liège
Less a museum than a magnificently furnished 1755 Regency mansion with original stucco ceilings and some gilded leather ‘wallpaper’. Its highlights…
Northwest Belgium
At the southwestern corner of Markt, this imposing church was cobbled together from a 13th-century chancel and a 15th-century Brabantine Gothic tower…
West Flanders
The enduring image of poppies as a symbol of wartime sacrifice comes from the famous poem In Flanders Fields. It was written by Canadian doctor John…
Wallonia
This is a lovable and sizeable warren of fascinating city-relevant relics and ethnographic artefacts. It's all in French, but many of the cameo scenes are…
Liège
Beside the St-Lambert bus stops is this cartoonesque figure piloting a little metal aeroplane: Liège’s mascot and oldest ‘citizen’, the big-nosed wooden…
Brussels
Want to fool your friends that you saw all of Europe? Easy. Just photograph the dozens of 1:25-scale models of the continent’s top monuments at Mini…
Leuven
With its unusual interplay of brick and stone work, the exterior of this baroque former church is worth a look as you stroll by. It's now part of a…
Namur
Formerly the meat market, this 16th-century riverside building is one of few venerable structures to have survived Namur’s history of continual wartime…
Ostend
Evolving since 2001, architect Takashi Sawano has faithfully reproduced a Japanese garden just blocks from Ostend's seashore. Come to wander through its…
West Flanders
This interactive, mildly interesting cheese museum compares old and new cheesemaking techniques while a gratuitously naked Cleopatra figure takes a bath…
Ghent
This 13th-century Gothic castle has had many incarnations; it's been used as a monastery, a school, a seminary, a prison and an asylum. It also housed a…
Bruges
Follows the history of the potato from ancient Inca grave sites to the Belgian fryer. The entry fee includes a discount token for the basement frituur …
The Ardennes
Since 2013 the parliament for Belgium's German-speaking region has occupied a heavily refurbished former sanatorium building, originally dating from 1918…
Wallonia
At Ligny, against Blücher's Prussians, Napoleon won his last victory. Battle fans can visit the memorabilia-filled Musée de la Bataille, with two floors…
The Ardennes
This lovably off-beat little museum fills the banal classrooms of a 1960s former primary school with a hotchpotch of old flat irons, linens, washing…
West Flanders
This museum recounts the stories of Uilenspiegel, a villain in German folklore but a jester and freedom fighter in Flemish literature. It's in the same…
The Ardennes
It's worth checking the exhibition schedule to see what's showing at this forward-thinking little museum of contemporary art. It's tucked incongruously…
Belgian Coast
Halfway between the village and coast, you'll find this extraordinary 1956 church whose bulky pale-brick tower has an almost medieval look, except for the…
Ostend
Mu.Zee, Ostend’s foremost gallery, features predominantly local artists. There’s a significant collection by symbolist painter Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946)…
