Ghent
Thought to have been originally constructed around the 13th and 14th centuries, and reconstructed in 1595 after much savagery and repeated pillaging,…
Must-see attractions in Belgium
Wallonia
Waterloo’s most arresting sight is a steep, grassy cone topped by a massive bronze lion. It commemorates, incredibly, not victory nor the glorious dead…
Brussels
This fanciful feast of neo-Gothic arches, verdigris statues and mini-spires is bigger, darker and nearly 200 years younger than the surrounding guildhalls…
Brussels
Laboriously built between 1444 and 1480, the splendid, slightly asymmetrical Hôtel de Ville was almost the only building on the Grand Place to escape the…
Ghent
Ghent’s magnificent and flamboyant city hall was started in 1519 but not finished until 1600, by which time it had transformed into a Renaissance-style…
The Ardennes
Well worth the 1km detour if you're driving between Eupen and Verviers (turn south at Dolhain), Limbourg is one of Belgium's most delightful historic…
Northwest Belgium
Oudenaarde’s impressive market square is dominated by this gorgeous town hall, built in the secular Brabantine Gothic style. The building houses the MOU…
Brussels
Due to reopen in late 2018 after five years of restoration, the revived Africa Museum looks set to be a big draw, and a world away from its earlier dusty…
Wallonia
Though sparse on sights, this vast, unadorned 1818 citadel looms menacingly on its clifftop, offering toe-curling views high over town. The entrance price…
Musée David et Alice van Buuren
Brussels
In a 1928 art deco showpiece house you’ll find this exquisite museum, where five rooms are crammed with sublime furnishings, stained glass and top-quality…
Église Notre-Dame de la Chapelle
Brussels
Brussels’ oldest surviving church now curiously incorporates the decapitated tower of the 1134 original as the central section of a bigger Gothic edifice…
West Flanders
Once the municipal centre for weighing and storing hops, the 19th-century Stadsschaal now houses this distinctively scented museum, where you’ll learn…
Ghent
Ghent's best-loved waterfront square, the 'Wheat Market' is where you'll find some of the city's best architecture, including the former post office (now…
Ghent
Ships have been docking on either side of the River Leie since the 11th century. The area on the east bank is known as Graslei; Korenlei is on the west…
Bruges
Within the stadhuis, this hall's polychromatic ceiling almost drips with medieval carvings. Murals depicting the town's history add to the room's…
Antwerp
In a monumental neoclassical building topped with winged charioteer statues, KMSKA holds a world-class collection of artistic masterpieces. However, the…
Brussels
This mural very effectively depicts a life-sized figure teetering towards a trompe l’œil window.
Brussels
Art nouveau house with creamy tones, harmonious lines and a big circular window.
Brussels
In 1881 this superb neo-Renaissance brick-and-wrought-iron meat market was built around a curious pyramidal monument-fountain (itself built to replace a…
Brussels
Closed at the time of writing for restoration, so check in advance before visiting. A pair of East Asian pagodas form the key attractions here. Both are…
Brussels
The space-age Atomium looms 102m over north Brussels’ suburbia, resembling a steel alien from a '60s Hollywood movie. It consists of nine house-sized…
Bruges
Eye-catching with its early baroque gables, gilt highlights and golden statuettes, this was once the seat of the ‘Liberty of Bruges’, the large autonomous…
Bruges
Dominating its surrounds, this 13th-century church was reopened in 2015 after extensive renovations. Its enormous 115m spire is unmissable throughout much…
Brussels
Coudenberg Hill (now Place Royale) was the site of Brussels’ original 12th-century castle. Over several centuries this was transformed into one of Europe…
Brussels
For centuries Brussels was surrounded by a grand 8km fortress wall. It was partly demolished in the 1790s, then removed altogether on Napoleon’s orders in…
Antwerp
Opened in 2011, MAS is a 10-storey complex that redefines the idea of a museum-gallery. Floors are designed around big-idea themes using a barrage of…
Antwerp
Over two million passengers sailed from Antwerp on Red Star Line ships between 1873 and 1934, the great majority of them immigrants bound for America…
Brussels
Uniquely colourful Rue and Petite Rue des Bouchers are a pair of narrow alleys jam-packed with pavement tables, pyramids of lemons and iced displays of…
Brussels
Chansonnier Jacques Brel (1929–78) made his debut in 1952 at a cabaret in his native Belgium and shot to fame in Paris, where he was a contemporary of…
Brussels
Rue Charles Buls – Brussels’ most unashamedly touristy shopping street, lined with chocolate and trinket shops – leads the hordes three blocks from the…
Brussels
Housed in the beautifully renovated Eastman Building in Parc Léopold, this airy, elegant new museum takes you into some dark corners of European history,…
Brussels
Painted in 1991 by Frank Pé, Broussaille was the city's first giant mural and depicts a young couple arm in arm. This strip is located in Brussels' gay…
Bruges
Behind the Arentshuis, Hof Arents is a charming little park with a hump-backed pedestrian bridge, St-Bonifaciusbrug, that crosses the canal, offering…
Antwerp
Antwerp’s historic brewery is both a temple to the city’s favourite beer and an evocative example of early-20th-century industrial architecture. Self…
Brussels
This extensive forest park forms Brussels’ green lungs. It stretches from regal Ave Louise to the Forêt de Soignes, whose soaring beech trees then extend…
Brussels
A postal sorting shed doesn’t sound like an immediate tourist draw, but the Tour & Taxis complex is an architectural masterpiece, its 21st-century revamp…
Antwerp
On a riverside knoll, Het Steen is a dinky but photogenic castle dating from 1200 and occupying the site of Antwerp’s original Gallo-Roman settlement…
Antwerp
M HKA is considered to be one of Belgium's best contemporary galleries. Its exhibitions focus on work produced since the 1970s by both Belgian and…
Brussels
On the banks of the Brussels Canal, the engaged and engaging Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA) showcases contemporary art with a permanent…
Brussels
Exhibits at Brussels’ museum of cocoa and chocolate give you a quick rundown of chocolate’s history in Europe, along with chocolate’s anti-aging and…
