Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire Militaire
Brussels
Extensive displays of weaponry, uniforms, vehicles, warships, paintings and documentation dating from the medieval period through to Belgian independence…
Must-see attractions in Belgium
Brussels
The Pavillon Chinois is a Léopold II leftover, built after he saw similar at the 1890 Paris World's Fair. It is a gloriously glittering structure and…
Brussels
Autoworld displays one of Europe’s biggest ensembles of vintage and 20th-century cars. Among all the four-wheelers, notice the Harley Davidson the present…
Église St-Jean-Baptiste au Béguinage
Brussels
This soaring 1657 Flemish baroque masterpiece was designed by Luc Fayd’Herbe, a student of Rubens. It’s often cited as Belgium’s most beautiful church and…
Antwerp
Closed for renovation until late 2020, Antwerp's fashion museum has a rich avant-garde collection and typically produces exhibitions highlighting the…
Brussels
A splendid art nouveau building designed in 1902 by Jules Brunfaut and graced by stone friezes and stained glass. The house isn't open to the public, but…
Brussels
The archers' guildhall features a golden phoenix rising from the ashes, which signifies the rebirth of the Grand Place after its bombardment by the French…
Brussels
Squatting just off Rue des Bouchers, this pigtailed female counterpart of Manneken Pis is the work of sculptor Denis Adrien Debouvrie, who installed her…
Brussels
The lovely butchers' guildhall, featuring a carved swan above the door, hosted Karl Marx in 1847. Ironically, it’s now home to the Grand Place's finest…
Église Notre-Dame du Finistère
Brussels
To escape the lacklustre '70s architecture, meditate awhile in this 18th-century church whose baroque interior features a remarkable 1758 altarpiece, its…
Brussels
Looking east along Rue Royale, your gaze is unavoidably drawn to this very distinctive octagonal 19th-century church in neo-Byzantine style, replete with…
Statue of Godefroid (Godefroy) de Bouillon
Brussels
The bold equestrian statue at the centre of Place Royale depicts Godefroid (Godefroy) de Bouillon, the crusader knight who very briefly became the first…
Brussels
The Parc de Laeken starts opposite the Domaine Royal and stretches to the Atomium. Dotted with chestnut and magnolia trees, its focal point is Léopold I's…
Brussels
Entry includes a beer supped amid barrels and delightfully antiquated wooden brewers’ tools: with the BrusselsCard it’s a great opportunity for a free…
Antwerp
Four matching corner houses face off across a Zurenborg junction, with glaze-brick exteriors enlivened by fine mosaic work and triangular protruding box…
Audrey Hepburn's Childhood Home
Brussels
In 1929, My Fair Lady screen superstar Audrey Hepburn was born to a Dutch mother in Brussels. The exterior of their home has a commemorative plaque.
Brussels
The official residence of the Belgian royal family, this grandly symmetrical palace was acquired by Napoleon for Josephine. It is not open to the public.
Brussels
Boxed in on three sides and incongruously dwarfed by the back of a Novotel Hotel, this tower is an ivy-draped remnant of Brussels’ original city wall.
Brussels
The city's striking modern library is a beautifully designed space, containing a small museum about books and printing, and a top-floor cafeteria.
Brussels
Steep-sloping Parc Léopold was Brussels Zoo until 1880 and now forms an unexpectedly pleasant oasis, hidden away just behind the EU Parliament.
Brussels
The grease-makers' guildhall has faint gold wheelbarrows above the door. The statue of St-Gilles (the grease-makers' patron) was added in 1912.
Brussels
On the edge of the Domaine Royal, Tour Japonaise is used for temporary Japanese art exhibitions. Closed for restoration at the time of writing.
The Ardennes
The once-gigantic church of the Stavelot-Malmédy prince-abbots was destroyed in the aftermath of the French Revolution. But behind the archaeological…
Brussels
In this mural a tetchy-looking Manneken Pis gazes up at his pediment, from which he has been displaced by a grinning, peeing bear.
Brussels
Perhaps as you'd expect, the cabinet-makers' guildhall is incredibly ornate. It takes its name from the sign above the door.
Brussels
Deceased Belgian royals are laid to rest in the crypt of the splendid, triple-spired stone church of Notre-Dame de Laeken.
Brussels
You can feed the ducks in the pretty tree-lined pond surrounded by greenery and a smattering of art nouveau architecture.
Brussels
Surmounted by a tall granite tower topped by a bronze statue of St-Micheal, the fountain commemorates a former mayor.
Brussels
An 1893 house was designed by prominent art nouveau architect Paul Hankar (1859–1901) as his own studio.
Brussels
The boatmen's guildhall, fittingly, has a stern-shaped gable. Its name refers to the horn on its facade.
Brussels
This 1904 private house has circular windows, super stained glass and a lovely 2nd-floor balcony.
Brussels
Victor Hugo lived here at the artists' guildhall during a part of his exile from France in 1852.
Brussels
Admire the crazy wrought-iron railings on this otherwise stern private art nouveau house.
Brussels
A glass elevator leads from the Palais du Justice down to the earthy Marolles district.
Brussels
Features archetypal art nouveau circular window-tops and little owls over the door.
Brussels
The crenellated white-stone facade of this prison imitates a Crusades-era fortress.
