Ghent
The imposing and beautiful St Anne's church was designed by architect Louis Roelandt in 1851 but never completed in the true Byzantine-style he envisioned…
Must-see attractions in Northwest Belgium
West Flanders
A classical 17th-century farmstead houses this delightful museum that comprehensively examines baking from grain production to speculaas (a type of…
Ypres
Unrelated to WWI, this museum faithfully reproduces a French manor house dating from 1774 and is filled with period antiques and artworks. The catch: it's…
Belgian Coast
This cute popular theme park is based around Belgian TV character Plop the gnome and his friends. It's a kid-pleasing world of rides, roller coasters and…
Bruges
This stately 18th-century patrician house displays the powerful paintings and dark-hued etchings of Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956), a Bruges-born artist of…
Ghent
Dotted with half-hidden restaurants, enchanting Patershol is a web of twisting cobbled lanes. Its old-world houses were once home to leather tradesmen and…
Ostend
Most of the beachfront is overshadowed by 10-storey concrete buildings, but beside the very ‘50s Thermae Palace Hotel there's some respite where a…
West Flanders
Promising seven centuries in one day, this modern multimedia ‘experience’ museum delves deep into the background events leading up to the Battle of the…
West Flanders
Kortrijk's curved central square is scarred by insensitive 20th-century constructions, but the slightly leaning, multi-spired brick belfort (belfry)…
Ghent
Ghent’s highly regarded Museum of Contemporary Art is one of Belgium's largest. Works from its 3000-strong permanent collection (dating from 1939 to the…
West Flanders
This iconic pair of three-storey fortress towers guards a picturesque arched stone bridge across the River Leie in central Kortrijk. Last reminders of a…
Ghent
Located in the village of Laarne, 10km to the east of Ghent, you'll find this impressive moated castle dating to the 12th century. Visits are by guided…
Ostend
This fully rigged, three-masted 1932 sailing ship was once used for Belgian Navy training purposes and is now a nautical museum that hosts changing…
West Flanders
Small but utterly delightful, Kortrijk’s enclosed begijnhof is as charming a cluster of whitewashed old terraced houses as you could hope to find. Enter…
Bruges
The 13th-century former market halls occupy a rectangular building at the base of the Belfort, only 44m across but 84m deep. The halls have been at the…
Ypres
Directly behind the Lakenhalle, this vast church was a cathedral until 1797 and was almost totally destroyed in WWI. Reconstruction has beautifully…
West Flanders
Echoing with wistful music, this church has a gilt sunburst altarpiece, heraldic panels in the 1373 St-Catherinekapel and features Van Dyck’s 1631…
Bruges
The enlightening Domestic Lamp Museum has over 6500 artefacts relating to domestic lighting throughout history, making it the largest collection of its…
Universiteit Gent Botanical Garden
Ghent
Home to more than 10,000 species, the pièce de résistance of Ghent's 2.75-hectare botanic gardens is its glasshouses, which contain an impressive…
West Flanders
The 13th-century Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk was vastly expanded in the village’s heyday, only to be partially torn down in 1725 when it (and its maintenance…
West Flanders
The 1628 octagonal belfort (belfry), a Unesco World Heritage site, rises behind the 17th-century former courthouse building. It now houses a helpful…
Museum-Gallery XPO Salvador Dali
Bruges
Located within the Belfort, this small gallery has one of the largest private collections of work (primarily sketches, painting and sculpture) of the…
West Flanders
Diksmuide's imposing Saint Nicholas Church anchors the Markt and is a great backdrop for your Flanders Fields photo album. The church was almost…
Ostend
The last Ostend trawler to have fished around Iceland (1970s) is brought to life with waxwork figures, videos and sound effects. Highlights include the…
Bruges
Originally built around 1420, St James' Church was significantly expanded into its present structure in 1459, but it wasn't until the late 17th and early…
Belgian Coast
One of the largest marinas in northern Europe. Come here to gaze at the tall masts bobbing on the water, or to hook up with a skipper for local cruises,…
West Flanders
The noble 83m tower that adds such finesse to the Kortrijk skyline belongs to this mostly 15th-century Gothic church, built on the site of St-Eloi’s 7th…
Ypres
This excellent visitors centre should be your first port of call if you're a Commonwealth citizen looking for information about a family member who died…
Belgian Coast
De Hann's circular park is located at the heart of the village and features a playground, tennis courts and manicured lawns perfect for picnicking and…
Belgian Coast
Incorporating the Scharpoord Gallery, Knokke's excellent Culture Centre hosts a diverse year-round range of visiting exhibitions and events, many of them…
West Flanders
The imposing Sint-Janskerk’s ‘miraculous’ little Virgin-and-Child statuette reputedly brought a stillborn child to life in 1479.
Bruges
Stand atop the 20th-century stone Bonifacius bridge, itself amply photogenic, for lovely vistas of the canal and surrounds.
Ypres
This grand-scale high-adrenaline amusement park is the perfect place to give the kids a break from the histories of war.
Bruges
The church of St Anne features a plain Gothic exterior which belies its flamboyant baroque interior.
Bruges
This 17th-century Roman Catholic church was built by the Jesuits in the baroque style.
Bruges
This highly absorbing chocolate museum traces the cocoa bean back to its role as an Aztec currency. Learn about choco history, watch a video on cocoa…
