Bruges
Known in English as the 'Lake of Love', the Minnewater harks back to Bruges' medieval heyday. This waterway was once a dock; ships from as far afield as…
Must-see attractions in Northwest Belgium
Northwest Belgium
This museum of archaeology and local history occupies a site that in AD 925 was one of three main defences along the border between pre-medieval France…
Bruges
In the 1990s, when excavating for the foundations of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, workers literally hit a wall. This wall, it turned out, belonged to the 10th…
Bruges
The museum takes its name from the flower-and-herb mixture (gruut) that used to flavour beer before the cultivation of hops. The romantic heraldic…
Ostend
One might expect this museum, occupying a house that hosted Napoleon in 1798 and Belgian royals from 1834–1850, to be a little more grandiose and exciting…
Ghent
This mishmash of a natural history museum is aimed primarily at school kids. Meet Pterygotus (a man-sized prehistoric lobster), walk through a human body…
Ghent
Originally the residence of the Count of Flanders and the birthplace of Charles V in 1500, the Prinsenhof was a walled castle with 300 rooms, a zoo and a…
Northwest Belgium
Combining the local tourist office and the former Manneken-Pismuseum, this compact museum has a variety of multimedia introductions to the trades and…
Ypres
This unexpectedly fascinating museum celebrates the ribbon-making industry, Comines’ economic mainstay since 1719. On weekends, passionate, knowledgeable…
Ghent
This 7700-sq-metre garden and hot-garden with more than 1500 plants (plus live bird spiders) has a broader age appeal than its sister museum, the House…
Belgian Coast
Fringed by a weathered tangle of knotted sand dunes, this seemingly endless stretch of white sand is actually only 4km-long, including a popular nudist…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 …
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…
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)…
Ghent
Ghent's attachment to graffiti as an art form began in this central alley, known locally as Graffitistraatje. The website has a live map showing the…
Bruges
It's believed that the world's first stock exchange began in and around this 13th-century house. It's not open to the public, but the space is used for…
Bruges
The statue of Hans Memling was erected in 1874. The Flemish Primitive artist is buried in St Gilliskerk, a few blocks further north.
West Flanders
Behind the Grote Markt’s southeast corner, St-Niklaaskerk has a bulky 13th-century tower that you can climb for good summer views, plus a small exhibit on…
Ghent
This statue of the creators of Ghent's world-renowned Adoration of the Mystic Lamb was unveiled here for the 1913 World Expo.
West Flanders
The 15th-century Spaans Paviljoen (Spanish Pavilion) was Veurne’s town hall before being commandeered as a garrison for Spanish officers during Habsburg…
Ypres
This decent little gallery is set in a three-storey 1555 almshouse complex. Exhibitions change regularly but usually feature 19th-century paintings.
Godshuis St-Jozef & De Meulenaere
Bruges
The Godshuis St-Jozef and De Meulenaere almshouses offer one of the city's most spacious oases of calm; enter via the green door.
Belgian Coast
The Seafront's main attractions are a parked Russian submarine and a lightship (sister to one in Antwerp).
Ypres
A single small chapel room featuring some unexpectedly high-quality medieval art, mostly religious.
Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial
West Flanders
Located within the Messines Ridge British Cemetary is this tribute to New Zealand's war dead.
