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Museum Plantin-MoretusThe medieval building and 1622 courtyard garden alone would be worth a visit, but it's the world's oldest printing press, priceless manuscripts and…
Must see attractions in Northeast Belgium
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RubenshuisThis delightfully indulgent 1611 mansion was built as a home and studio for celebrated painter Pieter Paul Rubens. It was rescued from ruins in 1937 and…
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Onze-Lieve-VrouwekathedraalBelgium’s finest Gothic cathedral was 169 years in the making (1352–1521). Wherever you wander in Antwerp, its gracious, 123m-high spire has a habit of…
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StadhuisFar and away Leuven’s most iconic sight, the incredible 15th-century stadhuis is a late-Gothic architectural wedding cake flamboyantly overloaded with…
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St-RomboutskathedraalThis soaring, Gothic-vaulted cathedral features a 1723 monumental pulpit, a 1630 Van Dyck crucifixion scene in the south transept, and dozens more fine…
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Bokrijk OpenluchtmuseumOne of Europe’s largest open-air museums, Bokrijk Openluchtmuseum offers a nostalgic look at Flanders’ past, with over 100 old buildings originally…
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Grote BegijnhofThis idyllic, village-like corner of Leuven would make an ideal film set for a medieval drama. The lantern-lit cobbled streets are lined with step-gabled…
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Turnhout BegijnhofHidden behind big wooden gates, one of Belgium’s loveliest begijnhoven loops round a long, narrow garden set with a grotto, church and religious statues…
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Museum Mayer van den BerghStyled as a 16th-century town house, this superb place was actually constructed in 1904 as one of the first museums in the world built around a single…
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Lier BegijnhofOriginally founded in 1258, this Unesco site is one of Belgium’s prettiest 'street' begijnhoven, a picture-perfect grid of cobbled lanes lined with…
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SpeelgoedmuseumWith 7000 sq metres of dolls, teddies, toys, games and other pastimes, the wonderful Speelgoedmuseum has lots to keep the kids busy. Meanwhile, adults can…
- Snijder-Rockoxhuis
Combining the impressive 17th-century houses of artist Frans Snijders and of Antwerp lawyer, mayor and Rubens-patron Nicolaas Rockox, this recently…
- Grote Markt
As is the case with every great Flemish city, Antwerp’s medieval heart is a classic Grote Markt (market square). Here the triangular, pedestrianised space…
- FFort Breendonk
Some 12km northwest of Mechelen, this haunting, moated prison-fort was built in 1906. However, its use as a notorious Nazi internment camp in WWII is the…
- KKMSKA
In a monumental neoclassical building topped with winged charioteer statues, KMSKA holds a world-class collection of artistic masterpieces. However, the…
- MAS
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…
- Red Star Line Museum
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…
- De Koninck
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…
- Het Steen
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…
- M HKA
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…