Northeast Belgium
Mechelen’s begijnhof is no longer walled but retains an area of flower-strung old-city lanes with plenty of charm. The junction of Schrijnstraat and…
Must-see attractions in Belgium
Liège
In an adapted convent-cloister building, this curious museum takes visitors on an amble through the region’s past, exploring everything from 12th-century…
Northeast Belgium
Designed for kids and teenagers but fascinating for those of all ages, Technopolis is one of Belgium’s best science museums, with dozens of hands-on…
Belgium
This vast suburban forest about a 40-minute drive from Brussels is a botanical cathedral of glorious towering beech trees. Many were planted by proto…
Église Collégiale St-Barthélemy
Liège
This large Rhenish-style church has twin Saxon-style towers and a cream-and-cerise exterior. It houses a famous 1118 baptismal font that’s one of the…
Northeast Belgium
Ringed by a reflective moat, picture-perfect, medieval Kasteel van Horst enjoys a delightful rural setting. The interior is undergoing long-term…
Wallonia
Sitting on partly covered truck wagons in this enjoyable 75-minute excursion, you’re driven several kilometres past and through woodland and meadow…
Northeast Belgium
This working collection of four 1930s mechanical wonders is charmingly old-fashioned if far too slow-paced for most modern attention spans. The highlight…
Wallonia
Head through the Hôtel de Ville on the Grand Place to reach this museum, dedicated to Mons' riotous Doudou festival. All aspects of this curious event, as…
Antwerp
An astounding 80% of the world's uncut diamonds are traded in Antwerp. Four dour exchange buildings lie along heavily guarded Hoveniersstraat and…
Bruges
This appealing Museum of Folk Life presents visitors with 18 themed tableaux illustrating Flemish life in times gone by – a 1930s sweets shop, a hatter’s…
Wallonia
Set in a former convent, this place tells the story of Dinant's most famous creation, Leffe beer, first brewed in the Abbaye de Leffe back in 1240…
Wallonia
With origins in the 7th century, but destroyed post–French Revolution in 1794, this atmospheric monastery is a mixture of picturesque ruins, surviving…
Northeast Belgium
Celebrating Turnhout’s role as one of the world’s largest producers of playing cards (1.3 million packs per day), this extensive museum displays a range…
Wallonia
Laid out in 1758 around the manor house of Charles-Alexis de Montpellier, these gardens are a delightful mix of French, Italian and English styles,…
Ostend
Once a vibrant fishing village, Walraversijde disappeared entirely following the strife of 1600 to 1604, leaving mere foundations. Today the…
The Ardennes
Spa had the 'world’s first’ casino in 1763, and the 19th-century incarnation here now forms part of a grand central trio of neoclassical buildings, along…
Ghent
The Romanesque twin towers of this iconic church date from the 12th century but the church itself has undergone numerous expansions, renovations and…
The Ardennes
Huy's quaint little city museum occupies rooms set off a very picturesque 1669 cloister that's open to visitors even outside official opening hours…
Liège
At 118m, Tour Paradis is one of Belgium's tallest skyscrapers, a sleekly gleaming sail of blue glass. However, it's full of accountant-bureaucrats who…
Mardasson American War Memorial
The Ardennes
In a pretty area of woods and fields 1.5km northeast of Bastogne's Pl St-Pièrre, this large WWII memorial is shaped as a circle within a five-pointed star…
Ghent
Once the city’s forum for public meetings and executions, this large square is named for its Friday market (still held). Tempting cafés sit beneath step…
Wallonia
Off the Grand Place, a stone archway leads to this 15th-century castle, which has been much damaged, altered and renovated over the years. It's the…
Leuven
Just off the main inner ring road around 800m northwest of Leuven train station, this world-famous, highly automated brewery offers mostly group tours,…
Bruges
Founded in 1856, though there has been a brewery on the site since 1564, this is the last family brouwerij (brewhouse) in central Bruges. Multilingual, 45…
Wallonia
This airy gallery was designed by art nouveau maestro Victor Horta. Though the interior and display halls are in need of a pep-up, it has a rich…
Bruges
Stacked sub-towers top the massive central tower of 13th-century St Saviour’s Cathedral. In daylight the construction looks somewhat dour, but once…
Brussels
The Domain Royale contains a trio of palace-villas that are home to Belgium’s ruling family. All are out of bounds to tourists, but for two or three weeks…
Brussels
Notice the hop plants climbing columns here! At the former brewers' guildhall, which is still the Belgian brewers’ headquarters, two atmospheric but small…
Brussels
Architecture fans should take the trip to this striking, symmetrical, 1930s villa, which combines austere design with gorgeously opulent materials: marble…
Ghent
To admire Ghent’s towers and gables at their most photogenic, stand just west of the little Grasbrug bridge over the Leie at dusk. It’s a truly gorgeous…
Brussels
A great highlight of an ARAU tour is getting into the otherwise closed Hôtel Van Eetvelde. While the outside of this building is not Brussels’ most…
The Ardennes
Even when it's closed, it's still worth seeking out this tiny gallery for its photogenic setting – an old stone house draped with flowers and creepers in…
Ghent
Set in a restored 1363 children’s hospice complex, this delightful museum examines everyday life from the 1890s to the present, with a fabulous emphasis…
Bruges
Admission to this small historical church-hospital complex is free with a St-Janshospitaal museum ticket. Ring the bell to gain entry and you’ll find fine…
Brussels
Built in 1905, this stunning house was the home of architect and painter Paul Cauchie (1875–1952), and its sgraffito facade, adorned with graceful female…
Northeast Belgium
Hoogstraten's fabulous belfry is an enormous 105m-tall red-brick edifice picked out with dots of white-stone detail in a style known as speklagen. Dating…
Ghent
A vast toilet-roll sculpture humorously marks the back side of this museum, which has a collection specialising in furnishings including baroque, art…
Brussels
The square’s smallest building, surmounted by a star, is where city hero Everard ’t Serclaes died in 1388. A fairly contemporary ‘tradition’ claims you’ll…
Antwerp
Founded in 1843, Antwerp Zoo is one of the world’s oldest and best-respected zoological parks. Enclosures in the 10-hectare site are state of the art and…
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