Must-see attractions in Northwest Belgium

  • Officials unveil the restored exterior panels of "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb", an altar piece painted by the Van Eyck brothers in 1432, at Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent on October 12, 2016. .The restoration of the exterior panels and frames started in 2012, and constitutes the first phase of restauration which will be followed by two other phases for the interior panels and is set to last until 2020. / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND        (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

    The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

    Ghent

    Art enthusiasts swarm the Sint-Baafskathedraal to glimpse The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (De Aanbidding van het Lams God), a lavish representation of…

  • Woman viewing paintings (Hugo Van der Goes - St Hippolyte's Triptich) at Groeningemuseum.

    Groeningemuseum

    Bruges

    Bruges’ most celebrated art gallery boasts an astonishingly rich collection that's strong in superb Flemish Primitive and Renaissance works, depicting the…

  • Hospital of Saint John in the winter morning in Bruges, Belgium.; Shutterstock ID 384804181; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Museum Sint-Janshospitaal

    Bruges

    In the restored chapel of a 12th-century hospital building with superb timber beamwork, this museum shows various torturous-looking medical implements,…

  • Belgium, Ghent

    Gravensteen

    Ghent

    Flanders’ quintessential 12th-century stone castle comes complete with moat, turrets and arrow slits. It’s all the more remarkable considering that during…

  • Verbeke Foundation

    Northwest Belgium

    Occupying a 12-hectare former industrial site, this is one of Europe's largest private contemporary-art initiatives. The indoor-outdoor interactive…

  • Belfort

    Bruges

    Towering 83m above the square like a gigantic medieval rocket is this fabulous 13th-century belfry. There’s relatively little to see inside, but it’s…

  • Belfort

    Ghent

    Ghent’s Unesco-listed 14th-century belfry (91m) is topped by a large dragon weathervane: he's become something of a city mascot. You’ll meet two previous…

  • MSK

    Ghent

    Styled like a Greek temple, this superb 1903 fine-art gallery introduces a veritable A–Z of great Belgian and other Low Countries' painters from the 14th…

  • St-Petrus-&-Pauluskerk

    Ostend

    Ostend’s most striking historical building features beautifully ornate twin spires, a rose window and a gloomy neo-Gothic interior. It was consecrated on…

  • Markt

    Bruges

    The heart of ancient Bruges, the old market square is lined with pavement cafes beneath step-gabled facades. The buildings aren't always quite as medieval…

  • Muur van Geraardsbergen

    Northwest Belgium

    For cycle-racing enthusiasts the name Geraardsbergen is inextricably linked with the 'Muur' (Mur de Grammont in French), a steep cobbled rise that…

  • In Flanders Fields Museum

    Ypres

    No museum gives a more balanced yet moving and user-friendly introduction to WWI history. It’s a multisensory experience combining soundscapes, videos,…

  • The Last Post

    Ypres

    Every night at 8pm, traffic through the Menin Gate is halted while buglers sound the Last Post in remembrance of the WWI dead, a moving tradition started…

  • Burg

    Bruges

    Just east of the Markt, the less theatrical but still enchanting Burg has been Bruges' administrative centre for centuries. It's in this area you'll find…

  • Centrum De Ronde van Vlaanderen

    Northwest Belgium

    Fans of the Tour of Flanders (De Ronde) – and lovers of cycling in general – shouldn't miss this state-of-the-art museum, featuring displays on the…

  • Fort Napoleon

    Ostend

    The impenetrable, pentagon-shaped Fort Napoleon is an unusually intact fortress dating from 1812, though there’s comparatively little to see inside. The…

  • Kasteel van Loppem

    Bruges

    Around 10km south of Bruges, Kasteel van Loppem is a mid-19th-century brick castle-mansion which had its moment of fame at the end of WWI when it was…

  • Begijnhof

    Bruges

    Bruges’ delightful begijnhof dates from the 13th century. Despite the hordes of summer tourists, remains a remarkably tranquil haven. Outside the 1776…

  • Menin Gate

    Ypres

    A block east of Grote Markt, the famous Menin Gate is a huge stone gateway straddling the main road at the city moat. It's inscribed with the names of 54…

  • Ramparts CWGC Cemetery

    Ypres

    One of Ypres' most attractive military graveyards, this Commonwealth War Graves Commission site is found 1km south of the Grote Markt.

  • Holy Blood Basilica in the Burg.

    Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed

    Bruges

    The western end of the stadhuis morphs into the Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed. The basilica takes its name from a phial supposedly containing a few drops…

  • Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres, Belgium

    Lakenhalle

    Ypres

    Dominating the Grote Markt, the enormous reconstructed Lakenhalle is one of Belgium’s most impressive buildings. Its 70m-high belfry has the vague…

  • Groenerei or Green Canal of Bruges, Belgium

    Brugse Vrije

    Bruges

    Eye-catching with its early baroque gables, gilt highlights and golden statuettes, this was once the seat of the ‘Liberty of Bruges’, the large autonomous…

  • BRUGES, BELGIUM - MAY 25: The Church of Our Lady is a gothic style church was built in XII - XIII century on May 25, 2011 in Bruges.; Shutterstock ID 148605974; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk

    Bruges

    Dominating its surrounds, this 13th-century church was reopened in 2015 after extensive renovations. Its enormous 115m spire is unmissable throughout much…

  • View of Town Hall of Brugge

    Stadhuis

    Bruges

    The beautiful 1420 stadhuis features a fanciful facade that’s second only to Leuven’s for exquisitely turreted Gothic excess. Inside, an audioguide…

  • Old timber houses at Hof Arents.

    Hof Arents

    Bruges

    Behind the Arentshuis, Hof Arents is a charming little park with a hump-backed pedestrian bridge, St-Bonifaciusbrug, that crosses the canal, offering…

  • BRUGES, BELGIUM - 12 august 2006 ; Choco-Story, the Chocolate Museum in Bruges, Belgium, is located in the sixteenth-century "Huis de Crone" building; Shutterstock ID 372617662; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: POI image

    Choco-Story

    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…

  • Tower in Minnewater park in Bruges, Belgium; Shutterstock ID 525022591; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: POI image

    Minnewater

    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…

  • Jeruzalemkerk

    Bruges

    Within the so-caled Adornesdomein estate is one of Bruges’ oddest churches, the 15th-century Jeruzalemkerk, built by the Adornes family. Supposedly based…

  • Sint-Baafskathedraal

    Ghent

    This cathedral's towering interior has some fine stained glass and an unusual combination of brick vaulting with stone tracery. A €0.20 leaflet guides you…

  • St-Pietersabdij

    Ghent

    Once the country’s biggest abbey, St-Pieters was the original centre around which Ghent grew. Its fabulous wealth evaporated after French revolutionary…

  • Atlantikwall Raversyde

    Ostend

    The gripping Atlantikwall is a remarkably extensive complex of WWI and WWII bunkers, gun emplacements and linking brick tunnels created by occupying…

  • Historium

    Bruges

    The Historium occupies a neo-Gothic building on the northern side of the Markt. The immersive one-hour audio and video tour aims to take you back to…

  • Ten Wijngaarde

    Bruges

    Just inside the main entrance of the begijnhof this is a charming 17th-century house now converted into an endearing little four-room museum. In the…

  • Ramparts

    Ypres

    Ypres is unusual in that it has retained extensive sections of its city fortifications. Designed by French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de…

  • Belle Epoque-weg

    Ostend

    This lesser-known residential part of Ostend was once in ill repute, but savvy homebuyers have recently snapped up its wealth of utterly charming art…

  • PAM

    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…

  • Het Zand Square

    Bruges

    Under ongoing redevelopment since 2015, ’t Zand is Bruges' largest public square and a major transport hub, fringed with shops, hotels and restaurants…

  • Kasteel Ooidonk

    Ghent

    Thought to have been originally constructed around the 13th and 14th centuries, and reconstructed in 1595 after much savagery and repeated pillaging,…

  • STAM

    Ghent

    Shoehorned into a 17th-century former nunnery-hospital complex, this fabulous, architecturally striking, ultra-modern museum does a very thorough job of…

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