Festraets Studio

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 of a 45-minute visit is the hourly striking of the main clock by a little Grim Reaper. Do stay on to watch the departure soon after of an Antwep-bound ocean-liner model pulling out of New York harbour into a stormy Atlantic.

You'll need the code from a TrudoPas to get in, available from the nearby Begijnhofkerk.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northeast Belgium attractions

1. Begijnhofkerk

0.03 MILES

The 1258 Begijnhofkerk is fascinating for its wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling and the contrast between sparse elements of contemporary art and the 38…

2. Abdijtoren

0.46 MILES

This unrefined seven-storey tower is the most significant remnant of the former St-Trudo abbey church, dating partly from the 11th century but left as a…

3. Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk

0.51 MILES

From the 7th century, the relics of the local saint named St-Trudo made Sint-Truiden a major medieval pilgrimage centre. These relics are now housed in…

4. Stadhuis

4 MILES

Opposite St-Leonarduskerk, the old town hall building is a 19th-century faux-medieval delight with majestic pre-Raphaelite murals in the ground-floor hall…

5. St-Leonarduskerk

4.04 MILES

Partly dating to the 13th century, St-Leonarduskerk is topped with a fanciful tower reminiscent of a galleon’s crow’s nest. Miraculously, given Zoutleeuw…

6. Nationaal Jenevermuseum

10.02 MILES

Hasselt has been at the centre of the jenever (gin) industry since the 17th century, and this beautifully restored 19th-century distillery houses a…

7. Grimde Necropolis

10.36 MILES

Push open the door of this 13th-century former church and you'll see not pews but the flower-decked graves of 145 brave Belgians who died in August 1914…

8. Drie Tumuli

10.39 MILES

The most unique evocation of Tienen's rich Roman heritage is this trio of grave mounds commemorating Marcus Probius Burrus. Left overgrown for a century…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "belgium/sint-truiden/attractions/festraets-studio/a/poi-sig/1262214/1325740",
      "destination": "Northeast-Belgium",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Belgium",
      "region": "Northeast-Belgium",
      "position": "superzone"
    }