Izzybits

I am planning a trip for March for a two week trip to Belgium & Luxembourg. Most of the trip will be spent touring battlefields & memorials. I want to round this out with one art museum (about all my husband can stand!). My first choice would be Impressionists, second Old Masters. Which museum would you recommend?

Also, are there any hotels comparable to the Paradores in Spain where you can stay in a cool historic building? If so, have you ever stayed in one and was it comfortable? Thank you!

lotje

belgium has an awful lot of fine art museums, and the one I would recommend would be the KMSK (www.fine-arts-museum.be) in Brussels.
It is on top the the "mont des arts", from which you have a nice view over downtown brussels and its huge collection goes from the 15th century to modern art.

you could check on the website www.relaischateaux.com for hotels and restaurants that are top in several countries - they have not the same feel as paradores however.
there are several castles in belgium and luxembourg where you can stay as well; i am sure the belgian tourist information will be able to provide you with a brochure.

Ann1

I highly recommend the musical instrument museum in Brussels. It's a break from the ordinary. On the top floor overlooking the city (possibly not open in March)is a wonderful cafe.

Michael

If art nouveau interests you, go see the Horta museum which is the private house he built for himself--it is the ultimate in art nouveau. The comicbook museum is also housed in a turn of the century building.

BTilke

Scratching my head here, but I can't think of any Belgian art museum with a particularly good collection of Impressionists...but if you are in Belgium, it's VERY easy to catch a 1.5 hour Thalys down to Paris to pop into the Musee d'Orsay or Marmottan and feast your eyes on all the Impressionist greats!
My favorite Belgian museum is the Groeninge in Brugge. Just the right size--plenty of paintings to see but not so many you're overwhelmed. Plus the guards there are fairly relaxed and don't freak out if you get very close to the painting (no touching of course).
Best bet though, is to pick up a copy of The Bulletin, an English weekly newsmag published in Brussels. Flip to the What's On section and see if there are any temporary art exhibits in Brussels or Antwerp that catch your eye. Brussels has tons of temporary exhibits passing through, some very interesting.
Also, if you're in Brussels, think about taking in Batibouw, the largest home show in Europe. You can see everything imaginable for a Euro home--except screens for the windows ;-)
Not like your typical hot tub and replacement windows home show. It's an amazing display, they have entire homes built on site that you can tour. Also plenty of cafes on site serving espresso and Belgian beer. (FYI, the name Batibouw is an amalgam of the French and Dutch words for building/construction).
As for hotels, where do you plan to stay? Which city?
BTilke (Brussels)

USNR

We found the museum of fine arts in Antwerp to be splendid. Be sure to rent the tape/earphones guide. We were strangers to Antwerp and the trolley driver helped us get off at the right corner and gave us directions from there to the art museum. We found Antwerp to be extremely interesting and hospitable. Great food, too!

jsmith

I know it's not Belgium but the following is a quote form an article on Lille from the Times. You can find the address for the article by searching for Lille or by my name.

"A short walk from here brings you to the Palais des Beaux-Arts, the second most important museum in France after the Louvre. It is monumental and, unlike the old town, unmistakably French. As well as being the permanent home of priceless Flemish and Dutch masters, plus many Goyas and French impressionist works, the Palais will be staging a Rubens retrospective, the biggest single exhibition on the Lille 2004 calendar (March 6-June 14; closed Monday morning and Tuesday; 03 20 06 78 00)."

Lille is Flemish France and not too far distant from Ypres in Belgium if you plan on visiting the battlefields in the area. We took an excellent WWI battlefield tour with Quasimodo from Brugge.

Izzybits

Thank you for all of the good suggestions.

In answer to the question where we are staying, we have not booked any rooms yet. Usually we only book one or two nights in advance for "special" hotels and for the other nights just show up in town and look for a middle of the road hotel room. I have heard that it is good to find a room in Belgium before 4:00 in the afternoon because they fill up.

jacolis

Hi,

I used to live in Brussels second the opinion of the poster who recommended the Victor Horta museum and the comic book museum.

I enjoyed some of the art museums in Antwerp (esp. Rembrandthuis) and Bruges (Groeningen as already mentioned).

For impresionist museums I would think of Paris (e.g. Jardin des tuileries where they have Monet's waterlillies). For the Flemish masters I think the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has a fabulous collection.

If you are interested in touring battlefields, I took a very interesting tour of Vimy Ridge in Northern France (near the town of Arras; not far from Lille). I also recommend Bastogne (in Belgium) and Waterloo (just outside Brussels).

MyriamC

Jacolis,
I think you meant to say the Rubenshuis in Antwerp instead of Rembrandthuis which, as far as I know, is in Amsterdam.