352 Best Sights in Belgium

This sprawling medieval hospital complex and convent was founded in the 13th century, making it one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. Over the years, it had numerous expansions, with a farm added in the 16th and 17th centuries, and until 1980 it served as an old people's home. It has since been restored, with audio tours available. An herb garden, a beautiful chapel, and some terrifying examples (and illustrations) of medical equipment paint a fascinating portrait of the time. 

The museum itself comprises several settings, with its interior largely devoted to everyday 20th-century household items lovingly preserved. The courtyard features 18 medieval almshouses surrounding a garden, reconstructed to offer an idea of life here 100 years ago. The visitors' route takes you from the houses to the chapel and out through the crypt. Children are often drawn to the giant pageant figures, board games, and frequent shows in the beamed-and-brick puppet theater, where the star is "Pierke," the traditional Gent puppet. Tickets to shows can be bought at Uitbureau.

The powerful interactive displays in the In Flanders Fields Museum preserve the terrors of trench warfare and the memory of those who died in nearby fields. The museum focuses on World War I, but expands to the universal theme of war. Computer screens, sound effects, scale models, and videos realistically portray the weapons, endless battles, and numerous casualties of the area’s wars. Each visitor receives a “smart card” with details of a soldier or civilian and follows that person’s fortunes throughout the war. The museum is housed on the second floor of the magnificent Lakenhallen (Cloth Hall) on the Grote Markt, a copy of the original 1304 building. If you climb the 264 steps in the square belfry, the view of turrets, towns, and fields seems endless. There are smart cards and other information in English. The museum also maintains casualty databases, which can be used by the public.

Of the 3,000 or so castles found in Belgium, Ooidonk still numbers among the most eye-catching. It stands on the site of a 13th-century fortress that was destroyed when Ghent rose up against the Habsburg ruler Maximilian I. It was, again, razed during the social upheavals of the 1500s, before its transformation into a residential estate by the wealthy Antwerp merchant Martin della Faille. In doing so, its Hispanic-French architecture broke away from the “murder holes” and pragmatism of the early Middle Ages, adding Renaissance flourishes like its “onion” towers. It has been in the family of owners Count and Countess t'Kint de Roodenbeke since 1864, and they still live in residence. For part of the year, the castle interior can be visited on guided tours (April–October), revealing magnificent tapestries, antiques, and artworks; the rest of the time you can only visit the park and gardens, though these are sufficiently grand to make the trek worthwhile. The best way to reach the castle is to walk, or cycle, the 6-km (4-mile) riverside trail from Deinze.

Beersel Castle floats on the waters of its moat like some medieval bath toy. It's a wonderful sight and one of the country's best-preserved châteaux. It was built around 1420, though fell foul of the 1489 rebellion against the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and was subsequently rebuilt. Its moat, drawbridge, and battlements are some of the finest examples of medieval architecture in Belgium. It has been undergoing renovations since the early 2000s; now visitors can explore freely.

Originally built in 1240, Gaasbeek has had numerous makeovers, though its current Romantic look hails from its last remodeling by the Marchioness Arconati Visconti in the 19th century. She refurbished the castle as a museum to stash her vast collection of mainly 17th- and 18th-century artworks and furniture, before gifting it all to the state in 1921 to run. This includes the odd bizarre find, including the last will and testament of the artist Peter Paul Rubens. Having undergone a three-year renovation, the museum and castle finally reopened in 2023, and it's worth arriving for the first Friday of the month when late-night opening means you can wander the Gallery Hall until 10 pm. The gardens only open between May and October but are well worth a visit; look out especially for the early Baroque walled French garden, which has a staircase affording fine views of the castle. The museum closes over winter, but the rest of the park grounds are open to visitors and picnickers year-round.

If the Grand Place stands for old money, the Marolles neighborhood stands for old—and current—poverty. Times are changing, but the area still has some raffish charm. This was once home to the workers who produced the luxury goods for which Brussels was once famous. As that industry faded, immigrants, mostly from North Africa and Turkey, made homes here. The hugely popular daily Vieux Marché (flea market) at the place du Jeu de Balle sells clothing, bric-a-brac, plain junk, and the occasional gem. Trendy shops are found on the surrounding Rue Haute and Rue Blaes.  Keep in mind that despite improvements, this area can be pretty sketchy at night.

An eclectic wonder of a museum spread over a pair of gabled 17th-century houses. Its rooms narrate a life gone by in Tournai. Some items seem almost inconsequential, but when added together they paint a fascinating picture, as subjects skip from death, printing (Tintin publisher Casterman was based in Tournai), porcelain, and hats, to dog wheels (yes, there’s a canine-powered butter churner), football memorabilia, Belgium's first frites stall, and plenty more. 

Despite drawing sightseers for centuries, the minuscule statue of the peeing boy may leave you underwhelmed. The first mention of the Manneken dates from 1377, and he's said to symbolize what Belgians think of the authorities. The "original" version was commissioned from noted sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy in 1619 to replace the old stone one, though what is on display now is a copy. This earlier version was once seized by French soldiers, and to quell local unrest caused by this act, King Louis XV of France presented the Manneken Pis with a gold-embroidered suit, thus starting a bizarre trend. The statue now has more than 1,000 costumes (the safe-sex outfit is truly remarkable!) for ceremonial occasions, and it even has its own personal dresser. 

You can see a selection of the statue's many outfits at the GardeRobe Manneken Pis museum at nearby 19 Rue du Chêne.

Used as a marketplace since AD 958, this square is still one of the liveliest places in Bruges. In the center stands a memorial to the city's medieval heroes, Jan Breydel and Pieter De Coninck, who led the commoners of Flanders to their short-lived victory over the aristocrats of France. On the east side of the Markt stand the provincial government house and the former post office, an excellent pastiche of Burgundian Gothic. Old guild houses line the west and north sides of the square, their step-gabled facades overlooking the cafés spilling out onto the sidewalk. These buildings aren't always as old as they seem, though—often they're 19th-century reconstructions. The medieval Belfort (Belfry) on the south side of the Markt, however, is the genuine article. The tower dates from the 13th century, its crowning octagonal lantern to the 15th century. Altogether, it rises to a height of 270 feet, commanding the city and the surrounding countryside with more presence than grace. The valuables of Bruges were once kept in the second-floor treasury; now the Belfort's riches are in its remarkable 47-bell carillon, which rings even truer thanks to the new bells it was given in 2010. (Impressing Belgians with a carillon is no mean feat, as Belgium has some of the best in the world.) However, their playlist can be a little limited, and after listening to at least a half dozen renditions of "It's a Long, Long way to Tipperary," you might wish that they'd skimped on the quality a little. If you haven't walked enough, you can climb 366 winding steps to the clock mechanism, and from the carillon enjoy a gorgeous panoramic view. At the base of the belfry is a gallery containing a permanent collection of sketches and watercolors by (of all people) Salvador Dalí. Back in the square, you may be tempted by the horse-drawn carriages that congregate here; a half-hour ride for up to five people, with a short stop at the Begijnhof, costs €60 plus "something for the horse."

In Zonnebeke, 10 km (6 miles) east from Ypres (take the N37) this museum is, simply put, a must-see. It houses the largest public collection of World War I memorabilia in western Flanders. Weapons, uniforms, documents, and photographs re-create the tragedy of the Third Battle of Ypres. You can even smell the different types of poison gas that were used. The cellar holds a realistic reconstruction of a dugout, a subterranean camp that lodged soldiers during the war; it was, according to one of them, “one of the most disgusting places I ever lived in.”

About 100 yards east of the Grote Markt, the Menenpoort is among the most moving of war memorials. It was built near the old Menin gate, along the route Allied soldiers took toward the front line. Troops on the “Menin road” endured brutal, insistent German artillery attacks; one section was dubbed “Hellfire Corner.” After World War I, the British built the vast arch in memory of the 300,000 soldiers who perished in this corridor. The names of some 55,000 soldiers who died before August 15, 1917, and whose bodies were missing, are inscribed. Since 1928, every night at 8, traffic is stopped at the Menin gate as the Last Post is blown on silver bugles, gifts of the British Legion. The practice was interrupted during World War II, but it was resumed the night Polish troops liberated the town, September 6, 1944. Be sure to witness this truly breathtaking experience.

This superb museum, set in an old water pumping station, views the history of Mons through the lens of the many battles fought over the city. You can't miss the M4 Sherman tank parked outside, with the words "In the mood" scrawled across its hull. It commemorates the day Allied forces rolled into town in 1944, when Mons became the first Belgium city to be liberated from German occupation in World War II. Certainly, for the past 500 years, Europe has been very much "in the mood" to fight over Mons. The museum chronicles this in dramatic detail, though the most engaging displays come from the 20th-century conflicts, where weapons, uniforms, memorabilia, and even VR experiences (there is a thrilling 360-degree re-creation of liberation day) immerse you in one of the darkest times in European history. 

This is one of Belgium's finer art museums, and its temporary exhibitions are usually exceptional. Built in 1902 at the edge of Citadelpark, the Neoclassical Museum of Fine Arts (or Museum voor Schone Kunsten) has holdings that span the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, including works by Rubens, Géricault, Corot, Ensor, and Magritte. Its collection of Flemish Primitive painters is particularly noteworthy, with two paintings by Hieronymus Bosch: Saint Jerome and Christ Carrying the Cross. It also has a fine collection of sculpture and French painting. When panels from the Ghent Altarpiece go for restoration, they are done here, with visitors able to see the restorers at work.

This UNESCO-recognized endeavor tells a little-known story. At the dawn of the 20th century, a pair of human-rights lawyers, Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine (Belgium's only Nobel Peace Prize winner), had the idea for a paper database of all knowledge. They called it the Mundaneum. By 1972 it held 12 million bibliographic records (index cards). The building is now a fascinating museum. 

By the late Middle Ages, Tournai was a wealthy bishopric and a fine prize for any European superpower. It's no surprise that its history is one of constant siege and invasion, as it swapped French, British, Spanish, Austrian, and German rulers for much of the past 500 years. As such, this unassuming two-floor military museum is the finest source of history on the city, backed by weapons and uniforms from the ages. Strangely, the 18th and 19th centuries remain untranslated, but most exhibits are in English, and coverage of the wars of the 20th century are superb, particularly the German and Allied bombing campaigns that leveled the city in 1940, 1943, and 1944. Photography from that era shows just how much of Tournai has been rebuilt.

The largest and most impressive photography museum in Belgium (and perhaps Europe) lies in the inauspicious fringes of Charleroi, in Mont-sur-Marchienne. It resides in a neo-Gothic former Carmelite convent, though a new wing was built to extend it farther. The permanent exhibition extends across some 800 photographs, tracing the history of photography in Belgium and beyond, while another section delves into optical illusions and tricks of the trade. Temporary exhibitions take up the rest of the space. Buses to Mont-sur-Marchienne go from outside Charleroi Sud. 

Located in a handsome 18th-century town house, this museum contains a large collection of medieval and Renaissance art, the undoubted highlight of which is the Trésor Hugo d’Oignies. When you enter the small exhibition room containing these pieces, you will be immediately engaged by the sight of glowing glass cases of brightly lit gold and bejeweled objets d’art. This prize collection of crosses, medallions, reliquaries, and other religious artifacts is considered one of the seven treasures of Belgium. The relics were created by Brother Hugo d’Oignies for the monastery in nearby Oignies in the first half of the 13th century. Between the French Revolution and World War II, the collection was protected by the Sisters of Notre Dame. Look for a tiny portable altar, once belonging to Cardinal Jacques de Vitry, and a book of gospels containing parchment painted with gold leaf.

Even the building is a work of art. Opened in 1928, this museum was designed by Victor Horta, doyen of the Art Nouveau movement, though war interrupted the original commission and by the time he returned to it, his tastes had shifted to a more sober Art Deco style. The airy interior features fine works by Tournai's own Rogier van der Weyden and Flemish greats Peter Paul Rubens and Pieter Breughel. A particularly eye-catching piece by the Mouscron-born Rémy Cogghe, of a bar brawl gone wrong, is wonderfully fraught with drama. The showpieces are mainly French or Dutch, including scribbles by Toulouse-Lautrec, a sketch by Van Gogh, and works by Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, and a pair of paintings by Edouard Manet—perhaps the real gems here. A lack of any explanation in English doesn't diminish this fine collection.  

This four-story building is almost as impressive as the museum it houses. Built in 1899, architect Paul Saintenoy didn't hold back. Its elaborate facade twists its glass and iron into a symphony of Art Nouveau. Inside, it's no less fascinating. If you've ever wanted to know what a gamelan or Tibetan temple bell sounds like, here's your chance. In addition to seeing more than 2,000 instruments, you can listen to most of them via headphones. Head to the rooftop café for fantastic views of the city; also look out for MIM's regular lunchtime concerts—some are even free.

Opened in time for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, this underground museum and visitor center puts the day's events in context. It details the rise of Napoléon, the makeup of the two sides, and the important consequences of what happened afterwards for Europe. An audio guide takes you through everything before finishing with a 4D movie of the battle. 

The collection focuses on an era (1868–1914) when European art stopped gazing all moist-eyed at history and instead turned its attention to the world around it. The museum charts this changing of the guard, beginning with the rebellion against academic tradition and the dominant themes of Romanticism that gave rise to the birth of Realism, through to the freer style of the Impressionists, and all the way up to World War I. Belgian painters featured include Guillaume Vogel and the powerful imagery of Symbolist Léon Spillaert, who runs the gamut from Impressionist-style beaches to brooding self-portraits and Gothic-infused horror. Elsewhere, work by masters such as Paul Gauguin, Auguste Rodin, and Emile Galle place the collection and the art scene of the period at the center of a burgeoning international movement. A powerful reminder of a time when Brussels was one of the great creative capitals.

The only museum in Belgium dedicated solely to the works of cartoonist and Tintin creator George Remi (aka Hergé) is set within an ambitiously designed glass-and-concrete geometric cocoon. Its design is a fitting testimony to the foremost proponent of the ligne claire drawing style, its clear, stong lines reminiscent of those that dominated Hergé's work. The museum is certainly a must if you're a fan, and is packed with original sketches, documents, letters, and items that inspired his beloved creations. Part nostalgia, part forensic excavation of his career, it is nothing if not in-depth when narrating every step of his journey from jobbing artist to national icon. The on-site shop is, as you'd expect, filled with precious collectibles. 

The house where Victor Horta (1861–1947), one of the major forces in Art Nouveau design, lived and worked until 1919 is the best place to see how he thought. Inspired by the direction of the turn-of-the-20th-century British Arts and Crafts movement, he amplified its designs into an entire architectural scheme, shaping iron and steel into fluid, organic curves. Horta had a hand in every aspect of its design, from the door hinges to the wall treatments.

After years of sharing display space in the neighboring museum complex on Rue de la Régence, Surrealist genius René Magritte (1898–1967) finally got his own, much-deserved space. The collection starts on level three, tracing Magritte's life and work chronologically. The artist's mother committed suicide when he was 13; certainly, her profession as a milliner is difficult to separate from his later obsession with hats. The museum expands key moments through letters, sculptures, films, and, of course, some 200 paintings, including the haunting The Domain of Arnheim.

Any trip to Brussels should include a visit here, if only to understand Belgium's difficult relationship with its own past. Much of the museum's collection came at an incalculable cost, rooted in the brutal colonial rule of Belgium's King Leopold II. Indeed, continuing controversy over whether a number of its artifacts should be returned to the region from which they were taken continues to bubble. For visitors, however, this remains must-see. Even the building itself is a relic from the colonial era, built for the King's 1897 Exposition trumpeting the wealth he tore from the Congo Free State (1885–1908). Much work has gone into "decolonizing" the building and museum in time for its major reopening in 2018, with considerably less emphasis now placed on Western "explorers" and stuffed wildlife. The modern version focuses more on Congolese voices and the several million people estimated to have died as a result of Belgium’s colonial rule (1908–62) of a region 76 times its own size.

This ambitious museum, in a striking red sandstone and glass building next to Antwerp's old dock area, aims to place Antwerp's history into a world context. Five floors of exhibits explore themes such as trade and shipping, men and gods, here and elsewhere, and prestige and symbols, showcasing everything from pre-Columbian artifacts to gas masks from World War II. It's all capped off with a panoramic rooftop view (free to visit) and a Michelin three-star restaurant, ‘t Zilte. Note that most of the museum's documentation is not in English; for a translation, use your smartphone to read the QR codes placed next to many exhibits, or pick up an information booklet at the entrance to each room.

The museum is named after its two founders, Jules and Irma Dhondt-Dhaenens, whose private collection of modern art is exhibited piecemeal throughout the year. Temporary exhibitions fill the rest of the schedule, typically leaning towards more challenging works. It offers a fascinating counterbalance to the fiercely antimodern Latem Schools, for which the region became famous. 

The elaborate Basilica of Our Lady is one of the most beautiful medieval monuments in the world. The original church was built on Roman foundations in the 4th century and was the first stone cathedral north of the Alps. A siege in 1213 destroyed everything but the 12th-century Romanesque cloister; soon afterward construction of the present-day Basilica of Our Lady began, a project that would take three centuries to complete. The central nave, up to the pulpit, the choir, and the south transept, dates from 1240. The candlesticks and lectern, from 1372, are the work of Jehan de Dinant, one of a number of outstanding metalworkers who flourished in the Meuse valley at that time. The basilica has excellent acoustics and is often used for symphony concerts.

A miracle of soaring Gothic lightness, the Cathedral of Our Lady contains some of Rubens's greatest paintings and is topped by a 404-foot-high north spire. The monument is the work of a succession of remarkable architects, including Peter Appelmans, and Herman and Domien de Waghemakere. The tower holds a 49-bell carillon played at various times throughout the year. The cathedral's art treasures were twice vandalized, and many were either sold at auction or carried off to Paris—though some have been returned. The cathedral nevertheless has an outstanding collection of 17th-century religious art, including four Rubens altarpieces.