352 Best Sights in Belgium

Twenty-five kilometers (16 miles) north of Ypres, close to Diksmuide---a town, which, like Ypres, was completely flattened during World War I---you can visit the so-called Dodengang (Trench of Death), a network of trenches on the banks of the IJzer river where Belgian troops faced and held off their German adversaries for four years. Make sure to dress warmly on a cold day, as the wind tends to add some extra drama by howling across the plain. The Dodengang is only a mile or so from the Museum aan de IJzer, making it easy to combine a visit to both.

This forest adventure park has plenty of tree climbing, as well as two of the largest ziplines in Belgium, tree houses, escape rooms, geocaching sites, and a subterranean world to explore. Outdoor fun for kids. 

The first stone of the Gothic Eglise Collégiale de Notre-Dame (Collegiate Church of Our Lady) was laid in 1311, although the site was first consecrated in 1066. One of Belgium's finest medieval churches, it has a rose window, the so-called Rondia, 30 feet in diameter. Its treasury contains several magnificent reliquaries, two of them attributed to Godefroid de Huy, who followed in the footsteps of Renier, also a native of Huy and a master of the Mosan style.

The town’s keystone is its Gothic main church, which dominates the riverfront below the Citadelle. Parts of it date from the 13th century; its distinctive gray onion-dome bell tower, a 16th-century addition following a fire, was originally designed to grace roof of the town hall. The interior is particularly noteworthy for its impressive stained-glass windows, the largest of which was created by the 20th-century artist Gustave Ladon.

This church is a pleasing melange of eras and influences, with flashes of its original 12th-century Romanesque brickwork visible in the "three ages" tower, which was adapted all the way up to the 17th century. In 1408, the Lobbes chapter came to Binche with some holy relics and chalices that can be seen in the treasury. The church has been looking rather shabby in recent years, and at the time of writing it was undergoing a much-needed renovation. 

When the French took over Charleroi in 1667, Louis XIV ordered the construction of a chapel, which eventually became the parish church. Inside, a star-covered dome is particularly elaborate, with guided group tours (only) able to climb up to its covered walkways. But most eye-catching of all is the beautiful nave created in 1957, which takes up an entire wall of the church. This has been smothered in gold leaf and color-glass mosaics depicting dramatic scenes including the sacrificial lamb, dragons, the Antichrist, and the Virgin Mary. There's nothing else quite like it in Belgium.   

This site has held numerous iterations of religious buildings: first a primitive chapel, then an 11th-century Romanesque church, parts of which you can still see in the great nave and tower, before this was replaced at the end of the 12th century by its current Gothic facade. It was heavily bombed in World War II, and items rescued from the fires of 1940 by the congregation can still be seen in the lobby, along with an interesting exhibition on the church's history.  

This is one of the oldest churches in Liège; its outer walls once formed part of the city’s defenses. It has a handsome reredos portraying the suffering of Christ.

The grimy exterior of this mini-cathedral a few blocks southwest of Liège’s center, near the place St-Jacques, belies a wonderful interior. Marble, stained glass, and polished wood achieve an outstanding visual harmony. The glory of the church is the Gothic vault, decorated in intricate patterns of vivid blue and gold and containing myriad sculpted figures.

Designed by Brother Pierre Huyssens and built in the late 16th century by the Jesuits, this formidable building, now used as a cultural center, is considered part of Wallonia’s “Grand Heritage.” The marble for the impressive black-and-red columns was quarried from the Ardennes, and the limestone for the carved ceiling is from Maastricht.

Stavelot’s main square is named for St. Remacle, who founded a local abbey in 647. His reliquary, now in the Eglise St-Sébastien, is one of the wonders of Art Mosan. Dating from the 13th century, it is 6½ feet long and decorated with statuettes, of the apostles on the sides and of Christ and the Virgin on the ends.

The European Union was born in the embers of World War II, as an antidote to the nationalism that had swept Europe and caused such chaos. Its parliament shifts monthly between Strasbourg (France) and Brussels, where it occupies the Paul-Henri Spaak building. Hour-long audio-guide tours of Parliament and the Hemicycle, the debating chamber where plenary sessions are held, are available on weekdays (book online). The nearby Parliamentarium visitor center is more accessible and attempts to break down just how the EU works.

Preaching a message of tolerance and freedom, this small museum 5 km (3 miles) southwest from central Knokke-Heist (bus No. 3 from the railway station will drop you close by) focuses on events during the Nazi occupation of 1940--44, and commemorates the Battle of the Scheldt, and the liberation of the region by Allied forces a few months after D-Day. A series of dioramas featuring original uniforms, weapons, and vehicles will immerse you in the period.

Around 24 km (15 miles) north of Liège, the impressive Fort Eben-Emael was built into the rocks after  World War I. Supposedly impregnable, it was almost invisible to the eye. However, on May 10, 1940, German gliders landed on the plateau and threw explosives down the air shafts. A day later the 700 Belgian soldiers guarding the fort surrendered to a mere 55 Germans. The fort and its equipment remain intact and can be visited. There’s also a museum containing photographs and weaponry.

The city's home of contemporary photography is a four-story, in-your-face epic, with each floor dedicated to a different theme or artist. Past exhibitions have featured Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klein, and Man Ray, with two or three exhibitions every four months. The building is also home to the art house movie theater, Cinema Lumière ( www.lumiere-antwerpen.be).

The city's home of contemporary photography is a four-story, in-your-face epic, with each floor dedicated to a different theme or artist. Past exhibitions have featured Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klein, and Man Ray, with two or three exhibitions every four months. The building is also home to the arthouse movie theater Cinema Zuid.

The Gallo-Roman museum traces the region's human history and features local archaeological finds, not just from Roman days but all the way back, via the Celts, to the original Neanderthal settlers. To get the kids inspired, ask for the special child-oriented audio guide, which features stories told by the archaeologist "Bob the Digger." 

The painter, poet, writer, and composer Edgar Gevart married the daughter of George Minne, one of the central figures of the first Latem School of artists, in 1916. They built their home soon after, a charming mix of Gothic and traditional cottage styles. When he died, his wife, Marie, opened his studio to the public, showing not just her husband's work but that of her father. Today, its collection on display is much broader, ranging from Xavier de Cock’s early paintings to the arrival of the prewar Expressionists. Its "sheep stable" also holds temporary exhibitions. Visiting hours can be a little eccentric here, with doors only opening between 1:30 and 5 pm.

This complex houses the merged collections from several former top Liège museums. Some 13,000 pieces from the Musée d’Armes recall the city’s prominence as an arms-manufacturing town beginning in the Middle Ages. Among the many rare and beautifully executed items are a Lefaucheux pinfire revolver and a Velodog hammerless revolver. Exhibits describe the technical aspects of manufacturing as well as engraving and inlaying. The Archaeology and Decorative Arts section holds rare Belgo-Roman and Frankish works, such as Bishop Notger’s Evangelistery, an exquisite 10th-century manuscript of the Gospels. The Glass department exhibits Venetian glass and Val St-Lambert crystal, while a department dedicated to religious art details the evolution of religious art from the early Middle Ages on, both at regional and global level.    

The heart of the city is a cobbled square wrapped in bar terraces and crowned by a grand Hôtel de Ville (town hall) dating back to the 15th century. This government building is Gothic in its soul, though the original alderman in charge of construction ran out of money before it was completed. It was only finished the following century, then modified again some 200 years later when a magnificent campanile was added, hence the abundance of architectural styles in its facade. 

The grandiose main square (well…triangle) is wrapped by elegant 17th-century guild houses, each still flying the flags of the old guilds. These now contain a stream of terraced cafés and bars. But in the early days of Tournai, this was a very different place. For a long time, it was a cemetery, and the Église Saint-Quentin, with its 12th-century nave, is thought to date from that era. It was only when work on the town belfry began in 1188 that this area become the heart of the newly crowned city. 

Huy’s main market square centers on a remarkable fountain, the Bassinia, a bronze cistern decorated with saints that dates from 1406. In the 18th century, the Austrians topped it with their double eagle. In the northeast corner of the square, the impressive facade of the Hôtel de Ville (town hall) dates from 1766.

Laeken is where you'll find the Royal Greenhouses, a glorious mid-19th-century mesh of steel and glass set within the grounds of the summer palace, where the Belgian royal family spends most of their time. It's only open to visitors for three weeks every spring (between April and May), but it's worth catching. The height of its winter garden, designed by Alphonse Balat, made it possible to plant palm trees for the first time in Belgium; the originals still stand here.

Beguinages were where unmarried women could dedicate themselves to God without taking the orders of a nun (poverty, chastity). This is one of the larger examples in the country, home to some 700 beguines at its peak. Its foundation dates back to 1232, but most of its 72 redbrick houses were built in the 17th century. The last beguine left here in the 1980s; by then, it had already been bought by the university, who set about restoring its houses as accommodation for academics.

Oostende's long, sandy Large Beach is popular with sun-seeking families and sporty surfers alike. On the landward side, the elevated Albert I Promenade is lined with shops and tearooms that compete for attention with views of the sand and sea. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Barely a notch down in splendor from Antwerp's Grote Markt, or the magnificent Grand Place in Brussels, Mechelen's main square deserves its billing among Belgium's finest plazas. Looming over the western end is the soaring stone tower of St-Romboutskathedraal, while at the opposite end, parts of the Stadhuis (City Hall) date back to the 14th century. The north and south sides are lined with bars and restaurants, with bustling terraces that bring the area to life in summer.

The heart of the Oude Stad is dominated by a huge fountain splashing water onto the paving stones. St. George is perched on top of a 16th-century guild house at Grote Markt 5 about to fight a dragon. The lopsided square is lined on two sides by guild houses and on the third by the Renaissance Stadhuis. Antwerp's town hall was built in the 1560s during the city's Golden Age, when Paris and Antwerp were the only European cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. In its facade, the fanciful fretwork of the late-Gothic style has given way to the discipline and order of the Renaissance.

The dominant building on the market square is the Stadhuis (Town Hall), a fairy-tale-like medieval aldermen house. Its turrets once ran to street level, but various sieges and fires have taken their toll. It has been frequently redesigned, but gained its current neo-Gothic facade in 1891. The architect drew inspiration from a 17th-century engraving of the building and sought to give it back its medieval charm, sapped by endless renovations. Beside it you'll find a pair of replica fountains: the Mannekin Pis and the Marbol, the original of which dates back to 1392.

The centerpiece of the city is the market square, in the middle of which stands its UNESCO-listed belfry. First mentioned in 1248, it was originally part of the old cloth hall that stood here but the surrounding buildings have long since been demolished. Statues of the folk figures of Manten and Kalle, a couple said to symbolize fidelity, strike the bell on the hour. But in 1382, the original Manten was stolen by the Burgundian armies of Philip the Bold and given to Dijon. Replacements were added over the years. Across from the belfry lies the magnificent Stadhuis (City Hall), built in the Gothic-Renaissance transition style in 1520. Visitors can enter for free in the summer between 2 and 5; at any other time, you can only see its richly decorated alderman's hall, council hall, and art collection with a guide.