8 Best Sights in Belgium

Around 29 km (18 miles) southeast of Bouillon, this magnificent abbey is known throughout the world for its famous Trappist beer, but you will need your own transport to reach this remote corner of the country. Founded by Italian Benedictines in 1070, and once one of Europe’s richest and most famous monasteries, the abbey flourished for 700 years before being destroyed by French troops in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It was rebuilt between 1926 and 1948 under the supervision of Marie-Albert Van der Cruyssen, a monk and builder from Ghent who started the brewery in 1931 in order to finance the rebuilding project. Sadly, the brewery and most of the monastery’s buildings are closed to the public, but you can visit the grounds and tour the ruins of the original abbey. The gardens contain the spring where Mathilde, Duchess of Lorraine, once dropped her wedding band, only to have it miraculously returned by a trout—the magical fish is now the abbey’s trademark symbol. A film in English describes life in the monastery, and the 18th-century cellars house a small museum.

Around 5 km (3 miles) northwest from central Hasselt, the vast Herkenrode Abbey complex was founded more than 800 years ago as the first Cistercian monastery in Benelux. Over the centuries it became a site of pilgrimage, and it experienced periods of great conflict and prosperity, until the monastic order was abolished following the French Revolution. After years of neglect, the Flemish government bought 250 acres of the site and began a lengthy restoration project, partly financed by the sale of Herkenrode abbey beers—not brewed here, but available in the on-site shop and café. Inside, an audio-guided "Experience Center" recounts the site's turbulent past in a series of galleries. Behind the abbey, a meticulously planted Herb and Inspiration Garden covers 5 acres and contains 500 different species—divided by hedges into a series of peaceful small spaces, some with water features. Elsewhere, accessible without an entry ticket, do not miss "The Quiet View," a permanent artwork by the artist Hans op de Beeck—it's a stunning monochrome landscape diorama that makes ingenious use of mirrors to create a sense of infinite space.

Chimay is synonymous with the beer that shares its name. But the brewery that makes it is actually 9 km (5½ miles) south of the village. Here, the monks of the Scourmont Trappist monastery still supervise the production of some of the best cheese and beer in Belgium. They have been here since 1850, when the Princes of Chimay gifted them a space on the plateau. But it's no longer just a small operation. You can find Chimay beer in most of Europe, and even in China these days. Its Red (brown and fruity) and Blue (darker, more bitter) beers are ubiquitous. Yet at the same time, little has changed here. The monks still live a life of seclusion. The abbey is not open to the public, except for retreats, but you can visit the church and the gardens. You can also taste their wares at the nearby bar-restaurant L'Espace Chimay (at the Auberge de Poteaupré), less than half a mile away, where an exhibition (€6) explores the history and workings of the abbey brewery and ends with a tasting. 

On the southern edge of Koksijde are the ruins of the Cistercian Duinenabdij (Abbey of the Dunes), founded in 1107 and destroyed by the iconoclasts in 1566. Traces of the original abbey, the cloisters, and columns from the refectory remain. An adjacent archaeological museum shows collections from the digs, as well as interesting examples of regional plants and animals.

A few minutes' walk east from the abbey, on Kerkplein, the strikingly modern architecture of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Duinenkerk (Our Lady of Sorrows of the Dunes Church), suggests both the dunes and the sea through bold colors, undulating forms, and stained glass. A crypt holds the remains of the first abbot of the abbey.

Take the N92 to Yvoir and go east on N971 for about 10 km (6 miles) to reach this abbey, built in the late 19th century as a cloister for a small order. A school, library, fromagerie, brewery, ceramics studio, and farm were eventually added. Now the sprawling complex dominates the hill, but it remains an idyllic spot for picnics, meditative walks, or evening vespers. The visitor center has exhibitions about the abbey, a snack bar serving the abbey’s famous beers and cheeses, and a gift shop selling the ceramics and other products that are made by the monks in residence. There is also a small cheese museum, where you can learn about the cheese-making process.

There has been an abbey on this site since the 7th century, and during the Middle Ages this was one of the richest and most important in Flanders. Most of the Baroque buildings you see today were built in the 17th century, however, and now house the St. Peter's Abbey Arts Center. You can walk around the abbey, the ruined gardens, and the cellars, where there is an exhibition about the monks. There are also changing exhibitions upstairs ranging from painting to photography.

Located in the Chapter House and cloisters of the adjacent church, the Teseum is the treasury of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwebasiliek, and it contains arguably the the richest collection of religious art in the country. Highlights including a 6th-century ivory diptych of St. Paul, a Merovingian gold buckle from the same century, and a truly magnificent head of Christ sculpted in wood in the 11th century.