Ghent
Ghent's attachment to graffiti as an art form began in this central alley, known locally as Graffitistraatje. The website has a live map showing the…
Must-see attractions in Belgium
Northeast Belgium
Dating from 1677, this fine church has a very spacious feel, with two rows of whitewashed Corinthian columns and an elegant altarpiece of pale grey marble…
Antwerp
Presiding over Groenplaats, with Antwerp's cathedral rising splendidly behind it, this 1840s bronze Rubens statue was sculpted by Borgerhout-born…
Brussels
The dressmakers' guildhall is now a particularly splendid grand café whose upper-storey rooms (when open) offer fine views across the square.
Bruges
It's believed that the world's first stock exchange began in and around this 13th-century house. It's not open to the public, but the space is used for…
Brussels
Six 1698 houses sit behind this single palatial facade, reworked in 1882. Had the imperial governor had his way after 1695, the whole square would have…
Brussels
A 1902 statue of city hero Everard ’t Serclaes depicts his reclining corpse. A fairly contemporary ‘tradition’ claims that rubbing the statue will bring…
Bruges
The statue of Hans Memling was erected in 1874. The Flemish Primitive artist is buried in St Gilliskerk, a few blocks further north.
Ghent
This statue of the creators of Ghent's world-renowned Adoration of the Mystic Lamb was unveiled here for the 1913 World Expo.
Brussels
Built in 1725, this chateau is a residence of the Belgian royal family and has been used to house visiting dignitaries. It is not open to the public.
Ypres
This decent little gallery is set in a three-storey 1555 almshouse complex. Exhibitions change regularly but usually feature 19th-century paintings.
Godshuis St-Jozef & De Meulenaere
Bruges
The Godshuis St-Jozef and De Meulenaere almshouses offer one of the city's most spacious oases of calm; enter via the green door.
Wallonia
One of two towers preserved from the original 1202 city wall, this is a surprising sight at the end of a nondescript lane.
Brussels
There's a white space upstairs with a polished concrete floor, while downstairs sits a small art bookshop.
Belgium
The distinctive 1930 art-deco Palais du Centenaire features a pyramid of terraced tiers capped by statues.
Ypres
A single small chapel room featuring some unexpectedly high-quality medieval art, mostly religious.
Brussels
A residence of the Belgian royal family, the eighteenth-century villa is not open to the public.
Brussels
The vaulted 1811 brick, neo-Gothic Au Lion d’Or building bridges a branch of the Senne River.
Wallonia
Included in admission to the Memorial 1815 visitor centre is the charmingly old-fashioned 1912 Panorama de la Bataille, a circular action-packed painting…
Ostend
Soul superstar Marvin Gaye wrote his last hit, 'Sexual Healing', in 1981 while living in Ostend. His residency is marked by a wildly tacky statue of the…
Namur
In the centre of town lies the Unesco-listed Beffroi, a medieval stone fortress tower on which a clock spire was plonked in 1733. It houses a youth…
Wallonia
The village of Sombreffe's castle has a particularly fine quiver of variously shaped towers. If the gate's open, you can wander in to have a peek at the…
Wallonia
The squat little Chapelle des Remparts is not immediately attractive, but it's remarkable for its super-thick walls, having been fashioned from the former…
Ostend
Ostend's modern pier isn't as long or grand as many of its counterparts along the coast, but it does make for a nice stroll on a warm day. When the wind…
Namur
The elegant stone-and-brick Palais des Congrès conference centre was rebuilt in the 1930s with war reparations from Germany (the German army having…
Namur
The tall, red baroque frontage of this church is a notable landmark in the centre of town. Long-term restoration of St-Joseph began in 2017, and the…
Namur
This tiny stone seat is where the Roi des Menteurs (King of the Liars) is crowned during September's amusingly drunken Fêtes de Wallonie festivities.
Ostend
This educational operation has a little one-room collection of seashells and sand that you can examine under the microscope.
