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18 Best Places to Visit in Belgium

Belgium may be small, but it packs a punch when it comes to things to see and do, plus it’s easy to get around. The country is divided between Dutch-speaking Flanders to the north and French-speaking Wallonia to the south, but English is widely spoken too. If you’re planning to visit Belgium, be sure to put at least some of these places on your itinerary.

Ghent Ghent
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Ghent

This Flemish city is a friendly, laid-back university town set against a backdrop of 13th-century Gothic churches and 17th-century canal-side houses as well as the Castle of the Counts, Gravensteen, a medieval fortress that comes complete with a torture chamber and battlements – seeing all of the instruments of torture is likely to send shivers down your spine.

Ghent also boasts 18 museums, an Opera House and more than 400 historic buildings. Enjoy its cool vibe by lingering in one of the cozy, stay-as-long-as-you-like cafes and sipping Stropke beer, and be sure to visit the famous polyptch (panel painting) of The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Painted in 1432 by Jan and Hubert van Eyck, it hangs in St. Bavo’s Cathedral and is considered one of Northern Europe’s great treasures.

Bruges Bruges, Belgium
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Bruges

Bruges is often ranked among Europe’s most beautiful cities. Its medieval center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with cobblestone streets and picturesque canals lined with Gothic churches, 17th-century mansions, chocolate shops, lace boutiques, and flower markets. In fact, it’s so picture-perfect that Bruges is often referred to as the “Venice of the North,” with all of its allure without the crowds. The city can easily be explored on foot, by boat or even by horse-drawn carriage.

Don’t miss visiting The Beguinages, home to the nuns of the order of Saint Benedict, and De Halve Maan Brewery, a family-run brewery known for producing Brugse Zot beer. By taking a tour, you can visit the modern brewery as well as its museum, which offers the unique opportunity to learn about old traditional brewing methods for which the city is famous. More importantly, you can taste some of its renowned brews as well.

Leuven Leuven
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Leuven

Leuven is also a must-see, offering a wide range of cultural and historical attractions from the magnificent Gothic Stadhuis (Town Hall) to the Grand Beguinage, a well-preserved historical quarter, and the unique Old Market Square with more restaurants and cafes than you can count. You’ll also find a beautiful abbey, the Norbertine Park Abbey, perfect for a stroll across the grounds that are filled with farmlands, meadows and ponds, as well as the country’s oldest botanical garden. It was laid out by the university in 1738, but today, managed by the city, it hosts a tropical conservatory, a water and fruit garden, and a sunken garden.

Mons Mons City Hall, Mons Belgium
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Mons

This city, rich in history and tradition, is located just an hour from Brussels. Mons is renowned for the glorious sound of its Belfry bells that ring from a 270-foot tower. Its winding streets make it especially walkable, providing the chance for a pleasant stroll viewing the Collegiate Church of Sainte-Waudru which boasts an impressive collection of 16th-century statues, and the magnificent Gothic-style Town Hall. In the Van Gogh House, which was the artist’s home before he moved to Provence, visitors can view incredible reproductions of the master’s works.

If you happen to arrive in June, you can experience the most important event of the year, the Ducasse de Mons, which dates back to 1349. This is the time when the city is packed with visitors who arrive to witness the reenactment of Saint George slaying the Dragon. As the dragon swings its tail toward the crowd, spectators try to grab it and pull out its hair and ribbons, both of which are said to bring good luck.

Brussels Brussels
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Brussels

The capital city of Brussels is loaded with top attractions, including fabulous museums, shops, and restaurants, along with magnificent architecture. Visit the Grand Place, with its ornate baroque and Gothic guild houses as well as multiple terrace cafes perfect for savoring coffee, a square known as one of the most beautiful in all of Europe. Created as a merchant market in the 13th century, it serves as the city center and is also a venue for a variety of events, including concerts, throughout the year. You can also enjoy strolling around the upscale shops in the glass-roofed arcade Galeries St Hubert, wandering through the Royal Palace and visiting the futuristic Atomium, built in 1958 to represent a molecule’s nine atoms, with exhibitions and panoramic vistas.

Mechelen Mechelen, Belgium
Credit: Mechelen, Belgium by © Nikolai Sorokin | Dreamstime.com

Mechelen

Mechelen may be small in size, but it offers some 336 historic buildings and monuments, including eight Gothic and Baroque churches that date from the 14th to the 17th century. It’s also big on charm, with lovely little squares, vehicle-free areas and plenty of quaint shops, although it’s arguably best known for its carillon school, the largest and oldest in the world. Students come from across the globe to learn to play church bells there, and visitors can enjoy sitting at an outdoor cafe enjoying a local beverage and listening to the delightful sounds of the bells that echo through town. Mechelen also has a Tivoli Children’s Farm and a Toy Museum, for the kid and the kid-at-heart, while the Anker, offers a fun experience for adults as one of the oldest operating breweries in the country.

Dinant Dinant
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Dinant

Dinant is tucked between the sparkling Meuse River and its citadel in the Namur province, just south of the capital city. The Caves of Han and the Grotto of Dinant are some of the natural attractions that bring visitors here, renowned as some of Europe’s largest and most beautiful caves. Set within a wildlife reserve, they’re also teeming with native flora and fauna. Dinant also boasts impressive architecture, with its landmark, the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, still remarkable after being partially rebuilt following a massive landslide, as well as offering spectacular views from its mountaintop fortress. Spend a day exploring, and then grab a table at one of the local cafes to relax and enjoy the scene in one of Europe’s most beautiful small towns.

Tournai Tournai
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Tournai

Set on the border with France, Tournai is a charming community that offers over 2,000 years of rich cultural history and is home to one of the world’s most beautiful churches, the five-towered Gothic and Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral. Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, it holds the Shrine of Our Lady and works by Rubens and his contemporary, Jordaens. The Museum of Tapestry and the Museum of Fine Arts, filled with masterpieces ranging from primitive to contemporary artists, including Rubens and Van Gogh, are well worth a visit, and by taking the 257 steps up to the town Belfry, the oldest in Belgium, you can enjoy panoramic views over the city.

Ardennes Ardennes
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Ardennes

Belgium isn’t all about cities. If you’re looking for outdoor adventures among beautiful scenery, the rugged hills of the Ardennes, with lush forests, caves, cliffs and bubbling streams, are ideal. Enjoy hiking, biking and camping as well as the chance to spot wildlife like deer, lynx and wild boar. One of the most beautiful areas, nestled between the Ardennes and the Eifel highlands, is the High Fens, the largest natural reserve in the country. The pleasant gurgling sounds of the numerous streams and the unique fauna and flora combined with the pretty little wooden bridges that give way to rugged wilderness landscape make for an especially tranquil experience.

Antwerp Antwerp
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Antwerp

Antwerp has been known as Belgium’s creative city for hundreds of years. In the 16th and 17th centuries, artists Rubens and Van Dyke created many of their works here. While this dynamic city may not be as historically preserved as Ghent or Bruges, art certainly abounds. Today, travelers can visit Rubens’ home and studio at the Rubenhuis, and view his works, as well as works of other Flemish artists, in Antwerp’s cathedral and at the Antwerp Fashion Museum. The Plantin Moretus Museum is the home of bookbinder and printer, Christoffel Plantin, and the glorious architectural wonders of the 14th-century Gothic Cathedral Of Our Lady and the Baroque and Gothic style Saint Paul’s Church can also be enjoyed.

Of course, most people associate Antwerp with its famous Diamond District, where more than 70 percent of the world’s rough diamonds are traded – be sure and check it out, or even buy, while you’re here.

Limburg Limburg, Belgium
Credit: Limburg, Belgium by Johan Neven via Flickr

Limburg

Limburg is the country’s primary fruit-growing region. It’s stunning in the springtime when the apple and pear trees burst into blossom. One of the best ways to explore it is to bike or walk through the orchards, in fact, you might even stumble across some unique Belgian art installations, like Reading Between the Lines, also known as the “the invisible church.”

The province also offers lots for history buffs, with Tongeren, a city famous for its Roman ruins, a true highlight. It offers an outstanding Gallo-Roman museum as well as a UNESCO-listed Beguinage and a Gothic basilica too. In the capital city of Hasselt, you can take a stroll through a lovely Japanese Garden, with beautiful blooming cherry trees in the spring.

Gaasbeek Castle, Lennik Gaasbeek Castle
Credit: Gaasbeek Castle by © Nikolai Sorokin | Dreamstime.com

Gaasbeek Castle, Lennik

Just a quick train ride or short drive from central Brussels will bring you to the storybook Gaasbeek Castle that sits in the village of Gaasbeek. The original fortified castle was built in the mid-13th century for defense against the County of Flanders and was ultimately destroyed by Brussels troops who were exacting revenge for an assassination that was commanded by the Lord of Gaasbeek. In the early 16th century, a brick castle was constructed at the ruins of the medieval fortress by the Horne family.

Over the centuries, it was inhabited by a number of noble families, but today, Gaasbeek is owned by the Flemish Community and is open to the public. It contains impressive art collections that are displayed in lavishly decorated historical rooms, including an authentic testament of Rubens. There are also regular special exhibitions and concerts held on castle grounds, and on Sundays in the summers, guided tours of the medicinal gardens are offered by one of the castle gardeners.

Zwin Nature Reserve, Knokke-Heist Zwin Nature Reserve
Credit: Zwin Nature Reserve by Creative Commons/Wikipedia

Zwin Nature Reserve, Knokke-Heist

Zwin Nature Reserve is the country’s oldest. Situated near the coastal town of Knokke-Heist and straddling the Netherlands border, the reserve is made up of 370 acres, 61 of which are on the Dutch side. Its landscape of marshes and dunes offers world-class bird watching as well as a wonderfully scenic place for a walk. The reserve is especially famous for the storks that can be seen throughout, and whose daily afternoon feeding is a major attraction. Guided and themed walks are available, and the park also hosts a visitor center with educational exhibits on Belgium’s ornithology.

Groot-Bijgaarden Castle, Dilbeek Groot-Bijgaarden Castle
Credit: Groot-Bijgaarden Castle by Tomoaki INABA via Flickr

Groot-Bijgaarden Castle, Dilbeek

Most flower lovers have heard of Holland’s famous tulip garden, Keukenhof, which is just a few hours north of Belgium, but the country has its very own fabulous spring tulip garden at Groot-Bijgaarden Castle that even many Belgians aren’t even aware of. The 12th-century castle is surrounded by a wide moat spanned by a bridge with five arches, while its four-story tower, or dungeon, was built in 1347 and sits adjacent to the gatehouse.

The gardens are home to 1.5 million spring bulbs, including tulips, hyacinths, crocus and daffodils. There are also two large greenhouses on the castle grounds, hosting exhibitions by local flower growers that range from lilies and roses to rare tropical blooms. Bulbs are also available for purchase so that you can take home and give as gifts or plant for yourself, and parts of the castle are open to the public, with each room hosting a different flower display.

Ooidonk Castle, Deinze Ooidonk Castle
Credit: Ooidonk Castle by PRIME FUJIFILM via Flickr

Ooidonk Castle, Deinze

Originally a fortress built in the 13th century to protect the city of Ghent and to fortify the river Leie, it was rebuilt in 1381 to add moats but then destroyed a number of times. Ooidonk Castle was rebuilt for the last time in 1579 after it had burned down. Today, it serves as the residence of the current Count t’Kint de Roodenbeke, though it is open on weekend afternoons in July and August, and on Sundays only in April, May and September. It offers a unique example of the Hispanic-Flemish architectural style that emerged during the Renaissance and is widely considered as one of the country’s finest castles.

Liege Liege
Credit: Liege by peatc via Flickr

Liege

The cultural capital of Wallonia, Liege sits along the banks of the Meuse River just a stone’s throw from Maastricht in the Netherlands. This historical city is the birthplace of Emperor Charlemagne and writer Georges Simeon, and also boasts a rich artistic and architectural heritage. Built in the 10th century, the Palace of the Prince-Bishops is a must-see, housing both the provincial government and the law court. Its current appearance dates to 1526 and is thanks to Prince-Bishop Erard de la Marck. Other highlights include the largest and oldest Sunday market in Belgium known as La Batte and the medieval collegiate churches. Liege also hosts an array of fine museums and notable art galleries, often with Mosan artworks.

Charleroi Charleroi, Belgium
Credit: Charleroi, Belgium by L'amande via Flickr

Charleroi

Photography fans won’t want to miss Charleroi, home to Europe’s largest photography museum. Set within an old Carmelite monastery, exhibits focus on the history of photography from its inception through today. The city also hosts two museums that are located in the Charleroi Town Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts, with a rich collection covering everything from realism, impressionism and expressionism to abstract art, while the Jules Destrée houses archives, works, documents and other items from a man with an interesting, multifaceted personality, dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. It highlights Destree’s approach to life and work that is often present in debates as well as political, cultural and ethical life.

Other must-visits include the 3000-year-old Sunday market, the 17th-century Cartier Chateau, the Town Hall and the Saint-Vierge-Marie Church.

The Castles of Namur Castle of Veves
Credit: Castle of Veves by Wikimedia Commons

The Castles of Namur

The Province of Namur, located in the French Wallonia region of Belgium, is filled with castles, including the Castle of Veves, a fairytale-like castle with a turreted edifice that dates back to 1410 and overlooks the village of Celles. According to tradition, the site has been occupied by castles since the seventh century. The Castle of Lavaux-Ste-Anne is a rather bizarre, moat-encircled series of domes that house three separate museums and a collection of stuffed animals. The Castle of Annevoie is a lavish chateau built in the latter half of the 18th century, complete with formal gardens that showcase fountains, waterfalls and arbors.

In the capital city of Namur, its citadel, a city center, overlooks the town and the Meuse river. By walking the paths and streets that lead up to the center, you’ll be rewarded with a chance to relax and soak up the views and fabulous atmosphere.

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