Kraainem

municipality in Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Luxembourg (Belgium)

The province of Luxembourg is the southernmost and largest province in the Wallonia region of Belgium. It is bordered to the east by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and to the southwest by France. It is divided between the Belgian Ardennes to the north and Gaume (the Belgian part of Lorraine) to the south. It has around 280,000 inhabitants and is the least populated of all Belgian provinces.

Tervuren

municipality in Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Brussels

city and municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region, capital of Belgium

Grimbergen

municipality in Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Bruges

municipality in West Flanders, Belgium

Dinant

city in Namur, Belgium

Leuven

city in Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Mechelen

city in the province of Antwerp, Belgium

Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant is one of the five provinces of Flanders (Belgium). The province completely surrounds Brussels, the national capital. Brussels however is not a part of the province. The capital Leuven is one of Belgium's largest student cities. The university is one of the oldest universities in this part of Europe and makes the city one with an impressive student tradition.

Poperinge

municipality in West Flanders, Belgium

Ypres

city in West Flanders, Belgium

Spa (Belgium)

municipality in Liège, Belgium

Mons

city in Hainaut, Belgium

Liège

city in Liège, Belgium

Ghent

city in East Flanders, Belgium

Antwerp

municipality in the province of Antwerp, Belgium

Namur

city in the belgian province of Namur and capital of Wallonia

Walloon Brabant

province in Wallonia, Belgium

West Flanders

province in Flanders, Belgium

Huy

city in Liège, Belgium

Plantin-Moretus Museum

The home of 16th-century bookbinder and printer Christoffel Plantin. Regarded as one of the finest museums dedicated to printing in the world. Its extensive collections of important books and printing presses along with its role in spearheading the technology of printing have seen it added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Wavre

city in Walloon Brabant, Belgium

Binche

city in Hainaut, Belgium

Bouillon

city in Luxembourg, Belgium

Auderghem

municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

Atomium

building in Brussels, Belgium

Dour

Walloon municipality in Hainaut, Belgium

Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)

Roman-Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium

Meise

municipality in Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Antwerpen-Centraal railway station

Even if not arriving or leaving by train the station is well worth a visit. Platforms are on three levels, all constructed beneath the very impressive original structure.

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Grand Place

Thuin

city in Hainaut, Belgium

Ardennes

low mountain range in Belgium

Museum aan de Stroom

Large museum that tells about Antwerp in the world. You can visit the building for free, with an very wide view across Antwerp on the rooftop. The viewing platform on the roof is accessible without a museum ticket.

Manneken Pis

brass sculpture and fountain by Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder

St. Rumbold's Cathedral

cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium

Bellewaerde

Bellewaerde was established in 1954 as a zoo and safari park. The park evolved into a theme park. Bellewaerde attracts 850,000-900,000 visitors a year and is one of the main theme parks in Flanders.

Groeningemuseum

Known as 'The city museum of Fine Arts', it houses a collection of artworks that span several centuries (14th-20th), focusing mainly on works by painters who lived and worked in Bruges.

Villers Abbey

abbey

Vleteren

municipality in West Flanders, Belgium

Menin Gate

Dedicated on 24 July 1927 as a memorial to the missing British and Commonwealth soldiers who fell in Belgium during World War One. Has a Last Post Ceremony each night at 20:00 as a way for the Ypres citizens to express their gratitude towards those who died for Belgium's freedom.

St. Peter's Church, Leuven

church in Leuven, Belgium

Stoclet Palace

Church of Our Lady, Bruges

A fascinating church with architecture from the Romanesque and Gothic periods. In the east end of the church are very fine tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy - in contrasting Gothic and Renaissance styles, despite their superficial similarity. The church also houses one of the few Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy, the "Madonna with child". To see the "Madonna with Child" an entrance fee of €5 for 18 to 26, 26 to 64 is €6, over 65 is €5, and under 17 is free.

Basilica of the Holy Blood

A beautiful church on the Burg square. It houses a relic - a vial of blood that is said to be that of Jesus - and was built in the Gothic style. Try and get there early so you can view the chapel when it is quiet and not filled with tourists. And don't forget to visit the chapel underneath, in heavy Romanesque style - a contrast to the lovely light Gothic above.

Church of Our Lady of Laeken

church in Laeken, Belgium

NATO headquarters

HQ in Haren, Brussels

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels

Royal Palace of Brussels

Collegiate Church of St. Bartholomew

was the last of 7 "collégiales liégeoises" to be built, near the end of the 11th century. Recently renovated, it is home to the masterwork of the Liège goldsmiths from the Middle Ages: the baptismal fonts from the old parish church of the cathedral.

Keizersberg Abbey

abbey in Leuven, Belgium

Vleeshuis

museum and former guildhall in Antwerp, Belgium

Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst

contemporary art museum in Ghent, Belgium

Sonian Forest

forest southeast of Brussels, Belgium

Han-sur-Lesse

section of Rochefort, Belgium

Werchter

section of Rotselaar, Belgium

Langemark German war cemetery

The cemetery, which evolved from a small group of graves from 1915, has seen numerous changes and extensions. It was dedicated in 1932. Today, visitors find a mass grave near the entrance. This comrades' grave contains 24,917 servicemen, including the Ace Werner Voss. Between the oak trees, next to this mass grave, are another 10,143 soldiers (including 2 British soldiers killed in 1918). The 3,000 school students who were killed during the First Battle of Ypres are buried in a third part of the cemetery. At the rear of the cemetery is a sculpture of four mourning figures by Professor Emil Krieger. The group was added in 1956, and is said to stand guard over the fallen. The cemetery is maintained by the German War Graves Commission, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.

Het Steen

This is a rather small medieval castle on the banks of the river Schelde. It used to function as a city fortification and now houses a naval museum (open air only, inside closed). It is the starting point of the Wandelterrassen, a scenic boardwalk with a cafe/restaurant at either end.

Tyne Cot

The largest Commonwealth Wargraves Commission cemetery in the world, situated to the south of the village of Passendale. There are also many more smaller Commonwealth cemeteries dotted around the region as well.

Boerentoren

skyscraper in Antwerp, Belgium

House of European History

museum in Brussels

Cinquantenaire

Old St. John's Hospital

Sint-Janshospitaal contains a museum of six paintings by Hans Memling, within the early medieval hospital buildings.

Ypres Cloth Hall

Maison Guiette

Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

Musée Hergé

Fotomuseum Antwerp

Renovated in 2004.

Hof van Savoye

Mini-Europe

Citadel of Namur

The primary tourist attraction of Namur, the Citadel is a fortress at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers. Its original design dates from Roman times, with foundations laid out in 937. Throughout history it was captured, destroyed and rebuilt several times. It underwent major expansions under Dutch control between 1631 and 1675. Its current topology was designed by Dutch architect Menno van Coehoorn and improved by Vauban after the siege of 1692. A variety of positions were added in the 18th century, but the complex was finally disestablished as a military post in 1891 when it was superseded by a ring of forts around Namur to provide better protection against the improved range of artillery at the time. It saw battle a last time during the German invasion of World War I, after which the new fortifications took over its defensive role. The Citadel is classified as a Walloon Major Heritage site, and together with the citadels of Dinant, Huy and Liège it forms part of the so-called Meuse Citadels. For those unable to climb the hill, a tourist train is available for an additional fee.

Neolithic flint mines of Spiennes

You can visit a silex mine dating back to the Neolithic period. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Belfry of Mons

Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, dates from the 17th century and is the only Baroque-style belfry in Belgium.

Bois de la Cambre

Marche-les-Dames

Ten Wijngaerde (Begijnhof Brugge)

In the history, many women couldn't find a man, as men were more likely to die in accidents or in a war. Those women could "marry God" and become a beguine. The beguinage, also known as the convent, offered protection for those single ladies. It lies between the centre of the city and the station, with white painted small houses and fine plane trees, is a quiet place to walk - groups are discouraged.

Congress Column

monumental column in Brussels, Belgium

Battle of Hill 60 (Western Front)

A well-preserved World War I battle site that changed sides repeatedly. There area covered in craters. There was also a large amount of tunneling during the war which adds to the uneven terrain. The memorial to the 1st Australian Tunneling Co contains bullet holes from World War II.

Woluwe

river in Belgium

Planetarium (Belgium)

Nemo 33

deep indoor pool in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium

Museum Godshuis Belle

art museum and gallery in West Flanders, Belgium

Campo Santo, Ghent

This monumental cemetery is located on a small hill in the suburb of Sint-Amandsberg. Many famous and important Belgians that lived in Ghent are buried here.

Collegium Trilingue

Graslei

street in Ghent, Belgium

Sint-Catharinakerk

church in Maaseik, Belgium

Train World

railway museum in Place Princesse Elisabeth, Brussels

Sint-Joriskerk

church in Alken, Belgium

Choco-Story

This museum is a must see for chocolate enthusiasts as it describes chocolate's transition from cocoa into chocolate. Its low-cost tasty exhibits make it well worth the time (and Belcolade's gently overt marketing). Be sure to stay for the chocolate making exhibition to get some excellent samplers.

Maison Van Gogh

Cuesmoise the house where he lived from August 1879 to October 1880, was saved from ruin in the 1970s and is now accessible to the public.

Marc Sleen Museum