Things to do in Belgium

The 18 best things to do in Belgium

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1. 1Brussels

   Stand in the middle of the Grand-Place

   The Grand-Place is a cobbled market square first mentioned in writing in the 12th century and listed by UNESCO in 1998. In 1695 the troops of Louis XIV bombarded Brussels and destroyed its heart in three days, and the city chose to rebuild the square in its old spirit rather than in a new style. The guild houses went up in a short time in late 17th-century Baroque, each with its own name and gilded emblems. The Gothic City Hall, built in the early 15th century, partly survived and still dominates the square with its bell tower. Facing it, the King's House holds the Brussels City Museum, where the original Manneken Pis statue is now kept. Unusually, the square has no church.

   Tip: Pair it with the Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert, one of the oldest covered shopping galleries in Europe, a stone's throw away and just as beautiful by night as by day.

   Free to visit
   Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre; visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism)
2. 2BrugesBook ahead

   Climb the 366 steps of the Bruges Belfry

   The 83-meter Belfry has watched over the Market Square of Bruges for centuries. Built in phases between the 13th and 15th centuries, it got its octagonal top between 1482 and 1486 and its present silhouette in the 18th century, after its spire was lost to fire and then, in 1741, to lightning. On the way up the 366 steps you pass the treasury, where the city charters and seal were kept in padlocked iron boxes, then a drum of over 9,000 kilograms that drives the 47-bell carillon. At the top, the bells ring above your head every quarter hour, and on clear days you can see to the sea. It is one of 56 belfries in Belgium and northern France on UNESCO's list.

   Tip: Book a time slot online, since only about 15 to 25 people may start the climb every 20 minutes, and go on a weekday just after opening or near closing, when it is quietest.

   Summer and weekends: €16 (about $18) · Winter weekdays: €15 (about $17) · Book a time slotFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office); Musea Brugge (City of Bruges museums); UNESCO World Heritage Centre
3. 3Bruges

   Glide through Bruges on a canal boat

   Bruges grew rich as a medieval trading city, and the canals that once carried its goods still shape the historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The boat tours show it from the water. Open boats leave from five landing stages in the center and all follow the same 30-minute route between Jan van Eyck Square and the Beguinage, with no stops on the way. The captain explains the sights over a microphone, choosing languages to suit the passengers, and most captains speak Dutch, French and English. You pass the Dijver below the tower of the Church of Our Lady, and about a hundred swans share the water. Ashore, the Rozenhoedkaai, where rosaries were once sold, is the city's favorite photo spot.

   Tip: Tickets are sold only at the jetties, so expect a wait at busy times; tours are guaranteed daily from March through October, while from November to February only one jetty is sure to open each day.

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office); UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office)
4. 4Ghent

   See the Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral

   St Bavo's is the oldest parish church in the heart of Ghent, standing on the site of a 10th-century church and a 12th-century Romanesque one whose style still shows in the crypt. The Gothic church you see now was completed in 1559. Its fame rests on the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, the Ghent Altarpiece painted by the Van Eyck brothers, which you see in the cathedral's visitors' centre with other art treasures. The church itself holds Rubens's Saint Bavo Enters the Convent at Ghent, a baroque high altar in flamed marble and a Rococo pulpit in oak and gilded wood. From Gent-Sint-Pieters station, trams 1 and 3 run to the center every 10 minutes.

   Tip: Book the visitors' centre online to skip the ticket line, and since the cathedral tower opens only during the Ghent Festivities, climb the Belfry opposite for the view.

   €[fee]Know the fee?
   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Gent (City of Ghent tourism office); Visit Gent (City of Ghent tourism office)
5. 5Ghent

   Walk the walls of Ghent's Castle of the Counts

   The Gravensteen is the only medieval castle in Flanders with a moat and a largely intact defense system. A Latin inscription over the entrance says Count Philip of Alsace built it in 1180, and you can visit the gatehouse, ramparts, keep, count's residence and stables. The old pantry now displays a collection of torture instruments, and the former courtroom shows judicial objects. The castle's later life was less grand: by 1807 it housed a cotton mill, and it was close to demolition before restoration, helped by the 1913 World Expo in Ghent, made it the city's best-known sight. From the battlements at the top of the keep you look out over Ghent.

   Tip: Allow about an hour and a half with the included comedy audio guide, or an hour with the shorter Big Five tour, and book online to avoid the ticket line.

   Entry: €15 (about $17) · Book online or buy at the gateFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Gent (City of Ghent tourism office); Historische Huizen Gent (City of Ghent)
6. 6Ghent

   Sit by the water on the Graslei and Korenlei

   Ships have docked at the Graslei since the 11th century, and the guild houses reflected in the River Lys make Ghent's classic view. Look for the restored facade of the Guild House of the Free Sailors and the stepped gable of the old grain store, which has stood since the 13th century. On the Korenlei side, two gilded swans on the facade of a 16th-century mansion swim in opposite directions. Locals sit with their legs over the quay or at cafe terraces, and you can take a boat trip from here. Then walk up to St Michael's Bridge, the only place where you can photograph Ghent's three towers in a row: St Bavo's Cathedral, the Belfry and St Nicholas' Church.

   Tip: Come back at twilight, when the historic buildings are lit up and the view from St Michael's Bridge is at its best.

   Free to visit
   Sources: Visit Gent (City of Ghent tourism office); Visit Gent (City of Ghent tourism office); Visit Gent (City of Ghent tourism office)
7. 7Brussels

   Step inside the Atomium's giant spheres

   Built as the flagship of Expo 58, the 1958 World Fair, the Atomium was never meant to outlive it. Its nine spheres represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, each ball standing for one atom of iron, in a tribute to scientific discovery. Renovated between 2004 and 2006, it now welcomes over 800,000 visitors a year, more than any other attraction in Brussels. More than half the visit is given to exhibitions, and panels show Expo 58 as it spread around the building. Escalators lead to a viewpoint in one of the side spheres, and a lift serves the panorama in the top sphere. Mini-Europe and the Design Museum Brussels are a short walk away.

   Tip: Check the Atomium's practical information page on the day, since the top-sphere panorama sometimes closes and ticket sales occasionally move to the on-site office only.

   Adult, with Design Museum Brussels: €17 (about $19) · Buy at the desk or onlineFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism); Atomium (official); Atomium (official); Atomium (official)
8. 8Bruges

   Wander the Beguinage and the Lake of Love

   The Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde was founded in 1245 for beguines, unmarried or widowed women who gave their lives to God without retiring from the world. White house fronts surround a calm garden and the Beguinage Church, and for centuries only women have lived here: today single women from Bruges and a few with a religious vocation. It is one of 13 Flemish beguinages that UNESCO listed in 1998. Close by lies the Minnewater, the Lake of Love, named after the water nymphs once believed to live there; the bridge and the lockhouse give the best photos. On the Bakkersrei beside the Beguinage, the city's only swan feeding spot, the birds gather in large numbers.

   Tip: Walk through in silence, as the city asks every visitor to respect the calm of a place where people still live.

   Free to visit
   Sources: Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office); UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office); Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office)
9. 9Bruges

   See Michelangelo's Madonna in Bruges

   The brick spire of the Church of Our Lady rises 115.5 meters, making it the second highest brick tower in the world, and with the Belfry and St Saviour's Cathedral it defines the Bruges skyline. Inside, the highlight is Michelangelo's marble Madonna and Child. It was designed for the Piccolomini altar in Siena Cathedral, but the Moucron family, Bruges merchants based in Italy, bought it and shipped it home. The chancel holds a passion triptych by Bernard van Orley and the 15th and 16th-century tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy. An oratory in the chancel links this classic brick Gothic church to the neighboring Gruuthuse palace.

   Tip: Entering the church is free, but the Madonna and the tombs are in the ticketed museum section, and the church closes for weddings and funerals, so check the day's hours first.

   Museum section: €10 (about $11) · Church free; museum ticketFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Musea Brugge (City of Bruges museums)
10. 10Bruges

    Meet Hans Memling at St John's Hospital

    St John's Hospital was founded in the 12th century to care for anyone who needed a bed, whatever their origin or class, and it is one of Europe's oldest preserved hospital buildings. Today it is a museum built around Hans Memling, the 15th-century master who lived and worked in Bruges. He painted four of its seven masterpieces specifically for the hospital, where they have hung since the late 15th century, and the St Ursula Shrine in the hospital church is among his finest work. Climb to the attic, whose oak roof structure is one of the oldest in Europe, and finish in the 17th-century pharmacy and herb garden. Bruges was the cradle of the Flemish Primitives in the 15th century.

    Tip: The Musea Brugge Card covers this museum, the Belfry and the Church of Our Lady museum for 72 hours and only starts at your first visit, so buy it before a museum day.

    Entry: €15 (about $17) · Buy at the desk or onlineFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Musea Brugge (City of Bruges museums); UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Visit Bruges (City of Bruges tourism office)
11. 11AntwerpBook ahead

    Ride into Antwerp Central and up the MAS

    Antwerp makes an easy day trip, and the arrival is part of the show. Antwerp Central Station, nicknamed the railroad cathedral, has a huge steel platform roof, a grand facade and an impressive entrance hall, and it features on many lists of the world's most beautiful stations. Outside, tram 24 from Koningin Astridplein runs toward Havenhuis: get off at Londen and walk about 10 minutes to the MAS, the Museum aan de Stroom. Each of its nine floors offers a different view, its galleries tell Antwerp's rich history, and the roof terrace gives a 360-degree view of the city and its wide surroundings. You are welcome to picnic up there, and Cafe Storm sits at the foot of the building.

    Tip: The boulevard and roof panorama are open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 AM to 10 PM, and until midnight from April through October, but may close in bad weather.

    Entry: €12 (about $13) · Book a time slotFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Visit Antwerpen (City of Antwerp tourism office); Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), City of Antwerp
12. 12Antwerp

    See Rubens in Antwerp's Gothic cathedral

    Antwerp's Cathedral of Our Lady is one of the masterpieces of Gothic architecture, and it holds several Rubens masterpieces, among them the Descent from the Cross. Audio description of the highlights, including the Rubens paintings, plays through QR codes beside the works, and there is even a bistro, De Plek, inside the cathedral. At its foot stands the statue of Nello and Patrasche, the boy and dog of the tale A Dog of Flanders. To see the old town, Visit Antwerpen's walking guide covers about 6.5 kilometers in about 2.5 hours, starting at Het Steen, the city's oldest building. Today Het Steen houses a visitor centre and The Antwerp Story, an interactive trail that ends on a roof terrace above the Scheldt.

    Tip: Duck into the Vlaeykensgang, a quiet alley from 1591 entered through a small gate at Oude Koornmarkt 16, for a break from the crowds.

    €[fee]Know the fee?
    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp (official); Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp (official); Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp; Visit Antwerpen (City of Antwerp tourism office); Visit Antwerpen (City of Antwerp tourism office)
13. 13Brussels

    Puzzle over Magritte on Place Royale

    The Magritte Museum belongs to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the most visited museum in Brussels. It grew from a single Magritte room created in 1984, which spread over other floors until the collection earned a home of its own in the Hotel Altenloh, a listed building on Place Royale. The museum opened there on 2 June 2009, with the support of the Magritte Foundation. Next door, the Old Masters Museum covers European painting from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Afterward, walk down to the Mont des Arts, the junction between upper and lower Brussels, whose gardens give a delightful view in every season.

    Tip: Book online to use the Place Royale entrance, which is reserved for ticket holders, and remember that the museums close on Mondays.

    Entry: €13 (about $15) · Book online or buy at the deskFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Magritte Museum, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (official); visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism); Magritte Museum, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (official); Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
14. 14Brussels

    Step into Victor Horta's Art Nouveau home

    Victor Horta was one of the first architects of Art Nouveau, and UNESCO lists four of his Brussels town houses, among them his own house and workshop. He built it between 1898 and 1901 as two buildings, his office and his home, and it is now the Horta Museum. Look for the hallmarks UNESCO describes: an open plan, light spread through the whole building, curving decoration that wraps around the structure, and new materials such as steel and glass. Horta designed every detail, down to the door handles and the furniture, so the house feels of a piece. It is one of many Art Nouveau buildings in Brussels, and the Belgian Comic Strip Center fills another Horta design.

    Tip: Book online, as the museum says only an online reservation guarantees entry to the house and keeps your wait short.

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre; visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism); Horta Museum (official); Belgian Comic Strip Center
15. 15Brussels

    Follow Tintin through Brussels' comics world

    Brussels calls itself the capital of the comic strip, and the Belgian Comic Strip Center honors the creators and heroes of the ninth art in an Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta. Its permanent exhibition, A Century of Belgian Comics, tells a hundred years of the art in a setting of black, white and gold, with original drawings and unpublished documents, alongside temporary shows. Allow about an hour and a half. Then take to the streets: since 1991, more than 80 murals have gone up on city walls, so you can turn a corner and meet Tintin, Blake and Mortimer or Corto Maltese.

    Tip: It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM with last entry at 5 PM, and booking is optional, so it makes an easy rainy-day plan.

    €[fee]Know the fee?
    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Belgian Comic Strip Center; visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism)
16. 16Bruges

    Tour the De Halve Maan brewery in Bruges

    De Halve Maan is a family brewery on the Walplein in central Bruges and one of the most visited breweries in Belgium, with more than 100,000 visitors a year. The classic guided tour lasts about 45 minutes in Dutch, French or English. It starts in the brewing hall, passes brewing equipment used over past centuries and climbs to the rooftop for a 360-degree view over the city center. It ends with a glass of unfiltered Brugse Zot or Straffe Hendrik, which the brewery says you can drink nowhere else. Beer lovers can pick the 90-minute XL tour, held only at weekends, with three beers tasted in the old cellars. The brewery is not far from Bruges station.

    Tip: Tours are capped at 25 people, so book a slot online, and wear sturdy shoes for the 220 steep steps along the way.

    Pay as you go
    Sources: Brouwerij De Halve Maan
17. 17Brussels

    Eat Belgian fries on Place Jourdan

    Brussels takes its fries seriously, and on Place Jourdan the Maison Antoine chip shop has been championing them for over 70 years. The square sits in the European Quarter, which mixes EU institutions with parks, shops and museums, so pair your fries with the Parlamentarium, the European Parliament's visitor centre. Its interactive, multimedia exhibition works in all 24 official EU languages, entry is free and most visits take about 90 minutes. The House of European History, also free and open seven days a week, offers audio guides in 24 languages and stands about 700 meters from Brussels-Luxembourg station. Leopold Park recalls the days when wealthy families moved into the district.

    Tip: Bring a passport or national ID card, which the Parliament requires at the door, and book a Parlamentarium slot online, since walk-ins get in only when there is space.

    Pay as you go
    Sources: visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism); visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism); European Parliament; House of European History (European Parliament)
18. 18Brussels

    Bargain hunt at the Marolles flea market

    The Marolles is often called the most authentic part of Brussels, a district where you can still hear the Brusseleir dialect, and the jazz musician Toots Thielemans was born here. Its heart is Place du Jeu de Balle, where the Vieux Marche flea market fills the square every day, from dawn until 2 PM on weekdays and until 3 PM at weekends. The bistros around the square open for the market, and musicians sometimes play on the terraces. Rue Haute and rue Blaes are lined with antique dealers and vintage shops. Then head up to the Place du Grand Sablon, a magnet for chocolate lovers, beside the 15th-century Gothic Church of Our Lady of Sablon.

    Tip: Take a terrace seat at La Brocante, one of the area's most typical cafes, to watch the market at work.

    Free to visit
    Sources: visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism); visit.brussels (Brussels-Capital Region tourism)

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