What is there to see and do in Belgium?

Brussels

Brussels, the capital, is the administrative headquarters of the European Union and is centrally located with access to anywhere in the country on a Belgium vacation. Some of the highlights here are the Grand Place, a UNESCO world heritage site, with its ornate baroque and gothic guild houses and one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. Located here is the 13th Century gothic cathedral with its crooked needle-like spire. In the winter, there is a wonderful Christmas market. Nearby is the Royal Palace, home of the King and Manneken Pis, the much-photographed famous fountain featuring the boy who urinates into it. The Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule (named after a male and a female saint) dates back to the 15th Century. Then there is the Rue de Bouchers with its 17th Century architecture better known for its wide variety of restaurants. The Atomium is a building constructed in 1958 for the World Exhibition and was modelled on the atomic structure of an iron crystal. You can explore the unusual tube walkways and spheres as well as see a permanent exhibition which details the history of the building. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium covers several museums in one building, the Museum of Old Masters, the Modern Museum of Art, and the Fin-de-Siecle Museum. Together the museum collections cover paintings, sculptures, and drawings from the 15th to 21st centuries. The Magritte Museum is dedicated to the work of the Belgian surrealist artist, Rene Magritte, considered one of the most important 20th Century artists in the world. The exhibits are spread over 5 floors and include more than 200 pieces, 

Antwerp

Antwerp is Belgium’s second-largest city. Known primarily as the Diamond Industry Capital, it has been described as the “City with Many Faces” due to its mix of contemporary and ancient districts. The medieval section offers café-filled cobblestone streets and an impressive cathedral 123 metres/400 feet in height which took 169 years to complete. Another highlight is Rubenshuis, a museum dedicated to the Belgium painter. The young-at-heart have been attracted to visit due to its abundance of coffee bars, authentic vinyl record shops, and secondhand clothing stores. However, on the cultural side, you will also find many galleries and museums. Gentrification has come to the formerly abandoned dockside district, Het Eilandje. The neighbourhood’s warehouses have made way for museums, artists’ workshops, and coffee bars. In the centre of the city, you will find cobblestones and tree-lined squares, the main square being the Grote Markt, flanked on two sides by beautiful guildhalls. Some eye-catching buildings in Antwerp include the Palace of Justice, with its spiked roof, the remarkable Port House, and the awe-inspiring Central Station, with its combination of stone, steel, and glass.

Bruges

Beautiful, photogenic Bruges is a small city which needs to be explored on foot, while on a Belgium vacation, and by a cruise through its network of canals. It is known as the “Venice of the North,” as its canals criss-cross the city. A boat trip will help you to get your bearings while seeing some impressive, attractive, old houses including historic churches and old whitewashed almshouses. Apart from the canals, you can also walk along cobblestone streets passing by old churches and quaint bridges. Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed city due to its well-preserved medieval centre which is closed to motorized vehicles. In the very centre is the Big Market Square in which you will find the beautiful Stadhuis (City Hall), dating back to 1420 with its Gothic turrets. The Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (Basilica of the Holy Blood) is a church which takes its name from a phial supposedly containing a few drops of Christ’s blood that was brought here after the 12th Century Crusades. When in Bruges on a Belgium vacation, you can’t ignore chocolate, as this city is world-famous for this delight. There are many shops selling this commodity and if you are really into this sweet treat, head to the Choco-Story Museum, which covers several floors of an old house and describes chocolate’s transition from cocoa into chocolate.

Ghent 

Ghent, Belgium’s third-largest metropolis, is a university city with thousands of students. This gives it a lively atmosphere. Ghent is known for its medieval architecture, museums, and breweries. It also has a number of significant churches and an opera house. The city is well-preserved and oozes history. Some of the major sites to visit include the 12th Century castle of Gravensteen, modelled after the Crusader castles in the Holy Land and complete with a moat and turrets. Once the country’s biggest abbey, St-Pieters was the original centre around which the city of Ghent grew. You can stroll around the ruins and the abbey gardens. Styled like a Greek temple, the superb MSK (Museum of Fine Arts Ghent) is a true encyclopedia of Belgian and Low Countries’ painters from the 14th to mid-20th centuries. An interesting neighbourhood district is Patershol, with its winding streets and cobblestone lanes. Here you can imagine yourself back in the Middle Ages. Ghent has a vibrant street art scene where murals are painted on many walls throughout the city. The city has generously given its street artists many locations on which to paint. Graslei is a waterside quay in the historic city centre. Originally a medieval port, it is now a cultural hotspot in the city with its large number of cafes, and along with its historical buildings, is a protected district.

Belgium Battlefields 

The Waterloo Battlefield where Napoleon was defeated and the Battlefields of Flanders with their World War One significance are also well worth visiting on a Belgium vacation. The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died before 16 August 1917 and have no known grave in Flanders. It is one of the most well-known war memorials in the world. Between October 1914 and September 1918 hundreds of thousands of servicemen of the British Empire marched through the town of Ypres's Menin Gate on their way to the battlefields. Soon after its completion, the memorial became an important place of pilgrimage for visitors to the battlefields. Since 1928, the Last Post has been sounded every evening at 8 pm at the memorial. Only during the Second World War was the ceremony interrupted. 

Spa in Spa 

The spa is a town in the Liege province in Belgium, known as the "original" spa, i.e. a place where tourists came in to enjoy the health and wellness benefits of water and hot springs in particular. The town is famous for its mineral water. The springs in Spa became so popular that the name became genericized. Apart from the mineral waters, the Spa also draws crowds several times a year when racing and other events are held at the nearby Spa-Francorchamps track.

Learn about more things to do in Belgium here. 

When is the best time to visit Belgium?

July and August are when the weather is at its best and therefore the busiest time to visit on a Belgium vacation. However, April, May, September and October are also good times to visit. It is when accommodation and prices are less expensive and the cities are less crowded. The winter can definitely be cold and wet. Belgium’s climate is, overall, moderate with few extremes of temperature. Yes. it can rain at any time but mainly showers. Sidewalk cafes open up their outside tables in the spring and stay open until the fall. There have been years, though not very often when temperatures were low enough for the canals in places like Bruges and Ghent to freeze sufficiently to allow ice skaters to enjoy themselves.

What types of tours are available in Belgium?

You can have stopover packages in both Brussels and Bruges with local sightseeing. You can also consider Goway’s combined itinerary of Brussels and Amsterdam. A special interest small group tour is available to visit the World War 1 battlefields. 

Travel to Belgium

There are regular non-stop direct flights to Brussels from Montreal, New York, Washington, Chicago and Atlanta. There are also good connections via London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris. 

Transportation within Belgium

By far, train travel is the best form of transportation on Belgium tours. Buses are only used for short distances. Brussels has a very good subway system.

 "Globetrotting with Goway" blog articles

For some additional reading, the following articles are from our blog “Globetrotting with Goway”….. a great source of information for those people who are, or who want to be, world travellers!

The Perfect One Week Belgium Vacation

Tour the Battlefields of WWI and Pay Remembrance, on a Trip to France and Belgium

My European Vacation Favourites – Part 2

The Small Country with Outstanding Attractions to be Discovered on a Belgium Vacation

Where to Find Europe’s Best Beer

Extend your stay

Consider an additional stopover to your Belgium vacation at one of Goway's other European destinations. You can choose from a Paris vacation, a London vacation or an Amsterdam vacation. This can be done stopping over en route to or from Belgium.