Map view
Church of Our Lady, Bruges
Best time to visit: June-Aug
Cost: $
- The Church of Our Lady is located in Bruges, and dates mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries
- Its tower, at 115.6 metres (379 ft) in height, remains the third tallest brickwork tower in the world
- The church demonstrates the Gothic style in the prominent Flying buttresses on the exterior which were constructed in the 1270s and 80s
- One of the chapels in the church was created in 1482 for a wealthy man named Lodewijk van Gruuthuse, as his personal worship area
Hallerbos
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Forest mostly situated in the municipality of Halle, known in the region for its bluebell carpet which covers the forest floor for a few weeks each spring
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in Brussels, dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture
- The Romanesque church's construction began in the 11th century, replacing an earlier chapel, and was largely complete in its current Gothic form by the 16th
- St. Gudula also stands out for its musical components, notably its two pipe organs and the church bells
Manneken Pis, Brussels
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Manneken Pis is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin
- Though its existence is attested as early as the mid-15th century, it was redesigned by a sculptor and put in place in 1618 or 1619
- The figure is regularly dressed up and its wardrobe consists of around one thousand different costumes
- Due to its self-derisive nature, it is also an example of folk humor popular in Brussels
Walibi Belgium
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Theme park located in Wavre, and one of the largest theme parks in Belgium
- Rides featured include roller coasters, water rides, thrill rides, and dark rides
Grand-Place
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Central square of Brussels, which is surrounded by opulent Baroque guildhalls of the former Guilds of Brussels and two larger edifices; the city's Flamboyant Town Hall, and the neo-Gothic King's House
- The Grand-Place's construction began in the 11th century and was largely complete by the 17th
- In 1695, during the Nine Years' War, most of the square was destroyed during the bombardment of Brussels by French troops
- Only the facade and the tower of the Town Hall, which served as a target for the artillery, and some stone walls resisted
Atomium
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Landmark modernist building in Brussels, originally constructed as the centrepiece of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair
- Designed as a tribute to scientific progress, as well as to symbolise Belgian engineering skills at the time, it is located where the exhibition took place
- It serves as a museum, an art center and a cultural destination
Gravensteen
Best time to visit: June-Aug
Cost: $
- Medieval castle at Ghent, that dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353
- It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton factory
- It is now a museum and a major landmark in the city
Antwerpen-Centraal Railway Station
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Main railway station in Antwerp, whose first station was the terminus of the Brussels–Mechelen–Antwerp railway line, which opened in 1836
- The original station building was made of wood and was replaced by a new and larger building on the occasion of the opening of the new international connection to the Netherlands in 1854–55
- It is widely regarded as the finest example of railway architecture in Belgium
Belfry of Bruges
Best time to visit: June-Aug
Cost: $
- Medieval bell tower in Bruges, and one of the city's most prominent symbols
- The belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other dangers
- The belfry was added to the Markt (market square) around 1240, when Bruges was an important centre of the Flemish cloth industry
- The bells in the tower regulated the lives of the city dwellers, announcing the time, fire alarms, work hours, and a variety of social, political, and religious events
Royal Palace of Brussels
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the center of the nation's capital, Brussels
- The first building on the Coudenberg hill was constructed between the second half of the 11th and first half of the 12th century
- Unlike most European royal residences, the Palace of Brussels is today no longer the real residence of the Kings of the Belgians, who prefer to live in the Palace of Laeken
Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Ensemble of three glazed shopping arcades in central Brussels, that consists of the King's Gallery and the Princes' Gallery
- The galleries were built between 1846 and 1847, and precede other famous 19th-century European shopping arcades
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Group of art museums in Brussels containing over 20,000 drawings, sculptures, and paintings, covering a period extending from the early 15th century to the present, such as those of Flemish old masters, making it the most popular art institution and most visited museum complex in Belgium
- The museum was founded in 1801 by Napoleon