Belgium Attractions

The Grand Place is the central square of Brussels. The public square is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse. The square is one of the most popular tourist destinations and most memorable landmarks in Brussels (along with the Atomium and Manneken Pis). It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 360 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the most notable attractions of the Grand Place (for just a few days every 2 years) is an incredible Flower Carpet that is laid every two years in August. The enormous "flower carpet" is set up in the Grand Place with around a million colourful begonias set up in patterns, and the display covers a full 24 by 77 metres (79 by 253 ft), for area total of 1,800 square metres (19,000 sq ft).The first flower carpet was made in 1971, and due to its popularity, the tradition continued, with the flow...

Manneken Pis (Dutch for 'Little Man Urinating'), is a famous Brussels landmark. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. It was designed by Jerome Duquesnoy and put in place in 1618 or 1619. The famous statue is located at the junction of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. To find it, one takes the left lane next to the Brussels Town Hall from the famous Grand Place and walks a few hundred meters to arrive at the spot. The statue will be on the left corner.

The Atomium is a monument that was originally built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it is 102-metres (335 ft) tall, with 9 steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes which connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all 8 vertices to the centre enclose escalators connecting the spheres which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. Each sphere is 18 metres in diameter. The vertical vertex contains a lift.

The Cathedral of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's cathedral was started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos. The cathedral is on the list of World Heritage Sites.

In accessible distance from the tourist towns of Ostend and Bruges, lies the Flanders Fields Museum in the small Belgium town of Ypres. The area is best known as the site of three major battles of the First World War, the most famous being the Battle of Passchendaele from July—November 1916. The many memorials and cemeteries of the fallen in and around Ypres draw thousands of visitors each year along with the museum itself, the Flanders Fields Museum. The museum itself gives an excellent overview of WWI. It is more like an experience that takes you right into the daily life during the war. It can be a quite a strong experience that has a profound impact on many of its visitors.

The Rubenshuis ("Rubens House") is the former home and studio of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) in Antwerp. It is now a museum charting Rubens life and works. Rubens spent most of his lifetime in this house, and it was only sold after his death. The city bought it in 1937, and after an extensive restoration the Rubenshuis was opened to the public in 1946. Dozens of paintings and artworks by Rubens and his contemporaries were installed in the rooms, as well as period furniture. Paintings include his early Adam and Eve (c. 1600) and a self portrait made when he was about fifty. The Rubenianum, a centre dedicated to the study of Rubens, is in a building at the rear of the garden.

The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium honouring the famous printers Christoffel Plantijn and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Friday Market. The Plantin-Moretus Museum possesses an exceptional collection of typographical material. Not only does it house the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world and complete sets of dies and matrices, it also has an extensive library, a richly decorated interior and the entire archives of the Plantin business, which were inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme Register in 2001 in recognition of their historical significance. The Collection includes: a Bible in five languages: Biblia Polyglotta (1568-1573) Thesaurus Teutoniae Linguae a geographical book: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum made by Abraham Ortelius a boo...

The Antwerp Zoo is a zoo situated in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located right next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. Together with its sister park Planckendael, Antwerp Zoo houses over 6,000 animals of about 950 species. They get nearly 1.5 million visitors each year and have over a 100,000 supporting members. Together with its sister park Planckendael, Antwerp Zoo houses over 6,000 animals of about 950 species. They get nearly 1.5 million visitors each year and have over a 100,000 supporting members. The most notable exhibits and species in the park include: Vriesland: King Penguin, Rockhoppers and Gentoo Penguins Sea Lion Theatre with Californian Sealions Recently renovated reptile house with may species of snakes, lizards, turtles &...

Aquatopia is a popular educational attraction in central Antwerp, Belgium. Aquatopia features a set of aquariums, along with recreations of other marine habitats, including swamps, rain forests, river deltas, and coral reefs. Aquatopia also includes a number of special exhibits covering sharks, nautilus, and mysteries of the deep. The multi-story attraction is located on Koningin Astridplein, adjacent to Antwerpen-Centraal railway station, and one block from the city's primary bus terminals at Franklin Rooseveltplatz.

The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum of Bruges, Belgium. It houses a comprehensive survey of six centuries of Flemish and Belgian painting, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers. The museum's many highlights include its collection of "Flemish Primitive" art, works by a wide range of Renaissance and Baroque masters, as well as a selection of paintings from the 18th and 19th century neo-classical and realist periods, milestones of Belgian symbolism and modernism, masterpieces of Flemish expressionism and many items from the city's collection of post-war modern art.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Bruges, Belgium. Originally built in the 12th century as the chapel of the residence of the Count of Flanders, the church houses a venerated relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders. Built between 1134 and 1157, it was promoted to minor basilica in 1923. The 12th-century basilica is located in the Burg square and consists of a lower and upper chapel. The lower chapel dedicated to St. Basil the Great is a dark Romanesque structure that remains virtually unchanged. The venerated relic is in the upper chapel, which was rebuilt in the Gothic style during the 16th century and renovated multiple times during the 19th century in Gothic Revival style.

The Saint Bavo Cathedral (also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral, or the Dutch Sint Baafskathedraal) is the seat of the diocese of Ghent. It is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent. The building is based upon the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, a primarily wooden construction; it was consecrated in 942 by Transmarus, Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. Traces of this original structure are evident in the cathedral's crypt. The chapel was subsequently expanded in the Romanesque style in 1038. Some traces of this phase of expansion are still evident in the present day crypt. In the subsequent period from the 14th through 16th centuries, nearly continuous expansion projects in the Gothic style were executed on the structure. A new choir, radiating chapels, expansions of the transepts, a Chapterhouse, nave aisles and a single tower western section were all added during this period. Construction wa...

The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means "castle of the count" in Dutch. Built by Count Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders, soon after he returned from the Crusades in 1180 with images of similar crusader castles in the Holy Land. If its walls (2m thick), battlements, and turrets failed to intimidate attackers, the count could always turn to a well-equipped torture chamber inside. Visitors can view relics of the chamber in a small museum in the castle. Climb up to the ramparts of the high central building, the donjon, which has great views of Ghent's rooftops and towers. Admission: 8€ adults (movie guide included), 6€ Discount (groups of min. 15 p, +55 years, 19-26 years), Free: -19 years, companions of the disabled persons, € 3,00 Movieguide.

St. Nicholas' Church (Dutch: Sint-Niklaaskerk) is one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in Ghent, Belgium. Begun in the early 13th century as a replacement for an earlier Romanesque church, construction continued through the rest of the century in the local Scheldt Gothic style (named after the nearby river). Typical of this style is the use of blue-gray stone from the Tournai area, the single large tower above the crossing, and the slender turrets at the building's corners. Built in the old trade center of Ghent next to the bustling Korenmarkt (Wheat Market), St. Nicholas' Church was popular with the guilds whose members carried out their business nearby. The guilds had their own chapels which were added to the sides of the church in the 14th and 15th centuries. The central tower served as an observation post and carried the town bells until the neighboring belfry of G...