20 Top Attractions in Belgium: Must Visit Spots
Belgium gets written off as a transit country — people pass through on the way to France or the Netherlands. That's a mistake. Belgium has three of Europe's most beautiful historic city centres (Bruges, Ghent, Brussels), a genuinely interesting modern city (Antwerp), and a countryside (the Ardennes) that's worth the detour. It's also extremely compact — you can cover all of it in a week by train.
Here are the 20 top attractions in Belgium, organised by city to help you plan your route.
Brussels
1. Grand Place
Brussels' central square is one of the finest in Europe — a UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounded by ornate 17th-century guildhalls and the Gothic Town Hall. The square hosts the Flower Carpet every two years (August, even years) and a Christmas market in winter.
Entry: Free to visit; guided tours from €10.
2. Atomium
Built for the 1958 World's Fair, the Atomium is a 102-metre steel structure representing an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. The interior has permanent and temporary exhibitions on science and design; the top sphere has a panoramic restaurant.
Entry: €16 adults / €8 children.
3. Manneken Pis
A 61cm bronze statue of a boy urinating, installed in 1618. It's small, surrounded by tourists, and worth five minutes — partly for the statue, partly because it says something accurate about Belgian self-deprecation.
Entry: Free.
4. Belgian Comic Strip Centre
Belgium's contribution to world culture includes Tintin, The Smurfs, Lucky Luke, and Spirou. This museum in a Victor Horta Art Nouveau building covers all of them with real affection.
Entry: €12.50 adults / €5 children.
5. Royal Greenhouses of Laeken
The royal estate's greenhouses are open to the public for about three weeks each spring (late April to early May). The collection of exotic plants under cast-iron and glass domes is extraordinary.
Entry: €5 adults / free under 18. Dates vary each year — check ahead.
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Bruges
6. Bruges Historic Centre
Bruges is a medieval city that survived the 20th century essentially intact — Gothic churches, canal-lined streets, horse-drawn carriages. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk it; the experience is the whole city rather than any single landmark.
Entry: Free to explore; boat tours around €12.
7. Belfry of Bruges
The 83-metre medieval belfry overlooking the Markt has 366 steps and views worth every one of them. The carillon (47 bells) plays on the quarter-hour.
Entry: €14 adults / €12 students and seniors.
Ghent
8. Gravensteen Castle
The 12th-century Castle of the Counts in the centre of Ghent is intact, moated, and full of medieval weaponry exhibits. One of the best-preserved medieval fortifications in Northern Europe.
Entry: €12 adults / €7 children.
9. St. Bavo's Cathedral & the Ghent Altarpiece
The Ghent Altarpiece (Van Eyck, 1432) is one of the most important paintings in Western art — 18 panels depicting the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. It's been hidden, looted by Napoleon, and returned multiple times. Now in a dedicated display room in the cathedral.
Entry: Cathedral free; Ghent Altarpiece €12.
Antwerp
10. Cathedral of Our Lady
The tallest building in the Low Countries for over a century, Antwerp's cathedral houses four Rubens altarpieces including the Descent from the Cross.
Entry: €12 adults / free under 18.
11. MAS Museum
Antwerp's river and trading history told across nine floors of a contemporary waterfront building. The rooftop is free and has one of the best views of the city and the Scheldt.
Entry: €12 adults / free under 12. Rooftop: free.
12. Grand Market (Grote Markt)
Antwerp's main square, ringed by guild houses and a 16th-century city hall. The Brabo Fountain at the centre depicts the giant-slaying myth that gives the city its name.
Entry: Free.
Smaller Cities & Day Trips
13. Dinant Citadel
A 19th-century fortress on a sheer cliff above the Meuse River, 90 minutes from Brussels. The town below is the birthplace of Adolphe Sax — inventor of the saxophone.
Entry: €11 adults / €8 children.
14. Hallerbos Forest
A beech forest in Flemish Brabant that turns vivid purple-blue in late April when the bluebells bloom. One of the most unusual natural spectacles in Belgium.
Entry: Free. Peak bloom: third or fourth week of April.
15. Waterloo Battlefield
The site of Napoleon's final defeat in June 1815. The Lion's Mound gives a 360° view of the battlefield; the museum below has strong period context.
Entry: €20 for the full experience (museum + Lion's Mound + 4D film).
16. Mechelen's St. Rumbold's Tower
A 97-metre UNESCO-listed tower that doubles as a carillon school — Mechelen trains carillonneurs from around the world.
Entry: €8 adults / €3 children.
17. Leuven University Library
A neo-Renaissance library rebuilt after WWI (and again after WWII, when it was burned a second time). The tower has views over the university city.
Entry: €7 adults / €5 students.
18. Ardennes Region
Hiking, kayaking, cave systems, and WWII Battle of the Bulge sites all concentrate in this forested region in the southeast. Han-sur-Lesse (caves), La Roche-en-Ardenne (castle ruins), and Bastogne (WWII museum) are the main draws.
Entry: Free to visit the region; individual attractions charge entry.
19. Mons Memorial Museum
A thorough account of Belgium's WWI and WWII history, in the city where the first British soldiers were killed in WWI (August 1914).
Entry: €9 adults / €6 children.
20. Château de Beloeil
A 14th-century castle in Hainaut with French-style formal gardens sometimes called the Belgian Versailles. Open seasonally.
Entry: €10 adults / €5 children.
Getting Around Belgium
Belgium is small and well connected by rail:
- Brussels ↔ Bruges: 1 hour
- Brussels ↔ Ghent: 30 minutes
- Brussels ↔ Antwerp: 45 minutes
- Brussels ↔ Liège (gateway to Ardennes): 1 hour
The Go Pass (10 journeys, €98) is good value if you're doing multiple day trips from Brussels. Book Eurostar connections in advance.
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