Founded in the 13C, this ancient Cistercian abbey is situated to the south of the lakes of Ixelles. The fine courtyard with its abbatial and monastic lodgings is a harmonious 18C creation. The 14C church has an impressive Mocking of Christ by Alb..

A must for Art Nouveau lovers, the museum occupies two narrow houses built by Victor Horta between 1898 and 1901 as his home and studio. This huge project is a wonder of harmony and elegance, the very essence of Art Nouveau with glass and iron taking..

Built in 1928, the house of banker and patron David Van Buuren has an exterior typical of the Amsterdam School. The interior is an Art Deco masterpiece created by Belgian, French and Dutch designers. Furniture, rugs, stained glass, sculpture and pict..

Built in 1468 and enlarged in 1515, the “Swan” belonged to the Anderlecht Chapter, whose members and illustrious guests lodged here. In 1521, its most famous visitor gave it its current name: Erasmus. Behind its brick walls, the interior evokes the s..

North of the Laeken royal estate lies a town in glass, a group of greenhouses incorporating fine architectural décor and housing a rich botanical collection. Built in the late 19C by architect Alphonse Balat (1819-1895), they are composed of multiple..

At the heart of this trendy district of young Belgian designers, this museum is housed in a late-19C building, pleasantly remodelled by architect Marie-Josée Van Hee. The permanent collections are presented thematically and regularly revised, allowin..

The museum has rich archaeological and art collections: the first floor focuses on great civilisations with Egyptian, Greek and Roman Antiquities and arts of the Far East (enamel, lacquer, jade). Downstairs are Gallo-Roman and Merovingian objects exc..

This foundry lies among wooded hills in the verdant Masblette Valley. A Benedictine community was previously resident here; in the 18C, the last abbot of St Hubert, Nicolas Spirlet, established a metalworks here. In 1966 it was acquired by the local ..

The work of Mathieu de Layens, this building typifies Brabant Gothic. Inside, at the west end note the Car d’Or (1779-1781), a carriage in carved, gilded and painted wood which on Trinity Sunday each year carries the reliquary of St Waltrude (patron ..

Consecrated in 1046, the abbey church has two transepts and two opposing choirs. The late-Romanesque west end or “Westbau” is laid out over five levels. Inside, the church is striking for its dimensions and simplicity; note the gracious 15C polychrom..

The River Ourthe is born of the confluence near Nisramont of two tributaries: a western one which rises near Ourthe in Luxembourg, and an eastern one which begins at Ourt to the south of St-Hubert. Upstream from La Roche-en-Ardenne , it is fast-flow..

Pleasant marked footpaths, notably GR 57, cross this 1 400m shale ridge, its rocky soil covered by abundant vegetation, which falls away abruptly, its steep slope plunging down towards the river to the east. At its foot, the river flows through an ..

So far only the cave of 1 001 nights is fully open to the public. The sequence of narrow chambers has a variety of geological formations of remarkable delicacy and very striking colours: calcite white, red, orange, delicate pink with iron traces. In ..

A Meuse tributary, the Semois rises near Arlon, flows through lowlying “Belgian Lorraine” and then beyond Florenville meanders through the schist of the Ardennes massif with fine views along its course, notably at Herbeumont where stands the Tombeau..

Built in the 13C, this sandstone church is decorated with sober Lombard arcading. The nave is striking for its alternating round and trefoil columns, huge galleries and beams. In addition to the rood-screen, note the large marble bas-relief depicting..

The dam was originally built on this tributary of the Vesdre between 1869 and 1876, and reconditioned between 1967 and 1971. 67m high, 320m long, on a 235m-rock foundation, its capacity has doubled to 26 million m3. It supplies the region with water ..

Around 100 buildings spread over 90ha, illustrating bygone life in the Flemish provinces. Three sections focus on rural life, a fourth is urban. Each rural section corresponds to a region: Kempen, Limburg, and Flanders. The urban section features rec..

The Magritte Museum exhibits some 250 of the 1 200 works by one of the leading lights of Surrealism, or the "immediate knowledge of reality", as he himself defined the movement. Drawings, oil paintings, gouache paintings, posters and sculpt..

At long last, this museum devoted to the most famous of Belgium's animators opened its doors in 2009 in the remarkable town of Louvain-la-Neuve. It presents the life and works of the creator of Tintin, his passions, his influences, the evolution of h..

Sint Pieterskerk houses this museum stacked with masterpieces, including the Last Supper altarpiece by Dirk Bouts (1467), a small copy of the Descent from the Cross by Van der Weyden (1440) and an outstanding 13C wooden Head of Christ called &q..