Things to do in Belgium

Centraal Station

Ilot Sacre – Sacred Isle (area around Grand Place)

La Grande Place

• UNESCO

• Town Hall

• Guildhalls

• Breadhouse

• Flower Carpet: Aug 11-15 2017 ***

• Walking tours

Mannekin Pis (Jeanneke Pis, Zinneke Pis)

Restaurants, bars, shopping, chocolate, waffles

Puppet Theater “Theatre Royal De Toone VIII)

St. Michaels & Gudula Gothic Cathedral

• Famous for lots of original stained glass

• Centuries-long construction: mixed architecture styles

• Visits to Tower!

Hop-on, Hop-off bus stops

• Line 1 (Blue): Atomium (across from St. Mike’s park)

• Line 2 (Red): Europe (Centraal Station)

Bourse (Stock Exchange)

Eglise Saint Nicolas – church with shops attached

Halles De Saint-Gery (contains La Fontaine) – get a drink & rest

Rogier/Botanique shopping district

Place Royal museums, arts: www.kmkg-mrah.be/

• MIM – Musical Instruments Museum

Old England Art Nouveau building

Restaurant in dome with great view (Brunch!)

• Magritte

• Old Masters (Bruegel, Van Dyck, Bosh, Rubens)

Royal Palace & Park (open July 21->Sep)

• St. Jasques: Royal Family’s church

• Coudenberg

underground archaeological site and museum!

At near corner of Royal Palace

Comic Book Museum – gorgeous 1906 Horat Nuveau building

Tour Noire – tower part of old city wall embraced by modern hotel

Sablon

• Grand Sablon

• Notre-Dame du Sablon

• Jardin du Petit Sablon

• Parc d’Egmont (with café La Fabrique en Ville)

• Chocolate, restaurants

Eglise Notre-Dame de Chapelle – has Bruegel chapel?

Wood Cutter: axe-throwing bar!

La Monnaie De Munt opera house

Rue Neuve – major pedestrian shopping street

St. Catherine’s church and neighborhood

• Jean-Baptiste au Béguinage Cathedral – nearby

• La Bellone façade under glass

Saint-Hubert Gallery – 3 lavish covered shopping arcades

Mont Des Arts (Jardin de) – garden with hilltop view

Saint-Jaques neighborhood

Escape Rooms!

• Enygma – Escape Game…nearby!!!

• Escape the Room in 60 Minutes

• Quarantine

Comics and Novelties

• Tintin store

• Novelties store: La Suite (Rue du Midi & Rue du Lombard)

• Comic Stores: https://www.thebulletin.be/comic-relief-10-our-favourite-cartoon-bookstores-brussels

Best chocolate maker award: Jérôme Grimonpon Chocolatier.

Hall of Justice, w/ elevator to Marolles

The Marolles neighborhood & antique market

Africa Museum – way outside town in Tervuren

Red Cloister – nice for an outdoors walk

Flagey

• Abbaye de la Cambre

EU area, Luxembourg Square

Parc de Cinquantenaire

• Autoworld

• Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History

• Art and History Museum

Asian museum near Greenhouses

Train World! Amazing even if you’re not into trains!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/t-magazine/craft-guild-la-friche-zaventem-ateliers.html

Royal Greenhouses, only open for 2 weeks in April/May!!!

High viewpoints: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/belgium/articles/top-6-viewpoints-over-brussels-you-should-not-miss/

Place Poelaert: high viewpoint

St. Boniface (near EU quarter), w/ restaurants in square

Avenue Louise: high-end shopping (Brussels’ Madison Avenue)

Basillica Catholic Cathedral (huge & ugly)

Atomium World’s Fair structure (café & view from top, exhibits)

ADAM museum also at Atomium location.

For kids: Mini-Europe (near Atomium)

Ghent: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-1-ghent

Antwerp: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-2-antwerp

Ypres: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-3-ypres

Bruges: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-4-bruges

The Coast: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-5-coast

Spa: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-6-spa

Hasselt: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-7-hasselt

Louvain-La_Neuve: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-8-louvain-la-neuve

Liege: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-9-liege

Leuven: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-10-leuven

Charleroi: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-11-charleroi

Namur: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-12-namur

Mechelen: http://www.xpats.com/summer-city-trips-belgium-13-mechelen

Quick trip to Liege-Guillemins train station by Santiago Calatrava, 2009

• Just one-hour train ride direct from Centraal Station!

• Also can walk over to Liege Cathedral (St. Paul’s?)

• Also: Église St-Jacques !

• Maybe time visit to see both at sunset & lit up at night?

Netherlands UNESCO windmills site

• Just 90 minute drive

• Kinderdijk-Elshout

Distilleries! Some are by appointment only

• http://www.whiskytrailbelgium.be/en/distilleries

Breweries!

• 6 Trappists: Rochefort, van Westmalle, Westveleteren, Chimay, Orval, St Benedictus

• Sint Sixtus Westvleteren (2 hour drive, out towards coast & Dunkirk!)

• Some are NOT open for visitors (e.g., Rochefort)

• http://www.belgianbeerroutes.com/

• Non-Trappists are probably great, too!

Nivelles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nivelles

Botanic Garden Meise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanic_Garden_Meise

Groot-Bijgaarden Castle (Renaissance castle & garden compound)

• Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden. West edge of city (not far)

• Floralia Brussels annual flower event ~April/May floralia-brussels.be

Waterloo battlefields & battle museum

• Butte du Lion memorial mound

• Battle Museum

• Wellington Museum

• Napoleon’s Headquarters

• Wellington Church

• Ask Nadine about her full day guided tour fellow

• Or try guide from guides1815.org: https://www.guides1815.org/ggindex.php/en/?page_id=125

Ascenseur Strépy Thieu: http://voiesdeau.hainaut.be/en/placeofinterest/the-boat-lift-of-strepy-thieu/

• Funicular boatlift of Strepy-Thieu (2002 modern ginormous)

• Sloping lock of Ronquieres

• Historic Canal du Centre (includes smaller boatlift we took)

• http://voiesdeau.hainaut.be/en/

• Boat tours: Canal, lock, ancient hydraulic lift, movable bridges. Tourist train ride on towpath?

  • • http://voiesdeau.hainaut.be/en/programm/excursion-canal-and-visit-of-strepy/

    • http://voiesdeau.hainaut.be/en/placeofinterest/the-historic-canal-centre/

    • https://www.rivertours.be/EN/BOATTRIPS/detail-boattrip-inclined-plane-ronquieres-boat-lift-strepy-thieu.php

https://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/belgium/ardennes/

Unspoilt “green lung” of Belgium

Comte, 6690Spans 3 provinces: Namur, Luxembourg, Liege

Castles, Forts, Citadels

Caves/Mines (meh?)

WW tourism (Battle of the Bulge, etc.)

Comte, 6690 Bastogne war museum

Old town of Durbuy. Quaint, smallest city in the world?

Rochefort: pretty town

St-Hubert town with splendid Italianate basilica. Nearby Fourneau St-Michel superb open-air museum.

La-Roche-en-Ardenne: most charming town!

Rochehaut: hiking area. End hike in hamlet of Frahan-sur-Semois (via steep trail & footbridge)

Chateau De Bouillon is top-tier sight and another super-charming town, Belgium’s finest feudal castle-ruin

Tiny town of Crupet (one of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia) stone houses, flowers

Hautes Fagnes Natural Reserve (the High Fens)

• Expanse of windswept heathland extending from Eupen to Malmedy

• Highest part of the Ardennes

• In German-speaking east part of Belgium

• Parc Natural Hautes Fagnes – Eifel

• Mont Rigi

Most attractive & popular region:

• Extends between Dinant, La-Roche-en-Ardenne, and Bouillon

• River valleys, deep wooded canyons, high green peaks, cave systems

• Meuse Valley, canoe/kayak on wilder River Lesse

Abbeys?!

• Orval

• Rochefort

• Chimay

• Achouffe

HIKES

• Area: Liege Plateau

Day hikes on 2 mountain streams

Ninglinspo river: from Nonceveux town

Chefna river: from Ville-au-Bois town

https://alongcameanelephant.com/ardennes-day-trip-from-brussels-niglinspo/

• Area: Semois Valley (between Belgian Arlon and French Montherme)

Towns: Laforest, Membre, Mouzaive, Vresse sur Semois

Seasonal bridge at Pont de Claies near Laforet

Chiny

Hat Rocks overlook of Semois: See wikiloc for trail

• Area: Aniler Forest (drained by Sure river)

Bastogne good starting point

• Area: Saint Hubert Forest (spans 10 communes)

St. Hubert (w/ Basilica) at the heart

• Area: Escapardenne Eislek Trail (THE great hiking trail of Ardennes, 106 km long, 6 segments)

Runs from Belgium’s La-Roche-en-Ardenne to Luxembourg’s Kautenbach

• Area: The Oesling region in Luxembourg (not Belgium)(AKA Eislek or Luxembourgish Ardennes)

Wiltz is a jumping off point for hikes

Includes 2 nature parks: Nature Park Our and Nature Park of the Upper Sure