Country guide
Belgium covers 30,689 km² and holds more than 11.8 million people, a density of 383 per km² that ranks sixth in Europe. It is divided three ways — Flanders in...
Photograph · Naval S from Berlin · CC BY 2.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Belgium covers 30,689 km² and holds more than 11.8 million people, a density of 383 per km² that ranks sixth in Europe.
It is divided three ways — Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, the Brussels-Capital Region in the middle — and the language divides with it: Dutch for about 60 per cent of the population, French for about 40, German for the one per cent in the East Cantons. The choice for a visitor is largely between Brussels, which carries the seats of the European Commission and Council and the headquarters of NATO, and the Flemish cities: Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Leuven.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
61 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Musée Horta - Hortamuseum
The Horta Museum is the house and architectural studio that Victor Horta built for himself in Saint-Gilles, and it is the only building on the Art Nouveau circuit in Brussels that a visitor can walk through room by room.
Musée Magritte Museum
The Musée Magritte Museum is a museum devoted entirely to René Magritte (1898-1967), installed in the Hôtel Altenloh on the Place Royale and run by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée - Belgisch Stripcentrum
The Comic Art Museum, still widely signposted and registered under its founding name Belgian Comic Strip Center, occupies a department store that was never meant to hold pictures.
Musée Oldmasters - Oldmasters Museum
The Old Masters Museum is one of the four sites that make up the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, a federal institution whose main entrance is at Rue de la Régence 3, on the slope below the Place…
Musée des instruments de musique - Muziekinstrumentenmuseum
The Musical Instruments Museum, universally called the MIM, is a federal Belgian museum of roughly ten thousand instruments, of which about twelve hundred are on show.
Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique - Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België
The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium is a major natural history museum located in Brussels. Its local names are Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique in French and Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België in Dutch, reflecting Belgium's bilingual character.
Autoworld is a motor museum located in Brussels, Belgium. The institution occupies a historic building within the Parc du Cinquantenaire complex, a prominent architectural setting in the European capital.
Musée BELvue - BELvue Museum
BELvue is a museum located in Brussels, Belgium. It occupies a historic building and presents exhibitions related to Belgian history, democracy, and society. The museum is situated in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, near the Royal Palace.
Maison de l'Histoire européenne - Huis van de Europese geschiedenis
The House of European History is a museum in Brussels dedicated to the history of Europe and European integration. Located in the European Quarter near the European Parliament, it occupies the Eastman Building, a former dental institute.
The Parlamentarium is the visitors' centre of the European Parliament, located in Brussels. It serves as an exhibition space designed to inform the public about the European Parliament's role, history, and democratic processes.
Coudenberg
The Palace of Coudenberg was a medieval royal and imperial palace located on Coudenberg hill in Brussels. It served as the seat of government for the Dukes of Brabant and later for the Habsburg rulers.
Belgian Beer World is a Brussels attraction devoted to Belgian beer culture and heritage.
Choco Story Brussels
Choco-Story Brussels is a museum devoted to chocolate in the Belgian capital. The visit connects cocoa’s Mesoamerican origins with the development of European chocolate-making and Brussels’ strong praline tradition.
Design Museum Brussels is a Brussels museum devoted to design history and contemporary design practice. It places functional objects, visual ideas, and manufacturing culture within a wider cultural setting.
Musée royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire militaire - Koninklijk Museum van het Leger en de Krijgsgeschiedenis
The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History occupies the Cinquantenaire complex in Brussels. It presents Belgium’s military heritage across several centuries, combining historical interpretation with large collections of military objects.
Train World is Belgium’s national railway museum, housed at the historic Schaerbeek railway station northeast of central Brussels. The museum presents Belgian railway history through locomotives, carriages, railway technology, and the station environment itself.
Maison d'Erasme - Erasmushuis
The Erasmus House, known locally as Maison d'Erasme or Erasmushuis, is a historic museum dedicated to the life and work of Desiderius Erasmus, the renowned Renaissance humanist, theologian, and scholar.
Rouge Cloître - Rood Klooster
Arts center of Red Cloister is a cultural venue at Rouge Cloître, also called Rood Klooster, in the Sonian Forest area of Brussels. The setting brings together the atmosphere of a former Cistercian priory and present-day artistic activity.
Van Buuren Museum & Gardens is a Brussels cultural attraction that combines a museum interior with designed outdoor grounds.
Musée de la Porte de Hal - Hallepoort Museum
Halle Gate Museum is Brussels’ surviving medieval city gate, known in French as Musée de la Porte de Hal and in Dutch as Hallepoort Museum.
Archief en Museum voor het Vlaams Leven te Brussel
The Archief en Museum voor het Vlaams Leven te Brussel is an archive and museum dedicated to Flemish life in Brussels. It preserves and presents materials related to the Flemish community's history, culture, and presence in the bilingual Belgian capital.
Musée Art & Histoire - Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis
Art & History Museum, also called Musée Art & Histoire and Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis, is a major Brussels museum in Cinquantenaire Park. The monumental complex presents the city with an encyclopedic journey through art, archaeology, and material culture.
Art & marges musée - Art & marges museum
Art)&(marges Museum is a Brussels museum dedicated to art brut and outsider art. It gives institutional space to self-taught artists and creative practices developed outside established academic and gallery systems.
Musée Belge de la Franc-Maçonnerie - Belgisch Museum van de Vrijmetselarij
The Belgian Museum of Freemasonry occupies a historic building in Brussels dedicated to preserving and presenting the heritage of Belgian freemasonry.
Musée Belge de la Radiologie - Belgisch Museum voor Radiologie
Belgisch Museum voor Radiologie, also known as Musée Belge de la Radiologie, is a Brussels museum devoted to the history of radiology and medical imaging.
Five to seven days covers Brussels plus two or three rail-linked cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Leuven or Liège. Staying in one or two bases avoids losing time to repeated hotel changes in this compact network.
Belgium’s foreign-affairs service publishes visa and short-stay requirements. Check the rule for the passport being used and the full Schengen itinerary, especially when Belgium is not the first external border crossed.
Brussels Airport connects directly with Belgium’s national rail network, and intercity trains link the principal cities without compulsory reservations. Local buses, trams and metros belong to separate regional operators, so one urban ticket is not automatically valid nationwide.
April through June offers long sightseeing days, while September usually retains workable conditions with fewer peak-summer pressures. Belgian weather remains changeable, making a waterproof layer useful in any of these months.
The euro (EUR) is Belgium’s currency. Card and cash acceptance can differ between a station machine, a market stall and a small business, so retain a second payment method rather than assuming one card will work everywhere.
Belgium uses 112 for emergencies and Type C or E plugs at 230 V. The recorded national guidance says mains tap water is safe.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}