Things to Do in Belgium

This exploration of comic strips as art is appropriately housed in an Art Nouveau building designed by Brussels' most famous architect, Victor Horta. It traces the history of first comic strips through to the evolution of European comic books and present day pieces. The museum celebrates both the heroes and the creators of so many beloved comic strips. Many know of the Smurfs or the famous character Tintin of "The Adventures of Tintin," and the center's exhibit on imagination traces comic strip art from the development of Tintin in Belgium in 1929 up to 1960. Comic strips in French, Dutch, and English as well as from genres ranging from politics to science fiction and children's comics are all represented.

In addition to the permanent collections, visitors have the option to delve into animation, a reading room, a research library, and a conservation facility.

La Maison Autrique was the first house built by Belgian architect Victor Horta, with early elements of his famous Art Nouveau style apparent in the design details. Although the entry and ground floor reflects the classic architectural style of the 19th century, when it was built, the halls and other rooms are illuminated by open space and natural light, an innovation at the time.  

The house is simpler than Horta's later projects, as it was built as a comfortable home for engineer Eugène Autrique and his family. It was completed in 1893, but was recently renovated and reopened to the public. With a striking exterior of iron pillars and columns, Horta's touch can be seen with the use of light and color in the home's intricate stained glass in the interior. The classic town house is at once both an embodiment of a traditional private Belgian home and the modern step toward Art Nouveau.

The Tyne Cot Cemetery, located near Zonnebeke, Belgium, is the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world. It contains the graves of nearly 12,000 soldiers who died between October 1914 and September 1918 while fighting in World War I. Unfortunately about 70% of the people buried there were never identified. The graves of the unknown soldiers are marked with tombstones that read “Known unto God.” In addition to these unknown soldiers, a list of nearly 35,000 names is on a wall at the back of the cemetery honoring soldiers who have no known grave and died between August 1917 and the end of the war. 

Many of the fallen soldiers were buried in nearby battlefields or smaller cemeteries, but after the war ended, the graves were moved to the Tyne Cot Cemetery. A few remaining German blockhouse can still be seen at the cemetery, and they have been incorporated into the memorial as a way to honor the soldiers who died trying to capture them. On one of them, the Cross of Sacrifice, also called the Great Cross, was built at the suggestion of King George V who visited the cemetery in 1922. The cross can be seen through the entrance of the cemetery and is often photographed.

Walking down the tree-lined Avenue Louise is the best way to experience the city's best in luxury and fashion. Belgian and international designer labels line the elegant thoroughfare, which runs adjacent to the Boulevard de Waterloo. Here you'll find upscale clothing shops for both women and men, with smaller, more affordable boutiques interspersed.

The avenue was commissioned by King Leopold II in 1847 to provide more direct access to the city's Bois de la Cambre area. Named for his daughter Princess Louise, it now serves as a main street in the heart of Brussels. Keep your eyes peeled for art deco townhouses, extravagant hotels, and small, manicured parks and gardens. The avenue is also home to some of the city's tallest office buildings. Or go for a leisurely stroll along the avenue's 2.7 kilometers and be content with window shopping and people watching.

Learn the history of a nation at Belgium's BELvue Museum, housed in the 18th-century Bellvue Hotel in the center of Brussels. Trace the story of Belgium from the Belgian Revolution, through World Wars I and II, and in its royal and political progression as you walk through its 12 rooms. Filled with historical documents and artifacts as well as engaging multimedia displays, each room represents a different crucial period in Belgium's history. The rooms are meant to be explored in chronological order. 

Photographs and royal items on display give a real sense of time and place. Curators strategically placed windows that look out onto some of the very places the museum tells the history of. Visitors can see the Mont des Arts and Brussels Park, crucial sites of the Belgian Revolution, from museum rooms and hallways. Temporary exhibitions also bring contemporary stories of Belgian heritage and politics to life.

As the setting of one of the most illustrious battles in military history, Waterloo Battlefield requires very little presentation. The ultimate defeat of Napoleon and the French army, the glorious win of the Seventh Coalition; the Battle of Waterloo was somewhat short-lived in comparison to others but its length is in no way correlated to its significance.

Napoleon had been exiled to Elba by the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814; worried about his wife and son who had returned to Austria and concerned he would be banished to a remote island, he escaped and started governing again despite international threats. His return to power in March 1815 was a pacifist one, but his enemies did not believe in his noble intentions for one minute; a pan-European coalition emerged at the Congress of Vienna (the precursor of the United Nations), which aimed to provide long-term peace on the continent by settling critical issues surfacing from the Napoleonic Wars and balancing the powers; many European Great Powers refused to recognize Napoleon as Emperor of the French upon his return from exile. The Seventh Coalition mobilized large armies led by the Duke of Wellington and Prussian-born Gebhard von Blücher; they gathered at the northeastern border of France and prepared for battle. Napoleon’s strategy was to isolate the two armies and obliterate each one separately in order to avoid the invasion of France, but the French army was soon routed out - effectively ending Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French.

The Trench of Death was one of the most dangerous locations of Belgian troops on the Western Front during World War I. It is a half-mile long network of revetments, saps and dug-outs near Diksmuide in Flanders, and it was only 55 yards from a German bunker. The Belgian Army was here to prevent the German troops from advancing toward France. As a result, soldiers in this trench were under almost constant attack from the opposing forces. Conditions were harsh and life for the Belgian soldiers was rigorous. Soldiers had to man the trenches for three days straight before getting three days of rest in a cantonment at the back of the combat zone. The Trench of Death was the heart of Belgian resistance until the successful Battle of Flanders which began on September 28, 1918. 

Visiting the Trench of Death will give perspective on the size and conditions of the trenches. The visitor center uses maps, photographs, videos and war memorabilia to tell the story of life and death on the front lines. The exhibits explain how the Belgians kept fighting for four years and what kinds of weapons and equipment they used. 

Blending the classic atmosphere of an American diner with the devil"“may"“care edge of rock "˜n' roll, the Hard Rock Cafe is much more than just a cafe "“ it's an international institution, and it was only a matter of time before the legendary restaurant made its way on to Belgian soil. Opening its doors in 2012, the Hard Rock Cafe Brussels has been enticing locals to swap their French fries and Belgian waffles for some all-American soul food ever since and there are few more atmospheric spots to tuck into a burger. 

Taking over a restored 16th-century building in the heart of the capital, fans of the Hard Rock Cafe will find all their favorites on the Brussels' menu, from Bar-B-Que Ribs to Wildberry Smoothies, but of course, the Hard Rock Cafe has always been about more than just the food. Like all Hard Rock Cafes, the Brussels franchise is crammed full of priceless rock memorabilia including items from legends like Bono, The Sex Pistols, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley, as well as a stage costume worn by Madonna and a guitar played by Eric Clapton. Not only that, but there's a live music area, a late night lounge, a Rock Shop filled with Hard Rock-inspired merchandise and the innovative Rock Wall™ Solo, an interactive touch wall offering a virtual tour of the Hard Rock Cafe's 174 venues around the globe. 

Owner of the oldest of the three great spires that dominate the pedestrianized heart of Ghent, St Nicholas’ Church was constructed between the 13th and 15th centuries in an eye-catching mixture of Romanesque and Flemish Gothic architectural styles. Built of Tournai limestone, its lovely exterior is adorned with flying buttresses and spiky spires as well as an imposing central tower; all this grandeur was paid for by Ghent’s wealthy medieval merchants to signal their wealth to the rival Flanders trading cities of Bruges and Antwerp. It’s probably more beautiful inside than out, but nevertheless all eyes lead to the Baroque high altar with its twisted side columns, floodlit through stained-glass windows high above. The church is currently under restoration but faint traces of fresco can still be seen on the supporting pillars of the nave. For the best view of St Nicholas’s flying buttresses, head for the viewing platform of the Belfry a few steps away.

The Vladslo German War Cemetery is a burial ground located near the village of Vladslo, Belgium, which is about 16 miles north of Ypres and 25 miles southwest of Brugge. By the end of World War I, German soldiers were buried all over Belgium, from single or group sites in the woods to larger cemeteries with several thousand soldiers. In the years after the war, German officials worked with Belgian officials to gather and relocated many of the graves scattered throughout the country to give the soldiers a proper burial. This resumed after World War II, and in 1954 an agreement was made to have most of the fallen German soldiers from World War I moved to three different collecting cemeteries. 

The cemetery in Vladslo is essentially a mass grave containing more than 25,000 graves from 61 locations. Each simple tombstone has the names, ranks, and dates of death for 20 deceased German soldiers. One of the soldiers buried here was Peter Kollwitz, the 18-year-old son of famous artist Käthe Kollwitz. Out of sorrow for her son, Kollwitz created two statues called “The Mourning Parents” which are located at the back of the cemetery.

The Cinquantenaire District in Brussels is the area of the city surrounding the Cinquantenaire Park. The park itself was built to commemorate 50 years of Belgium's independence. Dominating the park is the Triumphal Arch and three museums. The museums located here are Autoworld, which showcases the evolution of the automobile throughout history; the Royal Museum of Art and History, which contains a wide range of art and artifacts from pre-history forward; and the Belgian Army Museum and Museum of Military History, which examines the development of military technology throughout history along with the major campaigns fought on Belgian soil. In the summer, the park hosts concerts, festivals, drive-in movies, and it is the starting point of the Brussels marathon.

This district, also known as the European District, is the heart of the European Union. The buildings that house the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of Ministers can be found in this area. This section of Brussels is also known for its many Art Nouveau buildings, trendy restaurants, and boutique shops. The entire area is populated with international people who work at the European institutions or at large corporations that have offices in Brussels.

One of Brussels' newest museums, the Fin-de-Siècle celebrates the city's history as an artistic capital at the end of the 19th century. Though a tempestuous time politically, artists emerged during this time period that pushed the envelope away from classical traditions into modernism. Covering a span from 1868-1914, the museum chronicles the changing attitudes in art. Realism, Impressionism and Art Nouveau emerged during this time, ending only with the start of the first World War and with Belgium leading the way.

Historic collections of 19th- and 20th-century art are here explored with the newest technologies, like touch screens and interactive multimedia. Music, photography, and literature are represented as well, though less so than visual arts. Collections of the many facets of Art Nouveau, from furniture to decorative arts, are a highlight for many. With four floors to explore and many detailed descriptions throughout.

Yser Tower is a memorial honoring the Flemish soldiers who died during World War I. It is the tallest peace monument in Europe and houses a museum and a chapel. At the start of the war, King Albert of Belgium urged the Flemish and Walloon populations to come together to fight under a united Belgian flag. Unfortunately the French-speaking Walloon officers expressed themselves in French, while most of the Flemish soldiers could not speak French, only Dutch. The soldiers' inability to understand orders led to many deaths, and by the end of the war, 70 percent of the fallen Belgian soldiers were Flemish. 

The monument that stands today was built in 1965 and is 275 feet tall. The inscription “Never again war” is written on the tower in Dutch, French, English, and German. As a peace monument, Yser Tower commemorates the Flemish soldiers killed during World War I, but it has also become a beacon of the Flemish nationalist movement. The museum's permanent exhibit retraces the history of both World Wars and the time in between them, while two floors are dedicated to the history of Flanders. The film “Violence Never Brings Peace” plays continuously in the auditorium. The museum also has various temporary exhibits.

Peter Paul Rubens was born in Antwerp in 1577 and by the early 17th century he had become immensely rich thanks to his incredible talent as an artist. No starving in a garret for him; in 1610 he was able to build his own spectacular mansion in the heart of the city at the tender age of 33.

Now a museum, his former home and studio is entered through an ornate Baroque portico; inside a series of period rooms are decorated with marble Roman busts, black-and-white floor tiling and fine furniture in the patrician style of the day and hung with reproductions of Rubens’ light-kissed works. Highlights include a portrait of Anthony van Dyck, who was a pupil of Rubens, and a glowing self-portrait that hangs in the wood-paneled dining room, painted when he was around 40 years old. Get there early in the day or you’ll shuffle around in single file, nose to toe in a long line as you are led along corridors and up and down stairs. Outside there’s a typically Renaissance-style courtyard garden with a colonnaded pergola in which to reflect on the sumptuous lifestyle enjoyed by Antwerp’s most illustrious son.

The Horta Museum in Brussels, Belgium was once the home of the architect Victor Horta. Horta is considered the father of the Art Nouveau style of architecture, and his house is a fantastic example of this style. He built the house for his own use and lived there from 1901 to 1919. The interior designs are original, including the mosaics, stained glass windows, furniture, and wall paintings. The museum also has a collection of furniture designed by Victor Horta as well as old photographs, scale models of some of his other buildings, casts and plans explaining his work. 

The museum consists of two buildings, Horta's house and his studio. He favored warm woods and wrought iron, and a tour through his home will reveal many interesting characteristics. Look for the shapes inspired by nature and art from Celtic and Asian cultures. Pay attention to the chairs, tables, lamps, door handles, banisters, and candelabras. Windows, including a stained glass skylight, let in lots of sunlight which accents the designs and gives the house a natural glow. The unique artistic details of Horta's home are everywhere.

Sint­Janshospitaal (Old St John's Hospital) is one of the oldest surviving hospital buildings in Europe. The hospital cared for pilgrims, travellers, and the sick for more than 800 years. The old infirmary cared for patients from the 12th century to the middle of the 19th century when the hospital moved to a nearby red brick building, where patients were treated until 1978.

Visitors may tour the chapel and the medieval wards where monks and nuns performed their charitable work, and explore the hospital’s impressive collection of artwork, vintage medical instruments, and archives. Also worth a visit are the pharmacy and its herb garden, the Diksmuide attic, the old dormitory, and the custodian’s room. Sint­Janshospitaal owns six works by the artist Hans Memling (one of the most important Flemish Primitive painters, who lived and worked in Bruges in the 15th century), as well as many religious sculptures and paintings that depict what life in the hospital was like throughout the centuries. The museum, which is now located in the old infirmary, teaches the curious visitor more about hospital life in the past and how the wards would have looked then.