Belgian cities to visit & things to do
Belgian cities: grandeur and cosiness in one
Belgium is not a very touristic country, but the small cities do provide a typical European experience for many people because of all the historical architecture. It's also a great place for Burgundian people, as beer, hearty and sweet street food, and comforting traditional dishes are plentiful. In this guide, we take you along several Belgian cities that we deem worth a visit, including the best things to do!
Contents of this guide
Antwerp
Antwerp could be considered as a little bit of a diamond in the rough. It has some beautiful old architecture, but it is also a modern city, with one of the biggest harbours in Europe. This contrast is visible in places such as the square where the beautiful grand central station is located near a, in our opinion, hideous Ferris wheel. The combination of old and new does create some interesting sights.
Speaking of diamonds, Antwerp is actually known for its many jewellery shops, which is a heritage of the many Jewish merchants that settled here. Antwerp is also known as a great place to go shopping. In the Meir street you'll find all of the big famous shops, but you'll find more unique boutiques in the smaller side streets surrounding it. This area is also referred to as the 'Wilde Zee' (wild sea).
Antwerp isn't that big, so it's easy to explore most of it by foot in a few hours. In case you start at the Central Station, you could first make your way to the Plantentuin, which is a tiny but lovely botanical garden that you can enter for free. Then walk along the stunning Bourla Theatre and consider coming back for a show in the evening to also admire its beautiful interior.
Explore the little streets for nice shops and once you've gained enough appetite, stop by one of the highly-rated restaurants at the Hoogstraat for some of the best food from the Levante region, such as hummus and falafel. Antwerp has a lot of great 'exotic food' on offer because of its rich immigrant history. Once you've stilled your hunger, you can take on some more exploring. The 'Grote Markt' (big market), is the most prominent square of the city. Definitely return by nighttime, when all the buildings are illuminated.
Other landmarks to visit around Antwerp are the Begijnhof, which is a place where in the 16th century older poor women used to live in small houses surrounding a park. Nowadays, there are still so-called 'Begijnen' who reside here, but it mostly functions as housing for the elderly now. Begijnhofjes are common in Belgium, you'll find one in most cities.
In Antwerp, you'll be rewarded for getting lost as you'll mind stumble upon a picturesque street or building. Luckily, many others have done so already, so here is a list of such places that might be worth a visit: het Bootje van Antwerpen (a beautiful 'art nouveau' house with a ship's bow on the side, representing the seafaring history of the city), het Rubenshuis (an Italian style house of a famous painter), and de Vlaeykensgang (a medieval alleyway).
If you decide to stay in Antwerp for a weekend, you can consider a visit to the Zaterdagmarkt (Saturday market). Belgians are true Burgundians, so you can indulge in many Belgian and exotic goodies. For dinner, we can highly recommend Takumi Ramen Kitchen in the Anneessenstraat, even though this is part of a chain, it serves one of the most delicious ramen we have eaten so far, namely their black garlic ramen. It's also very conveniently located for if you want to hop on a train for your next destination.
Then make your way to the waterside, here you'll find one of the oldest buildings of the city, namely 'T Steen, a medieval castle that served as a prison. Nowadays, it's a museum you can visit. Then follow the water until you come across another beautiful piece of architecture called Loodswezen. You have now arrived at a small recreational harbour with a big modern museum called MAS (Museum aan de Stroom, in short). Definitely go all the way up, as it is free to access the rooftop terrace from which you'll have the most amazing view of the city. This will also give you a good perspective on the size of this international harbour.
In the summertime, this is also a great area to have a cold drink on a terrace. One of the more famous places to do so is the Felix Pakhuis, which is an old warehouse. A little further, you have a large warehouse called the Waagnatie where you will also find several trendy beach club-like restaurants/bars with a great view over the Scheldt River. If you have enough energy left in your legs, you could take a look at the extraordinary Havenhuis.
Brussels
Brussels can be a pretty hard city to love. Don't get us wrong, it has its beautiful spots, but we find it quite 'rough around the edges'. Nevertheless, we won't refrain from guiding you along the best of this city. When arriving by train, the first sight you come along is the Kunstberg, a beautiful garden from which you'll have a view of the city.
Then make your way to the highlight of the city: the Grote Markt (big market or grand square), which is arguably the most beautiful square in Belgium and probably one of the most beautiful ones in Europe. Unesco agrees with us, as this has been a World Heritage Site since 1998. What makes this square so special is that the beautiful white buildings all have golden decorations. You'll have to admire it by day as well as by night when all the buildings are illuminated. Another place that cannot be missed is the Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen, the oldest shopping gallery in Europe. Here you'll find some artisanal and luxurious shops.
In case you want to explore a less touristy part of town, you can visit the Square of Petit Sablon and/or Parc d'Egmont, in the Grand Sablon neighbourhood next to it you'll find a lot of typical antique stores and boutiques. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Zavelkerk nearby is a beautiful and typical church that is worth the visit.
You can also admire the Palace of Justice, although this has been wrapped in scaffolding for renovations for over a decade now. The area around the palace is an old working-class neighbourhood called Marollen. Here, you'll find several authentic Belgian restaurants like Ploegmans and Au Stekerlapatte, where you can try one of the many beers and comfort foods (such as stoofvlees, i.e. beef stew) that Belgium is famous for.
When making your way back to the city centre, the old Brussels Stock Exchange is also a building worth admiring. Other places to consider visiting are The Royal Palace and de Koninklijke Serres van Laken. The latter is a royal botanical garden located near the Atomium and is only open for a specific period during spring.
A good thing to know when you visit Brussels is that the official language here is both Flemish and French. In case you want to add another fun Belgian city to the list, consider visiting the charming little Leuven, which is only 30 minutes away by train.
For some modern architecture, you can pay a visit to the 'symbol' of the city, the Atomium. Just like the Eifel Tower, this was once built for the World Exhibition and should have been removed but this never ended up happening. Nowadays, there's a museum and a restaurant with a panoramic view of Brussels. Even if you don't go inside, the structure is an impressive sight to see on its own. We could say there is a tie between two places that could be deemed the symbol of Brussels. Next to the Atomium, the famous Manneken Pis statue can be deemed the mascot of the city. The statue dates back to the 17th century and is a great representation of Belgian humour we would say. In 1987 a female counterpart of this statue was placed nearby, called Jeanneke Pis.
Ghent
Ghent is a beautiful small city. You can already experience this the moment you step outside of the Gent-Sint-Pieters train station, which is stunning on its own. We would then suggest walking through the lovely Citadelpark. Ghent is known for the canals, you can stroll along them or take a lovely boat tour from which you can admire the beautiful old architecture.
Ghent has a wonderful atmosphere, which can be partly attributed to it having a lot of students. As we all know, students like nothing more than a good café to spend their time studying or having fun with friends. Therefore, there are a lot of cosy cafés around, especially in the area between the University of Gent - Aula and Emile Braunplein.
We can highly recommend strolling around the city centre. A lovely route, for example, is to start at Sint-Baafplein and then walk towards the Sint-Michielsbrug which is a nice photo spot. Then continue walking along the water until you reach the Gravensteen castle and continue along the picturesque Kraanlei street from which you'll have a beautiful view of the architecture across the canal. At the crossing of the Kraanlei with the Zuivelbrugstraat, you'll find two of the most stunning buildings in the city (with a candy store and Thai restaurant in it). Then walk towards the Vrijdagmarkt, where you'll find a market on Friday, hence the name.
As you're probably hungry and thirsty (for beer) by now, you should now definitely visit a lovely authentic Belgian beer café/brasserie and order a typical Ghent dish called Gentse Waterzooi, which is a creamy soup filled with vegetables, potatoes, chicken or fish. In case you need some help with ordering beer (as picking one out of sometimes up to 200 beers on offer, can be very overwhelming), take a look at the Lonely Planet's extensive Belgian beer guide, we could not have written it better... In case you're a newbie, you can never go wrong with a nice blond beer!
Ghent is great for shopping, there are the well-known shops on the bigger shopping streets, but also more unique boutiques in the smaller sidestreets (e.g. in the aforementioned university area). We also really like De Post, this is a beautiful old post office with several shops inside and a Le Pain Quotidien which serves the best pure chocolate milk and cakes.
For a rather small city, Ghent has some of the biggest churches. There's the Sint-Baafkathedraal, Sint-Niklaaskerk and the Sint-Michielskerk, all within a five-minute walk. It's also a lot of fun to watch the city from above, the best ways to do so are to climb the Belfort tower located at the picturesque Sint-Baafsplein, and/or by standing on top of the Gravensteen castle.
You can then continue to the Graffiti Street if you like. The graffiti is mostly done by beginners, so it isn't as impressive as we've seen elsewhere, but it is an interesting contrast to the rest of the city. This street isn't the only place where you can find graffiti. Carefully look around when strolling through the city and its alleyways as there are renowned artworks to be found in several places. Here's a link to a small Google Maps route for exploring the best ones.
Finally, walk towards the Groentenmarkt and the Korenmarkt, and have a last look at the beautiful canal side at the Grasbrug. End with a lovely drink at the waterside at the cosy Barazza café. In case you're not done exploring yet, you can visit one of the two Begijnhoven, namely Het Oud Begijnhof Sint-Elisabeth and/or Het Klein Begijnhof Onze-Lieve-Vrouwen ter Hoyen. We would opt for the latter one, as this is one of the two Begijnhoven that has a Unesco World Heritage status. It's located near the Gent-Dampoort station, so you can also decide to visit this just before you're about to depart to your next destination.
Bruges
Bruges is our favourite Belgian city. It is extremely cosy and picturesque. It has many lovely cafés and restaurants and some luxurious hotels that we only dream of staying at someday. Almost every street in Bruges is worth exploring, but let us take you along some of the highlights.
When starting at the train station, make your way to the Begijnenvest, which is a lovely green park next to the old city walls. You'll come across the Poertoren and the Minnewaterbrug. Now, you're already at one of the most famous places in the city, the Minnewaterpark. The park is known for a folklore story, a Belgian version of Romeo and Juliet you could say. It is quite romantic indeed, with the old buildings surrounding it and the many swans. Next to the park, there's a 17th-century Begijnhof. Don't forget to be quiet when wandering around here as it is still occupied by nuns.
In case you know quite some time in advance that you're going to Bruges, we highly recommend making a dinner reservation at Cambrinus. You couldn't get a more authentically Belgian dinner experience than this. The restaurant is incredibly cosy and there are over 400 beers to choose from. You can also do a beer tasting here. We can advise on getting something typical Flemish, like beef stew, rabbit or pheasant. Making a dinner reservation in a high-rated restaurant is always advisable, as Bruges draws a lot of tourists any time of the year.
A stone's throw away from Cambrinus is the biggest square in the city, the Grote Markt, it is again surrounded by beautiful architecture, most notably the Belfort Tower. Around the square, you can find a lot of artisanal shops, and boutiques, but also your standard clothing shops. So again, if shopping is what you're looking for, you can definitely have a good time here.
You can then make your way towards De Dijver and de Rozenhoekaai, where you'll again be rewarded with the most picturesque views. Just like Ghent, Bruges is also a waterway city. Near the Dijver River, you'll find a few boat tour companies. The tickets are 15 euros for an adult, which is a bit steep as the tour only takes 30 minutes, but it is a nice way to see the city from the water.
In case you haven't tried enough beers yet, make a stop at the Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres and get a beer flight, which consists of 6 smaller glasses of different beers. They also brew beer, so it's possible to have a tour of the brewery and distillery.
Bruges is also a great place to try several Belgian snacks if you haven't already. Go for Belgian fries somewhere with mayonnaise and peanut sauce, trust us, this is one of the greatest combinations known to man. Another thing you should definitely try is the waffle, but make sure you try the Liège waffle and not the Brussels one, as the Liège waffle has a much better taste and texture in our opinion. It can be very easy to walk into a tourist trap, so make sure you pick a place where they make these fresh, like at House of Waffles (where they have many special combinations) or at Lizzie's or Australian. The Liège waffle is so good that it really doesn't need a topping if you ask us, but ice cream is never a bad idea of course.
Lastly, Belgium is world-famous for its chocolate. You'll find many chocolate shops in Bruges, but one of the nicest ones is The Old Chocolate House. Walk up the stairs and you'll find yourself in a very cosy café. Our tip is to go for some kind of pure chocolate milk here, as this has the richest flavour.
Another famous place to visit is the Halve Maan Brouwerij. You can have a tour around the brewery for 16 euros, which includes one of their lovely beers. We can recommend the tour if you're not familiar with the beer brewing process yet. A fun fact we can already share is that there is a pipe network throughout the city that directly supplies several cafés with beer from the brewery.
The brewery is located at a cute square called Walplein, if you peek through the Stoofstraat, you can already see the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in the background. Stop by this church as well, as it's really beautiful on the inside. Behind the church, you'll find the Bonifaciusbrug. This is one of the most picturesque spots in the city. The wooden waterside houses look like something straight out of an old fairytale. Arguably the most beautiful building is that of Hotel Bonifacius. It is rather expensive, but it is the most special stay we could imagine.
We then suggest walking towards the Huidenvetterplein, which is a lovely square with plenty of restaurants (although not rated the best, so you're probably better off skipping these 'tourist traps'). When crossing the Blinde-Ezelbrug (translated as blind donkey) you arrive at the Blinde-Ezelstraat which is arguably the most beautiful street in the city. This might be our favourite area of Bruges altogether. Some of the most stunning architectural highlights are located at De Burg, such as the city hall which dates back to 1400. You can enter the city hall for 8 euros and the impressive Basilica of the Holy Blood next to it is accessible for free. In case you wonder why Bruges has so much splendour, it used to be one of the most important harbours of Europe.
Practical information
Length of visit, where to stay and how to travel around
You can easily see all the cities in this guide in a 5 to 8-day trip as Belgium is a small country with great train connectivity. In case you are mostly planning on exploring the city by just walking around, you can account for one day in each city. If you want to take it easier and perhaps visit several museums and shops, you could up this to 1.5 to 2 days. You don't have to book train tickets in advance, so if you want to have some flexibility in this and decide on it during your stay, this is also perfectly possible.
You could choose to stay in the most central city of Ghent. Or if you like to have more (affordable) options, Brussels is a great option as well. Nevertheless, we would recommend staying in each city, as this is a great way to fully experience the different atmospheres of each of them. Most hotels and hostels will provide (free) luggage storage, so you can take the train to a new city every morning and drop off your stuff to explore the remainder of the day. Amazing places to stay are the Hof ter Beuke B&B in Bruges (although not in the city centre) and the Yust hotel/hostel in Antwerp.
Best time to visit
In terms of the best time to visit, it all depends on the type of atmosphere you prefer. In the winter, you can enjoy the cosiness of the little Belgian cafés and the Christmas lights. In autumn, you can enjoy the beautiful autumn colours in the city parks. In spring, you can enjoy the liveliness that the good weather is starting to bring. In the summer, you can enjoy all the best of the outdoors, including the many terraces. In short, you cannot do much wrong with choosing the time to visit Belgium.
