Take a walking tour to make sure you’ve witnessed the grandiosity of the Grand Place, the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert and all three of the capital’s quirky peeing statues. Make your way to the port neighborhood of ‘t Eilandje, a textbook example of gentrification and the location to fresh-faced museums MAS and The Red Star Line.
Shopping for vinyl at hidden independent record stores and catch a glimpse of the world’s oldest printing press at the Plantin Moretus Museum. Head straight for the Gothic Saint-Bavo’s Cathedral.
Visit renowned painter Michael Borremans‘ outdoor oil portrait The Virgin, and the huge asymmetrical Market Hall. Make your way to contemporary art museum S.M.A.K or the Design Museum & Minnewater Bridge.
Have a light breakfast and spend the first half of the day museum hopping. Make sure to include the Groeningemuseum and a glimpse of Michelangelo’s Madonna with Child in the Church of Our Lady. Visit the town of De Haan. Rent bikes to peddle to Ostend on a scenic route along the sea that weaves through dunes and even a nude beach.
Drive over to Ypres to delve into the history of the Great War. Visit the In Flanders Fields Museum in the ancient Cloth Hall. Take a stroll and pet the head of the guardhouse monkey at City Hall as he promises luck to those in love.
Visit the Museum François Duesberg. Quirky Durbuy with its cobbled streets on the banks of the river Ourthe is tailor-made to be a starting point for kayak adventures through the most stunning scenery of the wooded Ardennes.
Visit of old-school jam factory Confiturerie Saint-Amour. After the tour, gather a picnic of artisanal Wallonian produce in their shop and eat it amidst the quirky elephant at Durbuy’s Topiary Park. Spend your last night in Belgium on a beer discovery tour.