Art Cities of Belgium

A tour to Flanders can include a single destination or a mixture of any or all of the four cities featured below.  It depends on the focus and proposed duration of your tour.

ANTWERP

• CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY – The Brabant Gothic style church is the largest Gothic cathedral in the Low Countries, attaining its cathedral status in 1559. It has endured a troubled history but extensive renovations between 1965 and 1993 have created a fitting backdrop for the four works by Rubens which are displayed here.
• RUBENS’ HOUSE – Rubens lived here from 1616 until the time of his death in 1640. The property was purchased by the City of Antwerp in 1937 and now houses many works by Rubens and some of his contemporaries.
• MUSEUM PLANTIN-MORETUS – the patrician home of Christoffel Plantin and former printing establishment. Plantin transformed the craft-based art of printing and publishing into a pre-industrial business on an international scale and transformed the city on the Scheldt into the leading centre of international printing and publishing.  The Museum has an exceptionally rich art collection, displays of books, historical documents and typographic material, drawings, woodcarvings and copper engravings.
• MAYER VAN DER BERGH – a magnificent private house with a fine collection of works by early Flemish painters.
• ROCKOX HOUSE – the home of a former mayor of Antwerp, Nicolaas Rockox (1560-1640), who was an avid collector of the arts. Works of Rubens sit alongside Breughel, Van Dyck, Jordaens and others.

GHENT

Ghent rose in importance due to the enormous significance of its cloth trade. It was the principal seat of the Counts of Flanders, and its wealthy and influential burghers were granted privileges and influence as early as the late 13th century. Today the remnants of the city’s prosperity are much in evidence and its imposing castle and magnificent cathedral are testimony to the city’s former importance as a major trade centre.

• CATHEDRAL OF ST BAVO – the cathedral holds a rich collection of religious artefacts ranging from the 8th to the 20th centuries but is most famous for a single work, a polyptych by the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, comprising 24 panels known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, one of the greatest masterpieces of Flemish painting.
• MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS – housing a collection ranging from the Flemish Primitives to works of the 20th century.
• CASTLE OF LAARNE – one of the most remarkable, and best preserved, fortified medieval strongholds in Belgium housing a supreme silver collection from the 15th to the 18th centuries, fine tapestries and beautifully designed furniture.

BRUGES

Bruges was one of the most important cities in medieval Flanders, particularly when Flanders became part of the Burgundian Dukedom in 1384.  Flemish painters served the Burgundian Dukes and the Courts both at Dijon and in Bruges.  From the 1420s onwards, Van Eyck was Court Painter here to Philip the Good, the Duke who sold Joan of Arc to the English, and today Bruges is one of Europe’s most appealing cities for exploration on foot. 

• WALKING TOUR – taking in the profusion of superb 12th, 13th and 14th century architecture,  narrow streets and picturesque canals flanked by medieval facades and including the Basilica of the Holy Blood with its flamboyant Italian Renaissance-style façade, the city hall (Stadhuis), the old country house of the ‘Bruges Vrije’, the old recorder’s house and the provost’s house.
• CHURCH OF OUR LADY – an early Gothic church housing the white marble Virgin and Child by Michelangelo. Stolen by the French in 1794 and again by the Germans in 1944 this superb work was originally given to the church during the mid-16th century.
• GROENINGE MUSEUM – housing a comprehensive and fascinating survey of six centuries of Flemish, Dutch and Belgian painting from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers.
• MEMLING MUSEUM – occupying the former 12th century St. John’s hospital, the old chapel exhibits six paintings by Hans Memling.

BRUSSELS

• ORIENTATION TOUR – provides a good introduction to the Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture of the city. Brussels is arguably the city par excellence in which the Art Nouveau style evolving from the Arts & Crafts Movement has been given free rein, and the best examples are scattered around the city. Many of the Art Deco buildings from the 1920s and 1930s now house company headquarters and government departments. Our tour will also include the impressive Grand Place and the surrounding labyrinth of small streets with their architectural treasures.
• ROYAL MUSEUMS OF FINE ARTS OF BELGIUM – a group of museums including the Old Masters, Magritte, Fin de Siècle and Modern Art Museums. The upper floor of the museum represents art from the 14th to the 16th centuries to include the Breughel Room. The 17th century masters such as Rubens are displayed alongside fine Dutch paintings as well as masterpieces of Italian, French and Spanish Art. The Museum of Modern Art is located underground and features art from the 19th century to the present day.
• THE DAVID AND ALICE VAN BUUREN MUSEUM – housing a collection of works of art, rare and precious furniture, luxurious woodwork, signed tapestries and sculptures amassed by keen art collectors, David and Alice van Buuren.
• HORTA HOUSE – the former house and studio of architect, Victor Horta, which has been converted into a museum. Designed by Horta himself in 1898, it is a classic example of the art nouveau style for which Horta became so acclaimed.  Particular features include flamboyant metalwork, ornate mosaics on the façade and a spectacular glass ceiling, which creates a light and airy ambience.
• CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME DE LA CHAPELLE – constructed between the early and late 13th century it marks the transition period between the Romanesque and the Gothic styles. It is the resting place of Pieter Breughel the Elder.
• CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME AU SABLON – a fine example of Brabant Gothic architecture. The current church was built in the 15th century, although its origins date from the early 1300s. It was restored and embellished in the 19th century, which transformed the church into a dramatic gothic monument with intricate stained glass windows and white marble exterior.
• ATOMIUM – one of the city’s most famous landmarks. This gigantic structure is a remarkable feat of architecture and engineering and was originally built by architect, André Waterkeyn, for the World Fair (Expo), which was held in the city in 1958. The steel and aluminium structure reaches a height of over 330 feet and represents an iron crystal molecule magnified 165 million times, with nine interconnected spherical orbs.
• NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN OF BELGIUM – established in 1958, the garden covers 92 hectares and holds 18,000 varieties of plants. The collection contains many rare and beautiful plants, half of them being displayed in glasshouses. At the centre of the Botanic Garden sits the beautiful Bouchout Castle, with its square 14th century tower.
• WATERLOO – visit the Ardennes region focusing on sites relating to the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.