Not to miss

Ghent

Southwest of Antwerp, Ghent was once a medieval-era powerhouse due to its 14th-century status as the largest cloth producer in Europe, and its rebellious nature when it came to tax increases. Now the capital of the Flanders province of Oost-Vlaanderen, it is home to a significant student population.

The most famous attraction in Ghent is inside the otherwise unremarkable St Baafskathedraal (St Baaf's Cathedral): one of the earliest-known oil paintings, a stunningly overwrought piece of art by 15th-century artist Jan Van Eyck called De Aanbidding van het Lams God (Adoration of the Mystic Lamb).

Other Middle-Aged features of Ghent include Belfort, a 14th-century belfry that stretches up from Botermarkt and allows magnificent city views, and Gravensteen, an imposing 12th-century moated and turreted castle. Burdened with the unfortunate acronym SMAK, the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (Museum of Contemporary Art) is worth a browse for its collection of Belgian artistry and the work of international gate-crashers like Warhol and Christo. Another decent local gallery is Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Museum of Fine Arts), which has Flemish Primitives like Rubens, Van Dyck and Delvaux on display.

Brussels

The city of choice for Eurocrats, Brussels is sumptuous, historic and luxuriously cosy. With artistry richer than chocolate, architecture as graceful as its cuisine and diversity frothier than the beer, Brussels is an heirloom of northern culture at its best.

What makes Brussels special? Seafood in great restaurants, the smell of hot waffles on a cold winter's day, cafes and pubs that never close, the cosmopolitan but neighbourly feel, forests practically on the doorstep, pheasant and truffles in autumn, comic strips, designer shops...

Brussels' character largely mirrors that of Belgium: confident but modest, and rarely striving to impress. For visitors, it's full of delights - the Grand Place, mussels with chips, pralines, uncrowded museums, intimate hotels, Art Nouveau, Horta, Tintin...

Antwerp

The richly historic city of Antwerp is Belgium's most underrated tourist destination. Few places tangle the old and the new quite so enchantingly. Here eclectic Art Nouveau mansions stare back at Neo-Renaissance villas, and medieval castles provide a magical backdrop for the city's myriad bars and cafes.

If ice is your dice, tucked away in the Jewish neighbourhood is the world's largest diamond-cutting industry. Besides twinkling accessories, the city is bursting with designer boutiques. And beneath all this, baroque meets bordello: in the old sailor's quarter, bored women sit framed in red lights.

The obligatory activities in this diverse, history-wise and engagingly modern city include smearing your face with pralines (filled chocolates), staining your chin with a glass of potent oude jenever (old gin), stuffing your mouth with maatjes (filleted herring) and the original frieten (chips), decorating your ears with some freshly chiselled diamonds and blowing your nose on a lace hankie.One of the best of all the local pursuits is to sit in at least one (but preferably several dozen) of the city's many bars or brown cafes (small pubs) and bend your elbow until you determine which of Belgium's myriad outstanding beers is the finest. Is it Duvel, Orval, Hoegaarden Witbier or Westmalle Triple? You be the judge, though don't plan on staying as sober as one.

Cinquantenaire Museum

An incredible 350,000 artefacts from all continents, spanning antiquity, national archaeology, non-European civilizations and European arts and crafts make up the permanent collection at the majestic Royal Museum of Art and History. Among the treasures are fine jewellery and cult of the dead funerary gifts from the Merovingian civilization.

Gravensteen

The Gravensteen, or 'Count's Castle' is located smack in the heart of Ghent and was the fearsome seat of power of the 12th-century counts of Flanders. It is the quintessential castle with moat, turrets and arrow slits and the view from the battlements is wonderful.

The museum contains all the things that made the Middle Ages seem so Medieval, like huge swords and grisly instruments of torture.

Menin Gate

The Menin Gate (Meensestraat) is one of the saddest reminders of Ypres' past. The huge white gate is inscribed with the names of 54,896 British and Commonwealth troops who were lost in the quagmire of the Flanders trenches during WWI and who have no graves. Every evening at 20:00, traffic is halted while buglers sound the Last Post.

Hautes Fagnes Nature Reserve

The Hautes Fagnes, or High Fens, is a plateau of swampy heath, woods and windswept moors that sweeps over to Germany's Eifel hills. The area is popular with walkers and cyclists. This rainy and boggy area is the largest reserve in Belgium and a perfect spot to walk off some of that beer and chocolate along its many trails and wooden boardwalks.

Start a visit at the Botrange Nature Centre, located 2.5km from the sturdy stone Signal de Botrange that marks Belgium's highest point (694m/2277ft). Wildlife in the area include deer and the rare black grouse.

Grand Place

Brussels' magnificent central square, Grand Place, boasts the country's finest baroque guildhalls, popular pavement cafes and intimate restaurants. Hidden at the core of the old town, it's only revealed as you enter through the narrow side alleys - a discreet position that adds to its charm.