Opened in June, 2009, the Magritte Museum displays works of the surrealist artist for which it is named. Located in the center of Brussels at the Place Royale, the museum is housed in the neo-classical landmark Altenloh Hotel, superbly restored in 1984 with the magnanimous support of the Franco-Belgian group GDF SUEZ and the Magritte Foundation, and operates as part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Instantly popular, the museum welcomed over 500,000 visitors in its leading year of operation.

The museum’s multi-disciplinary collection is transcendent. It contains more than 200 works consisting of oils on canvas, gouaches, drawings, sculptures and painted objects as well as advertising posters, musical scores, vintage photographs and films produced by the player. The collection is comprised of purchases by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, which owns the collection, and gifts from the Irene Hamoir-Scutenaire and Georgette Magritte estates. Additionally, many private collectors, as well as public and private institutions, loan art to the museum through an ambitious lending program.

The Magritte Museum is also the leading repository for research on the performer. With the aid of INEO media system, the museum has developed an online research center which provides access to archives about the painter’s life and works, an supreme resource not only in that art scholars, students, and academicians worldwide, but also for anyone interested in learning more about this national treasure of Belgium.

Ideally located in the very city center of Brussels, Radisson Blu Royal Hotel is a few steps from the attractions that bring millions of visitors, tourist, and business travelers each year. It is situated only a 5-minute walk from Grand Place, the Rue Neuve shopping area, the European Parliament and the Beer and Chocolate Museum. With an impressive Art Deco facade featuring a superb design, Radisson Brussels is a luxurious 5-star hotel offers its guests magnificent city accommodation and extensive facilities make it a perfect spot for travelers looking for the perfect holiday in Brussels.

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel offers 281 comfortable and elegant rooms, 23 of which suites offering complimentary high speed wireless internet, king-size bedding, a flat-screen TV, telephones with voicemail,  mini-bars, safes and coffee/tea facilities. Pets are allowed at this Brussels city centre hotel, but all rooms are non-smoking rooms. Amenities of the hotel include an onsite seafood restaurant, a Belgian and international restaurant, meeting rooms, cigar room, fully-equipped fitness center, sauna, solarium and much more. The hotel’s gourmet restaurant Sea Grill was awarded with 2 Michelin stars and it is a highly acclaimed restaurant in French and international guides. The newly designed Atrium restaurant with its 12th-century Romanesque city wall offers a relaxing setting for an extensive dinner. The Bar Dessiné is known for its whiskeys, cocktails and cigars.

Located in the heart the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bruges, Kempinski Hotel Dukes’ Palace is close to the city’ romantic canals and historic architecture. Major attractions near include the Groeninge Museum, Bruges Town Hall, Bruges Market Square, Basilica of the Holy Blood and more. This unique 15th-century former ducal residence holds a rich history in welcoming important guests to Bruges, entertaining them in style and absolute comfort.

This picturesque castle features an indoor pool, steam bath, sauna, gym and a private spa offers different exclusive treatments to relax and rejuvenate including body scrubs, facials and massages. Actually this is the only hotel-spa in Bruges. This Bruges Center hotel has its own restaurant with an exceptional garden view serving breakfast and dinner where you discover the culinary delights of Belgium.

Nemo 33 is a scuba-diving centre in Uccle, not too far from capital city Brussels, Belgium. The pool is a giant submerged structure with flat platforms located at varying depth levels, several caves at around 10m, two large flat-bottomed areas at 5 and 10m and a large circular pit that descends to 33m. Nemo 33 is home to the deepest swimming pool in the world.

Opened in 2004, the complex was designed by Belgian diving expert John Beernaerts as a multi-purpose diving instruction, recreational, and film production facility. It is filled with 2,500,000 liters of non-chlorinated, highly filtered spring water maintained at 30 °C (86 °F) and contains several simulated underwater caves at the 10 m depth level. Divers are provided with Aqualung brand equipment (though you may bring your own mask and regulator if desired). The price per day to dive starts at €22, with small fees for renting a dive computer or if you have forgotten your card

There are numerous underwater windows that allow outside visitors to look into the pools at various depths. The entire pool includes windows in many areas so people can watch from the outside. Including while they are sitting at a bar or in the facilities Thai restaurant.  

Housed a strikingly elegant 15th century mansion, the Hotel De Tuilerieen is located on the Den Dijver Canal in the historical center of Bruges, Belgium. Overlooking one of the the picturesque canal, the hotel is only 150 metres from the Groenige Museum and the most city’ attractions include museums, restaurants, ancient buildings and exciting nightlife. The staff will be able to provide more details and will assist in your choices.

The Hotel De Tuilerieen Bruges has 45 elegant guestrooms. Recently renovated guestrooms are decorated in a lavish romantic style with portrait paintings, crystal chandeliers and fabulous antiques combine with classical furniture and modern touches creating stylish and cozy interiors. Decorated by Pieter Porters, each one of the air-conditioned rooms is unique and complete with complimentary wireless Internet access, cable TV, minibars, phones, Jacuzzi, and bathrobes. Almost every room has a view of one of the nearby canals.

As a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Hotel De Tuilerieen offers an indoor swimming pool, car rental service, sauna, bar, breakfast room, 24 hour room service, steam room, massage facilities, garden terrace, a gourmet restaurant bring the old and new together in an award-winning combination. Start the day with an indulgent champagne breakfast and then head out and discover the maze of winding cobbled alleys and romantic canals throughout the city. Le Menu Belge offers regional dishes and specialities prepared with fresh local ingredients.

This luxurious 5-star hotel is ideally located in the very city center of Brussels nearby all local sights including dining, shopping, theaters, museums and historic buildings. Just steps from the Basilica of the Holy Blood, Groenigemuseum, and Bruges Belfry the Pand Hotel is a member of “Small Luxury Hotel of the World” group. It is set in an elegant 18th-century mansion, exquisitely decorated with a snug library, a delightful inner garden with a fountain, and above all, an inviting and cozy atmosphere.

There are 24 guestrooms at The Pand Hotel. It’s family run and superior amenities is the multitude one priority. The rooms are tastefully decorated with exclusive fabrics, some with four-poster beds and special touches such as fresh flowers. The eclectic décor consists of original antiques, historical artifacts, vintage furniture, and artwork. Each guestroom comes standard with marble bathrooms, air conditioning, direct-dial phones, satellite television, complimentary wireless Internet access, DVD player and a minibar. Some apartments are enhanced in Ralph Lauren fabrics. This place has the intimate feel of a private house with an exacting attention to detail. Sit in the library surrounded by antiques, paintings and objects of arts in front of a warming fire. Recreational amenities include a sauna. Featuring a gastronomic restaurant, bar, fully-equipped fitness center and extensive meeting facilities, The Pand Hotel is a well suited hotel for couples and business travellers looking for the perfect holiday in Brussels.

Located only 5 underground stops from the centre of Brussels, close to many of the city’s most important cultural sights, the Eurostar Montgomery Hotel is the ideal place for turning your working days in Brussels into a thoroughly agreeable and pleasurable stay. The hotel provides an exclusive service and a warm welcome in a luxury environment as well as an array of state-of-the-art amenities. Nearby attractions include the Royal Museum of Art and History, the Belgian Comic Strip Centre, and Cinquantenaire Park.

The atmosphere here is similar to that of an English gentleman’s club with Oxford-style rooms and leather armchairs creating a touch of classical Victorian design. The guest rooms are decorated in three different styles: Asian decorated in blue and white Japanese style; green Romantic rooms and blue Marine rooms with classical furniture. Room amenities include wireless Internet, televisions, fax machine, DVD players, telephones, hairdryers, and more, as well as décor that is either Asian, marine, or romantic in design.

This urban property features a gastronomic restaurant, 24-hour room service, library, lounge bar, gymnasium, massage facilities on request, 6 meeting, banqueting or conference rooms equipped with modern conveniences and catering service as well as a the La Duchesse Restaurant serves refined cuisine. You can use Eurostar Montgomery’s sauna and fitness centre or relax in the leather armchairs of the Montys Bar. The Eurostars Montgomery Hotel Brussels is located only ten kilometers from the Brussels Airport, and is 100 meters from the nearest metro station.

Among the many attractions Belgium boasts of is a museum dedicated to the life and works of the famous illustrator Herge. His real name is Georges Remi (1907 – 1983), is a Belgian comics writer and more precisely the author of the world-famous adventures of boy-reporter character Tintin and Snowy. The Herge Museum is located in the small university town of Louvain-la-Neuve which is around 30 kilometers from the Belgian capital city of Brussels.

The idea of a museum had been germinating from as far back as 1979, while he was still alive. In 1986, three years after the artist passed away, the idea took shape in the form of the Herge Foundation. Designed by French architect Christian de Portzamparc, Herge Museum opened its doors to the public in early June 2009.  The modern building of the museum has eight rooms with a total area of approximately 3600 sq. m of exhibition space on three floors. Its construction was in fact privately funded by Fanny Rodwell, Herge’s widow who contributed twenty million dollars needed to build the Museum.

More than 100 original works and some other 800 sketches and drawings are permanently exhibited. Besides showcasing Herge’s work the Museum also houses temporary as well as permanent exhibitions areas, a video projection room, a cafeteria, shops, studios, storehouses and administrative premises. Opening hours: from 10 am to 6 pm all year round, excepted for Monday and January 1,  May 1, November 11 and December 25. Admission fee: Adults: € 9.50

Built on the banks of the Dender River, Aalst is a cosy provincial town in Belgium. The city is situated about 25 km from Brussels and 30 km from Ghent and many of its residents are commuters who work in the Brussels area. Historically the city was first mentioned in AD 840. In the Middle Ages, because of its location on the navigable Dender, Aalst quickly developed into the major center of the Flemish county of that name. Today, cotton processing, textile manufacture and flower growing are among the most important source of employment. Every day wholesalers gather to buy cut flowers at the modern flower market in Albrechtlaan.

There is a number of buildings of historic interest have nevertheless survived. Aalst Castle is mentioned in documents dating from as early as 866.  The famous Gothic St. Martin’s Collegiate Church dates back to 1480. The city boasts the eldest belfry in the country. Located next to the town hall, the belfry contains a 52-bell carillon and it was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999. Aalst also is famous for its carnival festivities, celebrated every year in February – A Prince Carnival. Known as the day of the “the Dirty Jennies”, i.e. men dressed as women, this is the culmination of a year of preparation by the local residents. A big parade crosses the city on Sunday, with about 70 groups of costumed volunteers and parade cars. It attracts more than 100,000 spectators. The carnival traditionally ends with the “Burning of the Doll”, happening on Tuesday evening.

The Hotel Tassel is an elegant urban house with facade defined around centered, stacked oriel bay windows and balcony. Designed by Victor Horta – the architect to initiate the Art Nouveau style, the building was built for the Belgian scientist and Professor Emile Tassel. Because of Horta’s highly innovative plan, the old urban house was inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. This building is generally considered as the first Art Nouveau building in Brussels.

The Hotel Tassel considered some of the most outstanding pioneering works of architecture at the end of the 19th century. The architect made a break with the past here by using stone and the modern material, metal, in domestic architecture, brilliantly illustrating the transition from the 19th to the 20th century in art, thought and society. The modernity of building is signaled by the vast use of glass. The facade includes classical elements like moldings and columns but here some of the columns are iron, not stone. The Hotel Tassel of Victor Horta is a striking example to the radical new approach of Art Nouveau in the closing years of the 19th century.

Architect: Victor Horta
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Built Date: 1892 to 1893
Building Type: large house
Construction System: iron, wood, cut stone facade
Context: urban
Style: Art Nouveau

The MAS is an impressive building with a museum, among other things. Because it is also the visible storage, the museum square with Luc Tuymans’ mosaic, the boulevard, the rooftop panorama, etc. The MAS is a total experience. Nowdays, Antwerp has its own iconic piece of museum architecture and it’s poised to make the medieval Flemish town a global destination. The Museum aan de Stroom opened last weekend to an estimated 100,000 visitors, including the Belgian royal family. 

The MAS brings together the collections from the former Etnografisch Museum, the Nationaal Scheepvaartmuseum and the Volkskundemuseum. They are given a new home in the MAS along with part of the Vleeshuis Museum collection and the Paul and Dora Janssen-Arts collection. The collections are spread over four floors and are not displayed side by side. The pieces are connected through a dynamic scenography on the different floors. They don’t just impart information. They tell stories, they endure, they are actors in an ever-changing play.

Once Antwerp was a harbor village with a massive port more than seven times the size of its commercial center. In the 1600s, the city was the seat of the Dutch superpower, establishing the nation’s merchant status for centuries to come. Today, Antwerp belongs to Belgium and it’s still a city defined by its watery borders. And it’s there, just off the River Scheldt between the historic city center and the up-and-coming industrial neighborhood het Eilandje, that the MAS Museum steps into its starring role.

With this museum, Antwerp got a a striking ten-story monolith of stacked boxes in alternating red Indian limestone and undulating glass. The architects, Neutelings Riedijk from Rotterdam, rotated each level 90 degrees, allowing the escalators to ascend around the perimeter of the museum. The effect is a moving viewing platform affording wraparound views of the city, from the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady to the domed Centraal Station to the grittier docklands and warehouses in the immediate vicinity of MAS.

In Ghent, Belgium there are all kind of cultural activities whole year round. But in summer the offer is really massive. The Ghent Festival in July. But just before it starts we can enjoy the Gent Jazz Festival, this year for the 10th time from July 7th till 17th. The festival takes place in the lovely scenary of the Bijloke Abbey, where you maybe already visited the City Museum. The programme offers a wide range of artists. Starting with pure jazz, going to Blues, world music, etc. 

The 10th edition of the Gent Jazz Festival will begin on Thursday July 7 with none other than Sonny Rollins as the Special Nights’ headliner. This jazz legend had been on the festival’s wish list for a very long time and the birthday edition is an excellent occasion. His concert is preceded by the Michel Portal Quintet. The Nathan Daems Quintet, opens the Special Night after having won Young Jazz Talent 2010, the youth contest held yearly on the festival’s fringes.

If you don’t find your choice of music on the programme, just go and discover, there will always be something which you will like. And if the music would really disappoint you, you will be excited about the atmosphere. It is more a luxury festival in an unique historical setting. Thanks to the co-operation with the city museums in Ghent it is now possible to get free access to one of the 9 museums in Ghent using your Gent Jazz Festival Ticket as an admission ticket. A nice extra for festival visitors.

Belgium is the centre of the 20th century comics, called BD (Bande dessinee) in Brussels. It’s an important part of the culture of this country. Nowhere in the world can you find so many comics shops. All through the city center you will see plenty (36 and growing) of murals showing your favourite characters. There are walking and biking guided tours which explain you the history of Belgian comics while showing you many of the walls all over the city.

The Smurfs, Tintin, Lucky Luke are only few of the comics created by Belgian authors and famous that are famous all around the world. Brussels has a “Museum de la Bande Dessinee” but what has always fascinated the tourists is the open air tribute to comics.

Some of the comics art walls interact with Brussels landmarks (i.e. the Manneken Pis), others perfectly fit the wall they are painted on (Boulevard d’Anspach, close to La Bourse). You will be surprised by seeing them around many corners in the center! It’s worth checking out the tours or walking on your own, there are some which are so well integrated with the city that you do not even realize they are there. Have a good walk and let me know.

Throughout Brussels, several bookshops are devoted exclusively to new, second-hand and collectors’ comic books, not to mention the amusing three-dimensional gadgets that will brighten up any interior. But above all, don’t miss the ’comic strip trail’, which has involved thirty walls in the capital being covered with comic strip characters that are larger than in life in every sense and portrayed in the most comical situations.