Top 10 Places to Visit in Belgium in 2026

Belgium’s top places to visit are Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Ypres, Waterloo, Leuven, Dinant, the Han-sur-Lesse caves, and the Belgian coast. Belgian tourist accommodations recorded 44,843,098 overnight stays in 2024, up 146,496 from 2023 — a record since the statistic began in 2007 — according to Statbel, Belgium’s official statistics office.

1. Brussels — The Grand Place, UNESCO World Heritage-listed since 1998, dates to construction beginning in the 11th century, with its Town Hall built 1401–1455; the Atomium, built for the 1958 World’s Fair, stands 102 meters tall with nine 18-meter steel spheres.
2. Bruges — Its medieval canal-laced center has been UNESCO World Heritage-listed as the Historic Centre of Brugge since 2000.
3. Ghent — Gravensteen Castle dates to 1180, built by Count Philip of Alsace, and was restored between 1893 and 1903 into the museum that stands open to visitors today.
4. Antwerp — The Cathedral of Our Lady, built 1352–1521, is the largest Gothic church in Belgium and, at 123 meters, has the tallest church tower in the Benelux.
5. Ypres (Ieper) — The Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), fought July–November 1917, caused nearly half a million casualties on all sides; the Menin Gate has sounded the Last Post every evening since 1929.
6. Waterloo — Napoleon’s final defeat took place here on 18 June 1815, a short trip south of Brussels.
7. Leuven — Home to the Old University of Leuven, founded in 1425, among the oldest universities in the Low Countries.
8. Dinant — Birthplace of Adolphe Sax, who patented the saxophone in 1846; the town’s clifftop Citadel overlooks the Meuse River.
9. Han-sur-Lesse Caves — Modern exploration of this cave system began in 1771, and it now draws roughly 250,000 to 300,000 visitors a year to see chambers including the 150-meter-wide Salle du Dôme.
10. The Belgian Coast & the Kusttram — The Kusttram runs 67 kilometers from De Panne to Knokke-Heist along the North Sea, the world’s longest metre-gauge tram line, linking every coastal town including Ostend and De Haan.

Planning note

The Ardennes (Dinant, Han-sur-Lesse) and the North Sea coast sit on opposite sides of the country from each other and from the Brussels–Bruges–Ghent–Antwerp core — Belgium’s small size makes all three reachable on day trips from a central base, but trying to see the Ardennes and the coast on the same day adds hours of driving. Pick one outlying region per trip rather than looping through both.

Sources

• Statbel — Record year: nearly 45 million overnight stays in 2024
• Wikipedia — Grand-Place
• Wikipedia — Atomium
• Wikipedia — Historic Centre of Brugge
• Wikipedia — Gravensteen
• Wikipedia — Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
• Wikipedia — Ypres
• Wikipedia — Battle of Waterloo
• Wikipedia — KU Leuven
• Wikipedia — Adolphe Sax
• Wikipedia — Grottes de Han
• Wikipedia — Coast Tram

Read the Top 10 Countries to Visit in 2026 roundup for how Belgium compares globally.