10 Unseen places you absolutely must visit in Belgium!

If I were to ask you what country you would love to go to for a vacation, what would you say? You would probably say some popular place like Paris or Maldives or Dubai. Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with those places but there’s another hidden gem you need to add to your bucket list and yes from the title you guessed right, it’s none other than Belgium!

Belgium is definitely one of the countries you need to visit especially if you’re a fan of medieval settings, quirky castles, fairytale, secret sculptures, and a little something different from the usual.

Belgium is a popular site yet, there are lots of unseen places that most Tourists don’t know of. You have nothing to worry about though because I would be your guide. Here’s a top 10 list of places created exclusively for you. Make sure to visit these places for a guaranteed fun time!

10. The Zimmer Tower in Lier. 

The Zimmerman town can also be referred to as the Cornelius tower. It is a small tower with a bunch of clocks but not just any clocks!

Louis Zimmer made the clock in the 1930s and it’s still functioning to date. The clock has 13 faces and 56 dials which makes it quite an artistic sight. It also has a globe at the bottom and each face tells a different time - including the continents, the tides, and more.

The clock is not the only feature of the Zimmer tower though. The sides of the Tower are also an interesting feature of the Tower. It showcases the four stages of life each featuring a different person or character, including writer and activist Anton Bergmann and metal worker Louis van Boecke.

To enjoy the view best, you could go at noon because that’s when you’ll be able to see the carousel that pops out from the side of the Tower. If you like learning about history, then this should excite you because you’ll see bits of Belgium’s history like the coat of arms, the first three kings, and mayors of Lier. Also, a celebratory parade consisting of past kings, mayors, and burgomasters takes the onlooker through Belgium’s first 100 years of independence during noon so if you must go, go at noon!

While at the Tower, you should ensure you enter and not just lurk outside because inside is where the fun is. There you can see the inner workings of Zimmer’s greatest clock creation amongst other things.

9. La Maison de Hary Cot – Wéris

 

La Maison de Hary Cot is a restaurant built completely different from the usual ones you're used to. If you’re looking for some fairytale type of setting, then this is your go-to place!

It is located in Durbuy and features a quirky-looking type of restaurant which interestingly enough was originally built as a house by Dominique Noel.

Dominique Noel didn’t just stop at building this magical restaurant though. He probably envisioned that Tourists may be tired and need a place to sleep so he created a quirky hotel called La Balade des Gnomes which continues with the fairytale setting! 

The hotel features 11 different magical worlds, so you could go to sleep on a Trojan horse and wake up in a magical forest.

Take a look at the La Maison de Hary Cot, now tell me, doesn’t it feel like you’re in the Wesley house on the set of Harry Potter?

This place is also good if you’re looking to take magical pictures for the gram so you should add this to your bucket list because it’s not your everyday kind of restaurant!

Currently, the restaurant is closed but that doesn’t mean you can’t go there to take some pictures, just take your lunch as you go there so you don’t end up starving.

8. Hidden Trolls – De Schorre in Boom

This is one of the best places to go to in Belgium if you’re looking for fun. It is like a treasure hunt just that you aren’t hunting for treasure this time, you’ll be hunting for the seven giant trolls sculptures hidden throughout the park. 

These sculptures or statues are made of recycled wood, and range in height from seven to 18 meters tall. 

If you want to feel like you’re in a magical world where trolls roam the land, then this is your go-to place to visit in Belgium.

It is pet-friendly and should take you about 2 hours to find all seven trolls if you’re determined. If you’ll love to go there, please tell me in the comment section. Also, if you have been there, how many trolls were you able to find?

7. The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken –

This is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Brussels but you can’t go anytime because the doors are only open during spring for three weeks.

So, every year, during spring, you get access to the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken and you get to witness the wonderful architecture of Alphonse Balat, the mentor of Victor Horta, and the many plants in the greenhouses that hundreds of gardeners worked all year long to bloom. 

It is a greenhouse that has the appearance of a glass city set in an undulating landscape. It also contains an enormous number of rare and valuable plants.

If you’re a lover of nature and architectural structures, you must visit the Royal Greenhouse of Laeken! It is breathtaking!

Here’s a secret tip for you. If you’re planning to go there, go very early around 8 am to avoid long queues. There’s a small rope on the other side of the street in front of the entrance which is pointed out as the designated waiting point, so when you get there, go to one of the ticket booths to pay then head inside. It’s usually very affordable (2.5 Euros) for adults above 18 and free under 18.

6. Dulle Griet, Ghent

We can’t talk of places to visit in Belgium without talking about the beer pubs. Now that wouldn’t be right, would it?

Dulle Griet isn’t just a beer pub though. They have a weird culture in which you have to swap a shoe for a beer. This doesn’t mean you won’t get to pay for the beer though. You’ll pay cash but also keep one leg of your shoe in a basket that dangles out of the ceiling as collateral.

The owner, Alex De Vriendt explained the reason for this culture. Apparently, there has been an alarming trend of glass stealing in pubs so this measure is to curb this act. Your shoes are more valuable than a glass of wine so when you’re done with your beer, on your way out you get your second pair of shoes. What do you think of this? Smart or a crazy culture? Let me know in the comment section.

5. The Neolithic Flint Mines in Spiennes

The Neolithic Flint Mines are the largest and earliest concentration of ancient mines in Europe. It covers more than 100- hectares and is remarkable for its insight into humankind’s ways as far back as 4,000 BC.

The Neolithic Flint Mines of Spiennes occupy two chalk plateaus located to the southeast of the city of Mons. 

By merely looking at the site, it appears as a large area of meadows and fields strewn with millions of scraps of worked flint but underground, the site is an immense network of galleries linked to the surface by vertical shafts dug by Neolithic populations.

This is a very cool place to visit because it takes you back to your prehistoric roots. As the popular saying goes, “ the only way to truly grow is to learn the past”

4. The Bluebell-Carpeted Hallerbosg

This is an absolutely breathtaking place for my lovers of nature. Let’s say you’re not a lover of nature, I guarantee you, you will fall in love with this place!

What makes this place so beautiful and unique is the fact that a purple-blue sea blooms in the Hallerbos woods – nicknamed ‘the blue forest’ – for seven to ten days in spring.

So the best time to go is around mid-April because that’s when the beautiful purple carpet of bluebells bloom. 

The dense super bloom of bluebells on the forest floors is usually an indicator that the forest in question is very old but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the trees in the area are old, only that the area has consistently remained wooded for at least 300-400 years. Now isn’t that amazing? 300-400 years and it still looks like a setting from a fairytale movie!

3. Le Plasticarium

This is a museum in the city of Brussels reputable for one special quality. Everything there is plastic!

I’m talking of a plastic typewriter, a plastic cactus, a plastic typewriter! All plastic. 

There are over 2000 pieces in this unique museum and each is made of plastic giving the Plasticarium the bragging rights of the world’s biggest collection of plastic objects.

These pieces include anything made from plastic such as everyday utensils, designer furniture, fashion creations, or even works of art like original works by masters of design such as Joe Colombo, Verner Panton, and Eero Aarnio.

2. The See-Through Church of Borgloon

This art church is popularly referred to as “Reading Between the Lines”. It is a see-through church that’s only substantial from the right angle.

Here, the natural sunlight hits the ground in a noirish checkerboard, belying the construction’s almost completely insubstantial walls. 

Reading Between The Lines serves as not only a statement about the permanence of architecture but also the relative sturdiness of church institutions. By this, I mean it creates a quiet place of reflection where you are removed from the outside world. So, if you’re looking for a place of solitude and some alone time, you should go there asides from the fact that it doesn’t look like your everyday church.

1. Le Cercueil

Le Cercueil aka “The Coffin” is located in Brussels, Belgium. It is a bar set with inspirations from the horror movie “The Exorcist”. 

The decor features grim reapers and dark skeletons, which creates a morbid atmosphere in this unique tavern. 

Your beer mug is shaped like that of a skull and it’s good for fans of horror movies. If you’re looking for something extraordinary, you can sit back and sip on your choice of corpse juice, devil’s sperm, and vampire blood. 

The bar offers a speed-dating service but beware, the ultraviolet neon lights give potential lovers an eerie corpse-like appearance.

Which of these places have you visited in Belgium and which would you love to visit? Let me know in the comment section!