6 of Belgium’s Lesser Known Treasures

Move over Grand Palace, forget about the peeing-boy statue, and save the Royal Palace of Brussels for another day. This time, it’s all about the lesser-known treasures - the attractions dotted around Belgium that count more as local knowledge than tourist trap fodder, and those that you can enjoy with a little peace and quiet during your road trip.

Here are six places to visit with a motorhome rental in Belgium that you probably haven’t heard of:

 

1. Middelheim Open-Air Sculpture Park

Discover art and nature in a serene setting with your Antwerp motorhome rental. The Middelheim Open-Air Sculpture Park is one of the oldest and most original outdoor sculpture parks in the world, with more than 400 sculptures dotted around the park, covering decades of art and human history. It’s also free to enter, which is why you’ll see plenty of locals enjoying their lunch break or relaxing with a book alongside other visitors. Every year sees new works added to the park, some of which are by world-renowned artists, all alongside new or relatively unknown sculptors.

 

2. Caves of Remouchamps

Image: Alice.giallo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

In the province of Lieges, the Caves of Remouchamps are an ancient natural attraction that has been open to the public since 1828. It’s a place of incredible beauty, with stalagmites and stalactites decorating the dark and mysterious tunnels. Your tour will begin with a guided walk through the system, and will then move into boats for a 600-metre ride on the Rubicon River, which is the longest underground navigation system in the world. The whole tour will take just a little over an hour, and leave you wondering why this natural gem isn’t more widely known.

 

3. Werregarenstraat

Image: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The top attractions to explore with a campervan in Ghent include towering cathedrals and castles, historic museums and beautiful parks, but tucked away amidst the downtown district lies Werrengarenstraat. Werrengarenstraat is a small street that would otherwise be unremarkable if it wasn’t for the fact that it has been officially sanctioned as an outdoor public art gallery. Artists create bright, meaningful, and captivating murals across the walls, only for more works to go right over top the old ones. It covers two blocks, and the only real rules are that artists must respect works that are greater than their own - or in short, only cover something of beauty with more beauty. The overall effect is a place that feels like you’ve stumbled across a hidden world, and even the locals love to visit to see which new artworks have popped up.

 

4. Flint Mines

Image: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Head underground in Spiennes to explore the largest and earliest concentration of mines anywhere in Europe. This is a UNESCO World Heritage listed site, as these mines were dug during the Palaeolithic period between 4200 and 2500 BC. The area covers more than 250 acres and has been completely excavated. You can take a tour to learn more about the history of the site and those who worked there so many thousands of years ago, before heading down 9 metres below ground to take a look into the mine. Note that you will have to book in advance, as only so many visitors are allowed per year, to preserve the site.

 

5. Hopital Notre-Dame à la Rose

Image: By Johan Bakker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Hopital Notre-Dame a la Rose is one of the oldest hospitals in Europe, caring for patients from the 13th century all the way through to the 20th. After it closed in the 1980s as a hospital, it reopened soon after as a museum dedicated to the centuries of medical history and care that had passed through its walls. You’ll find bizarre-looking Victorian-era pharmaceutical equipment, and a section dedicated to the lives of the nuns who worked in the hospital. It also includes historic artworks and sculptures, as well as an impressive library with more than 3,000 books.

 

6. Hallerbos Woods

Hallerbos Woods has been nicknamed the ‘Blue Forest’, as this is where you’ll find thousands of blooming bluebells every spring. Just 30 minutes south of Brussels with your campervan, the woods make for a fantastic hiking area in their own right and are well worth visiting at any time of year for their natural beauty and serene landscapes. That said, during the one special time of year when they are carpeted with a thick layer of fragrant blooms, it makes for a spectacular one-of-a-kind sight. You will usually find the flowers in bloom around mid-April, but if you miss out on this explosion of colour, you can still take in the giant sequoia trees and gorgeous scenery with a picnic and a walk.

Can’t get enough of hidden gems away from the main tourist attractions? Take a look at our top six lesser-known sites in Italy to continue your European motorhome adventures.