Churches and Cathedrals to Visit in Belgium
Belgium’s great churches were filled by the painters and sculptors of its rich medieval and Baroque cities. This chapter begins with two of them: Antwerp Cathedral, with its Rubens altarpieces, and the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, home of Michelangelo’s Madonna.
Antwerp is 35–50 minutes by train from Brussels and Bruges about an hour; direct trains between Antwerp and Bruges take about an hour and a half.
Where to start
Antwerp Cathedral
The largest Gothic church in Belgium, with a 123-metre spire and three altarpieces by Rubens.
Church of Our Lady, Bruges
Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child and the tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy, under a 115.5-metre brick tower.
Practical notes
| Admission | Big-name churches charge for sightseeing; Bruges’s Church of Our Lady has a free nave and a paid museum |
|---|---|
| Sundays | Churches open to visitors only in the afternoon, after Mass |
| Getting around | Fast, frequent trains link Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges |
Coming next
St Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, with the Van Eyck brothers’ Ghent Altarpiece, and the Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges are the obvious next additions.