Tourist attractions Lier

The Royal Fine Arts Museum is housed in a 19C building. Its façade of Corinthian columns is topped by bronze carriages by Vinçotte and decorated with four allegorical figures representing architecture, painting, sculpture and engraving. The museum ha..

Begun in 1352 and not completed until 1521, the finest building in Antwerp (and Belgium’s largest) is remarkable for its stylistic homogeneity. A masterpiece of richness and lightness, one of its two towers rises to 123m (the other was never finished..

This museum occupies the house and printing room of Christophe Plantin. It is filled with old furniture, tapestries, gold-lined leathers, paintings, old presses, and collections of drawings, engravings, manuscripts and precious editions. It tells the..

This district, scattered with little streets and passageways, is dominated by the steeple of the Cathedral. There is an abundance of niches containing statues of the Madonna - as many as 300, overlooking the inhabitants of Antwerp for centuries. Some..

This church has a massive belfry nicknamed the "Pepperpot" due to its unusual shape. The interior includes superb keystones and stained-glass windows. The Flamboyant Gothic rood screen is the work of Mechelen sculptors. Note the south a..

This splendid district is made up of several streets around the Cogels-Osylei and is in a fine state of preservation. It is named after a 16C park. A marvel of the 19C, Wijk Zurenborg includes neo, eclectic and Art Nouveau private houses that were ..

This Gothic building has an outstanding tower (as wide as its nave) housing two carillons, of wonderful proportions with powerful yet light vertical lines. The harmonious cathedral interior is surprisingly large. Among the many works of art , no..

This zoo is the ideal complement to the nearby Natural History Museum. The park covers 10ha and is home to around 5 000 animals of all sorts, including some very rare species, such as the white rhinoceros and the okapi. The zoo also contains several ..

This vast garden planted with flowers and fine trees is home to over 1 000 animals. Note the rare or endangered species, tropical bird aviaries and lakes with many water fowl.

This house magnificently describes the life and mind of Rubens, whose works are present throughout Antwerp. It was bought by the painter in 1610, one year after his marriage to Isabelle Brandt. He spent many years here and gradually turned it into a ..

This museum occupies a lovely neo-Gothic house that was built in the early 20C. It contains a magnificent art collection assembled by Fritz Mayer van den Bergh. Made up of medieval sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, ivories, tapestries and painting..

At the heart of this trendy district of young Belgian designers, this museum is housed in a late-19C building, pleasantly remodelled by architect Marie-Josée Van Hee. The permanent collections are presented thematically and regularly revised, allowin..

The Beguine convent dates from the 13C but most of its houses date from the 17C and 18C. The entrance is a late-17C Renaissance portico, topped by a statue of St Begga. The cottages lining narrow paved alleys bear evocative names such as "Flight..

Middelheim Park (12 ha) has some 400 sculptures scattered among the greenery. The staues, by Belgian and international sculptors, were made between 1870 and the present day. In the Middelheim-Hoog part of the park, you will see modern works b Maillol..

These works, founded in 1889, bear the name of the founder's son, Gaspard de Wit, who invented the "numbered card" (black and white card outlining tapestry design colours). The guided tour covers workshops in which old tapestries are restor..

The Town Hall occupies three adjacent buildings: the late-Gothic (16C-19C) Grand Council Hall , with a central façade topped by turrets and its 14C uncompleted belfry , the 14C Aldermen's House (Schepenhuis), now housing the city archives, and th..

The Grand-Place is overlooked by the cathedral tower in the north-west and lined by fine 16C, 17C, and 18C façades with crow-stepped or scrolled gables. The Town Hall buildings of the Grand Council Hall , Aldermen's House and Post Office stand..

Nicholas Rockox was a friend of Rubens. This humanist Burgomaster of Antwerp loved collecting works of art. His 17C house was restored and transformed into a museum. Here, you will find some magnificent furniture ("Ribbanken" sideboards and..

This church was built by the Jesuits. Initially named after St Ignatius, this became the Church of St Charles Borromeus. Its Baroque façade generally follows three Classical styles. The Baroque belltower with Renaissance themes is the work of Peter..

This quiet cobbled square is surrounded by 17C and 19C buildings and the Church of St Charles Borromeus.