Brussels & Surroundings
2 places · 2 guides
Discover Brussels with your family: the Grand Place, the Atomium, world-class museums, artisan chocolate, and street frites. A compact, walkable city full of surprises.Explore →
🇧🇪 Belgium
A compact country packed with castles, waffles, wildlife, and walkable cities. Belgium surprises families at every turn.
8Regions
31Cities
2Guides
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Timezone
CET (UTC+1)
Power plug
Type C, Type E
Population
Approximately 11.6 million
Climate
Temperate maritime climate with mild summers
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Timezone
CET (UTC+1)
Power plug
Type C, Type E
Population
Approximately 11.6 million
Climate
Temperate maritime climate with mild summers
Discover Belgium
Why Belgium might be your family's easiest European adventure yet
Belgium has a way of surprising families who thought they already knew Europe. It is small enough to explore without endless travel days, yet packed with medieval castles, storybook canal towns, and enough chocolate and waffle shops to keep everyone happy. With 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, your family will be stepping into living history at almost every turn.
What makes Belgium work so well for families is the variety. In the morning you can walk cobblestone streets in Bruges, watching swans glide under stone bridges. By afternoon you can be hiking forested river valleys in the Ardennes, spotting beavers and wild boar along the way. The cities are compact and walkable, the train network connects everything efficiently, and the food is genuinely delicious, even for picky eaters.
Belgium also has a wonderfully quirky personality. Brussels is home to a 400-year-old statue of a peeing boy dressed in miniature costumes, a space-age structure built for a 1958 World Expo, and colourful comic-strip murals splashed across city walls. There is always something unexpected around the next corner, and that sense of discovery is exactly what makes travelling here with kids so much fun.
Dutch, French, Germanofficial languages
Euro (EUR)currency
22°C avgin summer
Popular regions in Belgium
6 of 8 regions
Flanders Fields & Westhoek
4 places · 0 guides
Flanders Fields and Westhoek blend powerful WWI heritage with rural beauty, coastal beaches, and hearty Flemish food, making it a uniquely meaningful family destination in Belgium.Explore →
Flemish Art Cities
5 places · 0 guides
Explore the Flemish Art Cities with your family. Discover medieval streets, world-class art, canal cycling, and hearty Belgian food across Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp.Explore →
Hainaut & Mons
2 places · 0 guides
Explore Hainaut and Mons with your family: UNESCO sites, castle day trips, Gothic architecture, great local food, and a lucky monkey statue your kids will love.Explore →
Liège, Spa & High Fens
3 places · 0 guides
Explore the High Fens, relax in Spa, and eat your way through Liège. A region that mixes wild nature with real Belgian culture for curious families.Explore →
Namur & Meuse Valley
4 places · 0 guides
Namur and the Meuse Valley offer families castles, underground tunnels, river kayaking, nature reserves, and great local food in southern Belgium.Explore →
Why families love it
Why we keep coming back to Belgium with our kids
History your kids can actually touch
Belgium does not just tell you about history, it lets you walk inside it. Gravensteen Castle in Ghent, the medieval lanes of Bruges, and the Lion's Mound at Waterloo all bring the past to life in ways that genuinely capture children's imaginations.
Food that wins over even fussy eaters
Crispy twice-fried frites from a roadside fritkot, warm Liège waffles with pearl sugar, and creamy vol-au-vent in a puff pastry shell, Belgium's food culture is rich, comforting, and deeply kid-friendly. There is almost always something on the menu that the whole family will enjoy.
Compact enough to explore without exhausting anyone
Belgium is one of Europe's smallest countries, which is a genuine advantage when you are travelling with children. Its efficient train network connects Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and Liège in under an hour, so you can experience multiple destinations without long travel days.
Nature that goes from coast to forest
Belgium's landscape is far more varied than most people expect. Your family can build sandcastles on the North Sea coast, hike forested river valleys in the Ardennes, or explore the High Fens heathlands, all within a country you can drive across in two hours.
Cities with a genuinely quirky personality
Brussels is full of surprises: comic-strip murals painted on building walls, the space-age Atomium, and the beloved Manneken Pis statue dressed in a different costume almost every day. This is a city that does not take itself too seriously, and kids absolutely love it.
Wildlife and nature
What animals can you spot in Belgium?
Eurasian Beaver
Reintroduced to Belgium's rivers and wetlands, beavers are now thriving in the Ardennes. Look for their dams along streams and riverbanks, a genuine rewilding success story your kids will love hearing about.
Wild Boar
Wild boars roam freely through the Ardennes forests and Hoge Kempen National Park. They are a prominent part of Belgian wildlife and folklore, and spotting one on a forest walk is always a memorable moment.
Ring-Necked Parakeet
Flocks of bright green ring-necked parakeets have made Brussels their home, especially around Parc du Cinquantenaire. They are noisy, colourful, and completely unexpected in a northern European city.
Harbour Porpoise
Belgium's North Sea coastline is a surprisingly good spot for marine wildlife. Harbour porpoises can be seen offshore, making a trip to the Belgian coast about more than just sandcastles.
Wolf
Wolves returned to Belgium after more than 100 years of absence, first spotted in the forests of Namur and later in Limburg. They are rarely seen, but knowing they are out there makes Ardennes hikes feel a little more wild and adventurous.
Popular cities & places in Belgium
8 of 12 places
Fun facts
Things about Belgium that will make your kids go 'wow'
A statue with a wardrobe bigger than yours
The Manneken Pis in Brussels is a tiny bronze statue of a peeing boy, but he has a personal wardrobe of over 1,000 costumes. He is dressed up for national holidays, football matches, and special occasions throughout the year.
An iron crystal blown up 165 billion times
The Atomium in Brussels was built for the 1958 World Expo and represents a single iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. You can walk through its giant spheres, take in city views, and explore exhibitions inside what looks like a science-fiction movie set.
Belgium brews over 1,500 different beers
Belgium produces more than 1,500 varieties of beer, and Belgian brewing culture is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Beer is so woven into daily life here that it even finds its way into stews and sauces.
15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in a tiny country
Belgium packs 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites into a country smaller than many national parks. From the Grand-Place in Brussels to the historic centre of Bruges and the belfries of Flanders and Wallonia, history is genuinely everywhere you look.
Three languages, one small country
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, and German in a small eastern region. Cross from one part of the country to another and the language, architecture, and even the food on the menu can change completely.
Wolves are back after 100 years
Wolves disappeared from Belgium over a century ago, but they quietly returned on their own around 2018. It is one of Europe's most exciting rewilding stories, and the Ardennes forests now feel a little wilder because of it.
Taste Belgium with your family
What your family should try in Belgium
Dishes and snacks that even picky eaters will ask for again
Belgian Frites
Twice-fried in premium potato varieties and served in a paper cone from a roadside fritkot, these are not ordinary chips. Dip them in mayonnaise or Andalouse sauce the Belgian way, and your kids will never look at fries the same way again.
kids love it
Liège Waffle
Denser and chewier than the Brussels version, the Liège waffle is studded with pearl sugar that caramelises on the outside as it cooks. Eaten warm from a street stall, it is one of the great simple pleasures of travelling in Belgium.
daily treat
Garnaalkroketten
Crispy fried croquettes filled with a creamy béchamel packed with tiny North Sea grey shrimp. They are a beloved Belgian speciality that feels indulgent without being complicated, and most children take to them immediately.
must try
Carbonade Flamande
A slow-cooked beef stew made with Belgian beer, onions, and bread for thickening, this is Belgian comfort food at its best. It is rich, warming, and deeply satisfying after a day of exploring, especially in the cooler months.
local favourite
Vol-au-Vent
A creamy filling of chicken and mushrooms served inside a golden puff pastry shell, vol-au-vent is a classic Brussels dish that feels a little special without being intimidating. It is a reliable choice for families eating out together.
safe choice
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2 guides
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Places most families visiting Belgium never find
Our favourite surprises hiding in plain sight
Dinant and the Han Caves
Tucked along the Meuse River in Wallonia, Dinant is a dramatic little town with limestone cliffs, a Gothic citadel perched above the rooftops, and a Collegiate Church topped with an unusual onion dome. Just outside town, the Han Caves offer a genuinely spectacular underground adventure through one of Belgium's largest cave systems, complete with a river running through it.
La Roche-en-Ardenne
This small Ardennes town sits in a loop of the Ourthe River, overlooked by the ruins of a medieval castle that children can explore freely. The surrounding forest trails are well-marked and manageable for families, and the town itself is full of character without the crowds of the bigger cities.
The Princely Beguinage in Bruges
Most visitors to Bruges make it to the Minnewater but miss the Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde just beyond it. This tranquil, whitewashed walled community is one of the best-preserved beguinages in Belgium and feels like stepping into a completely different, quieter century, even in the middle of a busy tourist season.
Couque de Dinant biscuit workshops
Dinant is also the birthplace of the couque de Dinant, a rock-hard honey and rye biscuit pressed into decorative moulds featuring animals, kings, and intricate patterns. Some local bakers still press these by hand using traditional wooden moulds, and watching the process is a small, memorable piece of Belgian food history.
Graslei Quay in Ghent at dusk
Ghent is often overshadowed by Bruges, but the Graslei quay along the Leie River is one of the most beautiful streetscapes in all of Belgium. At dusk, the Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance guild houses reflect in the water and the crowds thin out, making it the perfect moment for a quiet family walk before dinner.
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