Things to do in Belgium

The construction of the Boeing 707 ushered in a new era for aviation and tourism in the 1950s.

A row of stones divides the neighbourhood park "De Porre" in Gentbrugge. Looking a little closer, you soon see that some stones are numbered, and others have a rather elegant shape. This is more than just a pile of old stones.

To highlight the industrial past of the former harbour docks, the city of Ghent parked several old harbour cranes around the water, including the ST1 crane at the disused Timber Dock (or Houtdok).

The "Houtdok" (or timber dock) was repurposed in 2015. This harbour dock was dug out around 1880 to load and unload timber. 

To train pilots to fly fighter jets, US aircraft manufacturer Lockheed built the T-33 Shooting Star in 1948, a training aircraft also used by the Belgian Air Force.

A 20-metre-high harbour crane casts its shadow over the new Matadi Bridge at the Handelsdok in Ghent. The crane, designed in 1988 by the Belgian firm Sobemai of Maldegem, casts its shadow over the new bridge.

The Vesdre River became best known for its heavy flooding in the summer of 2021, but it also brought wealth and industry to Verviers and the surrounding area. Since the Middle Ages, the wool industry flourished in the towns along the Vesder.

A severe storm lashed Belgium on Monday, 29 November 1897. Over a length of hundreds of metres, the sea dyke was washed away in the sea town Middelkerke. A drinking water reservoir did not remain unscathed either.

The banks of the Vesder in Pepinster are flanked by one of the most iconic facades of a textile factory, that of Textile de Pepinster.

During the First Battle of Ypres, on 1 November 1914 to be precise, Bavarian troops succeeded in capturing the West Flanders village of Wijtschate and the Croonaert Forest.