Things to do in Belgium

To export the millions of tons of coal produced in one of the seven Limburg mines, a coal railway line zigzagged from one coal mine to another.

Spinning mills, weaving mills, dyers and twisting mills: in the Belgian town of Ronse, you stumble over the remains of the textile past.

A military railway line, a dilapidated monument and an anti-tank trenches surround the ruins of the Brasschaat fortress.

Between 1885 and 1892, a new port project rose from the ground along the Ghent-Terneuzen canal. Ghent's chief engineer and later mayor, Emile Braun, designed the harbour sheds.

A blue harbour crane dominates Dock North. Built in 1973 by Boom Metalworks, it was the last crane installed at the Handelsdok.

Flannel sheets, cotton pyjamas and shirts from textile company De Porre flew to all corners of the world, ending up in chic boutiques because De Porre guaranteed high quality cotton.

In the valley of the River Thyle, a group of monks came together in 1146 to build the Villers Abbey.

The Waasland was once a hotbed of shipyards. However, the last active shipyard, the Chantier Naval de Rupelmonde, closed its doors in 1996.