The Fall of Icarus, the Census of Bethlehem and the Fall of the Rebel Angels make this Breughel room in the Museum of Ancient Art one of the most exhilarating art experiences ever.

The rest of the collection reads like a super deluxe catalogue of the best 15th and 16th century paintings: Rogier van der Weyden, Robert Campin, Petrus Christus, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling, Hieronymous Bosch, Hugo van der Goes, Gerard David, Quentin Metsys, Bernard van Orley.

Antwerp claims Rubens as its very own. Indeed the painter worked most of his life in Antwerp where his atelier and beautiful house are now a museum.

There are so many great Rubens paintings in Antwerp that it would take several days to do them justice. If you only have a little time go for the big triptych in the Cathedral of our Lady, a triumph of baroque religious painting in which the colors show a distinct influence of Titian whom Rubens admired.

The other Rubens paintings are in the Museum of Ancient Art, churches and mansions such as the Rubens House itself, the Printers Plantin-Moretus house and the Rockox House.

Antwerp reached the peak of its glory during the 15th and 16th centuries. Many beautiful Renaissance and Baroque buildings are now museums, banks or office buildings.

This remarkable polyptych was given to the church by Joos Vyd in 1432.  However in 1566 the Protestants wanted to burn it, Emperor Joseph II removed Adam and Eve from one panel because he found their nudity shocking. In the French Directoire it was sent to Paris where it stayed until after Napoleon's defeat. Some panels were lost and found again in an exhibition at the Museum of Berlin. In 1920 the original painting was again complete and back in its place in the St. Bavo Cathedral. But in 1941 the panel depicting the Righteous Judges was stolen. During WWII it was hidden in a salt mine in Germany and the U.S. army recuperated the piece when they liberated Europe.

This painting depicts 248 figures. The vegetation is so precise that botanists can identify 42 species of plants and flowers. You can spend 5 minutes, an hour or days admiring this masterpiece and still discover new details.

Not far from Ghent on the river Leie are the villages of St. Martens Lathem and Deurle where at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century a group of painters met and lived. Albert Servaes, Constant Permeke, Gustave de Smet, Fritz van den Berghe, were among this group. These Flemish expressionists are also known as the School of St. Maartens Lathem.

It is said that Memling, who, like all artists of his time traveled a lot, fell ill in Bruges. He fell in love with the nun who took care of him and that is why he stayed in Bruges. 

It is for this reason that Bruges now hosts the most and best works of this painter.

The Shrine of St. Ursula is one of his most famous works. It depicts the scene of the martyrdom of St. Ursula and the 11,000 maidens who accompanied her to Rome. On the way back they were all murdered in Cologne. 

There are other works by Memling in the splendid 12th century hospital. St. John's: The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Lamentation.

Other Bruges art musts: In the Church of our Lady - a beautiful marble Madonna by Michelangelo; the St. Salvator church; the Gothic Town Hall; the Belfry; and the Chapel of the Holy Blood.

In southern Belgium the best works of art are in bronze, silver, gold, enamel and ivory.

This bronze font, located in the St. Bartholomew's Church, rests on 10 (originally 12) oxen symbolizing the 12 apostles. Several baptism scenes are depicted on the sides. The figures stand out in high relief and the quality of the smooth bronze and the finesse of the figures compare with the best work of that era.

In the 10th century Bishop Notger converted his territories into an ecclesiastic principality. Under his reign the Mosan art began to flourish , carved ivory, gold and silversmith work, enamels and cast iron, brass and copper. In the magnificent Mosan Renaissance Curtius building the famous Notger Gospel book illustrates the exquisite craftsmanship of the Liegeois at that time.

Located in the convent of the sisters of Notre Dame in Namur, the mosan collection includes gospel books, reliquaries and remarkable medallions with filigree and leaf decoration that show tiny hunting scenes.

The building itself is a beautiful 16th century building.   For connoisseurs there is a special treat. The Namurois, proud of their own Felicien Rops, built a museum that houses yet another beautiful collection.

In the middle of this city, which goes back to Merovingian times, rise the five towers of this most striking and most original monument. Each tower is different but they are all magnificent demonstrations of Romanesque art at its zenith and can be compared to those of Cluny which disappeared in the 19th century.

The church is a typical example of the Scaldian ( river Scheldt) style. The four-story nave and the transept are from the 12th century and the chancel, even taller than the nave, is in Gothic style and replaced the Romanesque in the 13th century. The contrast between the elegant Gothic chancel and the more solid nave is surprising at first.

The Treasury contains remarkable works: an Ecce Homo by Quinten Matsys, a Byzantine Cross of the 5th or 6th century, a 13th century Ivory Madonna and - the piece de resistance - the Reliquary of Our Lady (1205) in silver and gilded copper, by Nicolas Verdun. The high relief figures depict the life of Christ and the shrine is further adorned with magnificent medallions.

As most Belgian cities Tournai is proud of its Belfry, symbol of the freedom of the city, and theirs is the oldest in Belgium.   The Fine Arts museum is a building by the Belgian Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta.  

In the 15th century the tapestry weaving industry reached its peak in Tournai. Many of the most beautiful specimens are in the possession of Royal courts all over Europe.