6 Best Sights in Bruges and the Coast, Belgium

The tremendous holdings of this gallery give you the makings for a crash course in the Flemish Primitives and their successors. Petrus Christus, Hugo van der Goes, Hieronymus Bosch, Rogier van der Weyden, Gerard David, Pieter Bruegel (both Elder and Younger), Pieter Pourbus—all the greats are represented. Here you can see Jan van Eyck's wonderfully realistic Madonna with Canon Van der Paele. There's also one of Hans Memling's greatest works, the Moreel Triptych. As if this weren't enough, the museum also encompasses a strong display of 15th- to 21st-century Dutch and Belgian works, sweeping through to Surrealist and modern art. The Groeninge is set back from the street in a pocket-size park behind a medieval gate. It isn't a huge museum; nonetheless, its riches warrant a full morning or afternoon. An audio guide is available in English.

Home to an impressive collection of Hans Memling paintings, this is one of the oldest surviving medieval hospitals in Europe. It was founded in the 12th century and remained in use until the 20th century. The highlights of the collection are the seven major works (and plenty of minor ones) by Hans Memling (1440–94) that are of breathtaking quality and rank among the greatest—and certainly the most spiritual—of the Flemish Primitives school. Memling was born in Germany, but spent the greater part of his life in Bruges. Note: There are plans for the museum to close for an unspecified period in 2023 for necessary restoration work.

The upper floor of this 18th-century building is dedicated to the multitalented artist Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956), born in Bruges to British parents. His works include everything from book illustrations to a mural in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, but he is perhaps best known for his World War I posters. He also influenced the reconstruction of many Bruges buildings in a pseudo-Gothic style, and many of his brooding drawings, etchings, and paintings of Bruges are on view here. On the ground floor, special exhibits on a variety of themes cycle through every few months.

The James Ensorhuis is an introduction to the strange and hallucinatory world of the painter James Ensor (1860–1949), who was recognized late in his life as one of the great artists of the early 20th century. Using violent colors to express his frequently macabre or satirical themes, he depicted a fantastic carnival world peopled by masks and skeletons. The displays in this house, which was his home and studio, include many of the objects found in his work, especially the masks, and copies of his major paintings. Beside the house are five interactive spaces that use audiovisual displays to bring Ensor’s paintings to life.

Oostende's modern art museum contains works by Belgian contemporary artists, from 1880 to the present day, and is well represented by Pierre Alechinsky, Roger Raveel, and Paul van Hoeydonck (whose statuette, The Fallen Astronaut, was deposited on the moon by the Apollo XV crew), among others. Ceramics, paintings, sculpture, and graphic art are all displayed.

Art lovers will want to head for nearby Sint-Idesbald---effectively a western suburb of Koksijde---to discover the Paul Delvaux Museum in a reconverted Flemish farmhouse. It is dedicated to the painter, famous for his Surrealist mix of nudes, skeletons, and trains, who died in 1994 at the age of nearly 100. This collection has work from the various stages of Delvaux’s career, including his later, somewhat eerie female nudes.