Belgium’s finest art cities, from Antwerp to Brussels

The region of Flanders boasts a number of beautiful Belgian towns, which are characterised by their sophistication and serenity.

While taking the time to explore the historic centres of Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges, it is all too easy to forget that for over a hundred years this small region was the heart of the Northern Renaissance, where an explosion of innovation at the beginning of the 15th century changed Western art for good.

In the early 17th century a single figure was to once again put Flanders on Europe’s artistic map. In this period, the immensely versatile Peter Paul Rubens spearheaded the Flemish Baroque movement and made his hometown Antwerp the triumphant beacon of the Counter-Reformation.

Our Flemish art tour traces the story of the region’s art, bringing it to life with the insight of an excellent lecturer.

Flemish Painting – Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels

30 June–5 July 2026

When Jan van Eyck mastered the techniques of oil painting in the early 15th century, he began a golden age of art in Flanders. Our five-day tour takes in many of the masterpieces of that era, in Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels; among northern Europe’s loveliest towns.

The tour is led by Desmond Shawe-Taylor. Distinguished art historian and museum administrator whose posts have included Surveyor of The Queen’s Pictures and Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery. He has written extensively on English eighteenth-century portraiture and other subjects, and curated a series of exhibitions at the Queen’s Gallery in Edinburgh and London, dealing with Dutch and Flemish 17th-century art.