St-Katharinabegijnhof

Top choice in Northeast Belgium


Centred on a 14th-century church and sporting a few artists’ studio-galleries, this picturesque village-within-a-village is a five-street grid of lovely antique houses retaining an unusually authentic aura. The site is entered through a splendid baroque portal at the eastern end of Begijnenstraat, a 10-minute stroll east of the Grote Markt, starting out along Koning Albertstraat.

Some Sundays, Xaverius, the quaint traditional kitchen-cottage at Heilige Geeststraat 11a, opens as a museum-cafe and allows visitors to wander around the herb garden.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northeast Belgium attractions

1. St-Sulpitius Church

0.5 MILES

St-Sulpitius Church is built in two discordantly different colours of stone. Lacking a substantial tower, its exterior seems oddly thrown together, but…

2. Scherpenheuvel Basilica

3.67 MILES

This 1609 basilica has a domed roof distinctively dotted with gilded seven-pointed stars that's visible for miles as you approach from the west. The…

3. Kasteel van Horst

10.68 MILES

Ringed by a reflective moat, picture-perfect, medieval Kasteel van Horst enjoys a delightful rural setting. The interior is undergoing long-term…

4. St-Leonarduskerk

10.83 MILES

Partly dating to the 13th century, St-Leonarduskerk is topped with a fanciful tower reminiscent of a galleon’s crow’s nest. Miraculously, given Zoutleeuw…

5. Stadhuis

10.85 MILES

Opposite St-Leonarduskerk, the old town hall building is a 19th-century faux-medieval delight with majestic pre-Raphaelite murals in the ground-floor hall…

6. Nationaal Jenevermuseum

12.77 MILES

Hasselt has been at the centre of the jenever (gin) industry since the 17th century, and this beautifully restored 19th-century distillery houses a…

7. Festraets Studio

12.83 MILES

This working collection of four 1930s mechanical wonders is charmingly old-fashioned if far too slow-paced for most modern attention spans. The highlight…

8. Begijnhofkerk

12.86 MILES

The 1258 Begijnhofkerk is fascinating for its wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling and the contrast between sparse elements of contemporary art and the 38…