Culture in the outdoors: discover Flanders' open-air museums

A vibrant yellow sculpture resembling an energy burst stands on sandy dunes overlooking a calm beach. Grasses wave gently, adding a serene touch.

©Westtoer

Culture, heritage and history are everywhere you look in Flanders. Within the walls of stately museums, but also outside, in our magnificent open-air museums. Because culture also goes hand in hand with some good, fresh air.

Historic nature

During the 20th century, European history was defined by two world wars. Flanders did not escape the effects. Remnants of those dark days remain visible at Atlantikwall Raversyde, a fifty-hectare nature reserve and open-air museum in Ostend. Perched along the picturesque North Sea coast and partly submerged in the dunes are the remains of the Atlantikwall, the Germans’ line of defence. As you wander around, you will encounter over sixty bunkers, exposed and underground tunnels as well as observation posts and shelters. Through this experience, you can combine an impressive walk with a valuable history lesson.

Westtoer APB

Stately statues

As if the coastline isn't lovely enough in itself, you will also be treated to an abundance of art. Running as regular as clockwork, the Beaufort Arts Triennial arrives to enliven the North Sea Coast. Engaging works of art are displayed everywhere along the sea walls, beaches and dunes. The 67 kilometres of coastline are temporarily transformed into a fantastical open-air museum. However, this art event doesn’t just come and go; it has also created a lasting artistic legacy. Visit the Beaufort Sculpture Park to admire 40 works of art from previous editions, a stunning crossover between art and nature.

A large white sculpture resembling a stylized animal skull with long horns stands on a sandy beach. A wooden pier extends into the blue sky background.

Filip Claessens Westtoer

Flemish Masters in an urban jungle

Flemish Masters come in all shapes, sizes and from varying time periods. These days, you can simply take to the streets to discover our latest masters, for example in Ostend. This pearl of the Belle Époque may be Flanders' largest open-air gallery today. Since 2016, The Crystal Ship has dropped its anchor here at regular intervals and this spectacular street art festival has left its indelible mark on the city. The art comes in all forms with some being of monumental proportions and others tucked away in corners, all of which are worth a look. Stroll through Ostend and be amazed by the dozens of works of street art that transform the city.

A vibrant mural on a building wall depicts healthcare workers with stethoscopes. The scene is framed by greenery under a bright blue sky with clouds.

Toerisme Oostende vzw - Nick Decombel Fotografie

A scattering of statues in nature

Antwerp is a city of many treasures and Middelheim Museum is one of the loveliest. Middelheim Park features an impressive sculpture garden with some 200 works of art scattered about, surrounded by nature. Under stately trees and along generous footpaths, you will find works by renowned artists such as Auguste Rodin, Ai Weiwei, Guillaume Bijl and Panamarenko. Strolling through this artistic city park is a parade of pleasing encounters.

Slender rust-colored metal rods form a striking sculpture in a green park under a bright blue sky, surrounded by trees. Peaceful atmosphere perfect for a stroll.

Joris Luyten_32659734963

Pedalling through a museum

Who says museums can’t be explored by bicycle? Art in public space is a perfect opportunity to do so. This ‘art and architecture’ trail serves as a kind of open-air museum that begs to be visited on a bike. Starting at arts institution Z33, it takes in a variety of magnificent artistic and architectural interventions gracing the Limburg landscape. Reading between the Lines – the famous ‘see-through’ church – is one of the wide-ranging trail highlights. If you’re still in the mood for more, you can also drop by Bokrijk, an iconic open-air museum that shows how people lived and worked in the Flemish countryside in days of yore.

Semi-transparent steel church sculpture in a grassy field with autumn trees. The sun sets on the horizon, casting a warm glow over the rural landscape.

Kristof Vrancken_36998844653

Rough, sloppy and astounding

Anyone who enters Verbeke Foundation’s vast premises is venturing into a tip-tilted universe. The first items to catch your eye are stacked containers, a helicopter, a railway carriage and an unbelievably enormous vase. Further inside, you will encounter art created from a stretch of motorway, a bomb shelter, a spaceship made of washing machines and many other strange objects and works of art. This unique private open-air museum is unlike anything else. The presentation of its mind-boggling collection is – as the proprietors put it – “unfinished, rough, sloppy, contradictory and inharmonious.” There is a brand-new exhibition in honour of the museum’s fifteenth anniversary, making it all the more special to visit.

A uniquely shaped building resembling a giant, red sausage with windows and a door, surrounded by vibrant green trees under a clear blue sky.

Verbeke Foundation en Joep Van Lieshout

The Ninth Art

Brussels is not just the European capital, it is also the capital of the comic strip. This so-called “Ninth Art” is firmly at home in Brussels. Famous comic characters such as Tintin, Gomer Goof and the Smurfs all originated in Brussels. The city continues to honour them. Throughout its streets, you will find magnificent murals immortalising over sixty famous comic book heroes. They are an ode to the comic strip, with the monumental avenues of Brussels acting as a spectacular open-air gallery.

Milo-Profi

Art and science laboratory of wonders

Koen Vanmechelen’s fascinating universe is built on the foundations of Limburg’s occasionally turbulent mining past and what used to be a zoo. This visionary artist has made it his life’s work to explore the intersections between art, identity, fertility and biocultural diversity. His world is made tangible in his own laboratory of wonders: Labiomista. This open-air museum of marvels spans 24 hectares (60 acres) and is also a garden of order and chaos, a cultural and natural stadium. It is an unknown, wonderous world that can be experienced under the open sky.

A modern, triangular brick building labeled "Laloumena" under a clear blue sky. Circular windows and lush trees create a welcoming, contemporary feel.

Jonathan Ramael

As you can see there are lots of examples (eight in all!) that prove our point! Flanders simply has too much to show! Which is why you can experience culture everywhere in Flanders, in stately museums but also outside, in the fresh air.