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Bruges’ canals were spanned by little drawbridges to allow boats to pass. This one is a reconstruction from 1976.

Cycling is big in Belgium, and no name ranks higher than Eddie Merckx (born 1945), five times winner of the Tour de France (1969–72 and 1974).

This charming 18th-century church, with its Roman-style façade and lantern bell tower, sits on the top of the Coudenberg, the aristocratic enclave of the Upper Town. It is attached to the Royal Palace, and has seats for the royal family in the choir. During the anticlerical days of the French occupation in the 1790s, it was converted first to a “Temple of Reason” and then a “Temple of Law” before reconsecration in 1802.

Béguinages were pious institutions for single women (see Bruges). This one was built in the 17th-century. The façade is full of Baroque detail, while inside, the mood is one of calm. Note the tombstones of the béguines set in the floor.

Post-Impressionist painter (1849–1924) famous for rural scenes of sparkling clarity, achieved through a technique that he called “Luminism”.

A missionary (1840–89) who devoted his life to caring for lepers in Hawaii. Now on his way to sainthood.

A painter (1858–1928) whose enigmatic Symbolist work is suffused with suppressed sexuality.

One of the world’s bestselling authors, Simenon (1903–89) was born and bred in Liège. His most famous creation, Inspector Maigret, appeared in 75 of his 400 novels.

Most school maps of the world are still based on the “Mercator projection” – an ingenious way of representing the spherical globe on a flat page. Mercator (1512–94) is also credited with creating the first “atlas”, a word he introduced.