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Brussels’ honey-coloured Gothic cathedral is a sanctuary of calm from the bustle of the Grand Place. Used for royal weddings and funerals (see Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule).

One of Brussels’ most distinctive churches occupies a prominent position overlooking the Place Royale: its bell-tower apart, it looks more like a Roman temple than a Christian church (see Église Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg).

The 15th-century church of the Guild of Crossbowmen is a beautiful example of Brabantine Gothic style, lit by large expanses of stained glass (see Sablon).

The exuberant Flemish Baroque façade of this church contrasts with its history as the focal point of a béguine community of women. Something of their charity and moderation still pervades the interior (see Église St-Jean-Baptiste au Béguinaeg).

Bruges’ most striking church, with a rocket-like spire in the austere style of Scheldt Gothic. The interior has been tinkered with ceaselessly since the 13th century. Its outstanding treasure is Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child , donated by a wealthy merchant in 1514 (see Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk).

Both grand and sombre, the tone of this church befits its status as Bruges’ cathedral. Although mainly Gothic, Saint Saviour’s may date back in origin to early Christian times. The turreted tower was built in Neo-Medieval style in the late 19th century (see Sint-Salvatorskathedraal).

Its soaring Gothic interior and Baroque choir give Ghent’s impressive cathedral a forceful quality (see Sint-Baafskathedraal). It is upstaged, however, by its greatest treasure: Jan and Hubrecht van Eyck’s magnificent Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (see The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb).

The interior of Ghent’s most attractive church has been scrubbed clean by a recent programme of restoration, resulting in a light and joyous interior that makes the most of the robust Gothic stonework (see Sint-Niklaaskerk).

With only one of its two towers finished, Antwerp’s cathedral bears the battle scars of its centuries-long struggle for completion, but the immense interior gives a clear indication of the scale of its creators’ ambitions. It also provides an apt setting for two stunning triptychs by Rubens, as well as some ravishing late-19th-century paintings (see Antwerp Cathedral).

The richly ornate interior of this church bears testimony to the fact that it was frequented by the well-to-do during Antwerp’s 17th-century heyday – among them, Rubens, who was buried in his family chapel here (see Sint-Jacobskerk).