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As the Belgian Centre of the Comic Strip is the first to admit, comic strips were not invented in Belgium, but the nation has certainly taken them to its heart, and produced a string of gifted artist-writers, the most famous being Hergé, creator of Tintin. The museum is in an Art Nouveau building by Horta (see Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée).

Teddy bears, dolls, miniature farmyards, rocking horses – this toy museum is an Aladdin’s cave of delights with exhibits from the 1850s to the present (see Musée du Jouet).

The studio of the 19th-century painter Antoine Wiertz reveals him as an artist of great self-delusion. Offended by rejection in Paris, he wanted to see Brussels usurp Paris as the capital of Europe. The fact that the European Parliament building is on his doorstep seems spookily visionary (see Musée Antoine Wiertz).

Brussels’ sewer museum gives an insight into the massive public works that made the city safe to live in during the late 19th century. Visits to a small portion of the vast network by guided tour only.

With dozens of trams, ancient and modern, lining the silent platforms of an old tram depot, a visit to this museum is a bit like wandering into one of Delvaux’s Surrealist paintings. It has far more appeal than its subject matter may suggest (see Musée du Tram Bruxellois).

“You are what you wear” is the philosophy behind this new museum in Antwerp’s fashion district. The collection presents the theory and practice of fashion, from 16th-century lacemaking to today’s cutting-edge Belgian designers, through imaginative and thought-provoking displays.

Many of these pious settlements for single women still survive (see Bruges). This small one serves as a museum evoking their lives. Unforgettable charm (see Béguinage d’Anderlecht).

The bold scale of this museum almost matches Belgium’s ambitions as a colonial power in the Congo, which is the main focus. It is fascinating on several levels: ethnographic, historical and sociological (see Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Africa (KMMA)).

The story of this museum centres on one of those awkward legacies: the gift to Bruges by the British artist Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956) of a large collection of his own paintings and prints. Fortunately, the result is both unusual and rewarding, as he had a highly distinctive eye and was a brilliant draughtsman (see Arentshuis (Brangwynmuseum)).

Housed in an old convent, the Bijlokemuseum is a splendidly idiosyncratic collection of historic artifacts, delivering a surprise at every turn (see Bijlokemuseum).