2024 is being described as a ‘grand cru year’ for exhibitions in Belgium. People paid 1.2 million museum visits using the Museum Pass, a pass that gives access to a wealth of museums and exhibition both in the north and south of the country.
The various exhibitions devoted to Ostend painter James Ensor and the 'History of Not Laughing. Surrealism in Belgium' at the Bozar pulled in large crowds, but many museums with permanent exhibitions are well worth visiting all year round and of course many new temporary exhibitions are planned for 2025.
Bruges remains one of Belgium’s most popular destinations. Last year Bruges Museums , marketed as Musea Brugge, attracted more than 850,000 visitors. This is an increase of 10.6% compared to the previous year.
The Belfry or Belfort, the clock tower that stands on Bruges market square, remains the top attraction with 216,000 visitors. The Museum of the Church of Our Lady (198,000 visitors) and art museum Groeninge Museum (118,000 visitors), complete the top 3. The revamped St John's Hospital Museum , which reopened just before the start of 2024, was also popular (99,000 visitors).
69% of all museum visitors to Bruges come from abroad, mainly from neighbouring countries, but visits from the US are also on the rise and Asian visitor bumbers are again picking up post-Covid.
In Ieper, the In Flanders Fields Museum continues to attract visitors from far and wide: 155,948 in 2024, slightly less than in 2023 (when over 168,000 visitors were recorded). 60% came from abroad, from Britain, the Netherlands, France and Germany, but also from the US, Canada and Australia.
The Yper Museum also saw visitor numbers rise for the 3rd year in a row, with a total of more than 20,000 visitors in 2024, up almost 10% compared to 2023.
Still in West Flanders, the James Ensor exhibition in Ostend ‘Rose, rose, rose à mes yeux. James Ensor and Still-life in Belgium' attracted 87,000 visitors at Mu.ZEE . Due to renovation work the museum is now closed for over 3 years.
2024 was the Ensor Year with successful exhibitions in Brussels, Antwerp and Ostend.
In Antwerp the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the KMSKA welcomed more than half a million visitors in the second year since its reopening. Over 221,000 visitors went to see the exhibition ‘Ensor's Wildest Dreams. Beyond Impressionism'.
‘James Ensor, Maestro’ and ‘Chantal Akerman: Travelling’ together attracted more than 75,000 visitors to Bozar in Brussels.
In all the Bozar welcomed a total of 328,036 visitors to its exhibitions, a 58% increase in comparison with 2023. Almost 118,886 people visited the exhibition ‘Histoire de ne pas rire. Surrealism in Belgium' (The History of Not Laughing). It was one of the 5 most visited exhibitions ever at the Bozar.
East Flanders has many marvels
Ghent remains an attractive destination for foreign visitors. Museums and historic houses in the East Flemish capital welcomed over 1.3 million visitors. That is slightly less than the record set in 2023.
Ghent's museums attracted almost 600,000 visitors: Fine Arts museum MSK (122,954), City Museum STAM (55,415), university museum GUM with its botanical garden (89,391), contemporary art museum S.M.A.K (75,857), Kina, the museum for child and nature, (65,165), poor house museum Huis van Alijn (64,113), psychiatry museum Museum Dr Guislain (61,703) and the Designmuseum (6,534) - now closed till 2026 - all pulled in the crowds. Ghent’s historic houses attracted 743,384 visitors.
Smaller museums in East Flanders too welcomed numerous visitors. The Museum of Oudenaarde, the MOU , with its verdure tapestries notched up a record number of visitors (60,000) thanks to the exhibition ‘Margaret, Emperor's Daughter between Power and Image’.
The Mudel , a museum in Deinze, welcomed 80,000 visitors.
Limburg is well worth an outing
In Limburg, the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren attracted more than 100,000 visitors for the first time in 5 years. That is 20,000 more than in 2023 and is also the highest number since the pandemic.
C-Mine , artistic hotspot on the industrial heritage site created at the former Genk Colliery attracted 220,000 visitors thanks to its exhibitions and the cultural centre.
Still in Limburg, the Fashion Museum in Hasselt is also satisfied. During the first months of 2024, the museum was closed for refurbishments, but its ‘Mothers’ exhibition, which is still running and has been extended until 9 March attracted many visitors.
in Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Museum M , which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, received just under 380,000 visitors. That is down from 2023, when 400,000 visitors were counted, partly as a result of the exhibition ‘Dieric Bouts. Sculptor'.
It was a disappointing year for the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren that with 106,000 visitors saw numbers down from 132,000 the previous year. Difficulties accessing the museum due to road works and works on tram route 44 may be partly to blame.