A website by War Heritage Institute

Guided Tours for Adults

Guided Tours for Adults

  • Duration: 1h30
  • Price: 87 euro per group for a visit during the week (97 euro on weekends) + 4.5 euro per adult
  • Conditions: reservation required no later than 3 weeks before the chosen date
salle 14-18
General visit

The Museum has more than 100,000 collection pieces. Impossible to see them all in 90 minutes. This guided tour will give you an overview of our treasures, an ideal option for a first visit to the Military Museum.

Group size: no groups in excess of 25 adults

 

Salle historique
Belgium in the 19th century

The Historic Gallery, one of the oldest spaces in the Royal Military Museum, is dedicated to the Belgian army between 1831 and 1914. Showcases filled to the brim with colorful uniforms and headgear recall a period when military fashion was not yet influenced by camouflage. The visit also focuses on Leopold I and his son Leopold II, as well as on the Belgian military expeditions to Mexico, Africa, Italy or China.

Group size: no groups in excess of 25 adults

arms and armour
Arms and Armour

Swords and armour… this gallery will undoubtedly fascinate both young and old! Eight centuries of military history become quite tangible here. From the equipment of knights to the first fire weapons: the gallery illustrates the evolution of weaponry and protection on the battlefield. And be sure to admire the magnificent hunting weapons or the impressive tournament gear!

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults

14-18
First World War

Life in the trenches, soldiers’ equipment, armament, new technologies, camouflage, the situation in occupied Belgium, the conflict as a global event, ... as many themes that can be addressed in this room.

Group size: no groups in excess of 25 adults

hall air
Aviation

A journey through time, from lighter than air to current aircraft, over the fragile first aeroplanes and the Second World War fighters.

Group size: no groups in excess of 25 adults

14-18
Interwar period

From post-Versailles Europe to the Phoney War: the rise of dictatorships, the fragility of democracies or social and political upheavals inexorably lead to the Second World War.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

40-45
Occupied Belgium during the Second World War

Policy of the lesser evil, hunger, destitution, bombings, resistance and collaboration characterize life in occupied Belgium from 1940 to 1944.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

zaal 40-45
Belgians in the war

Outside of occupied Belgium, Belgian soldiers continued the war alongside the Allied forces and contributed to victory. Some, on the other hand, chose to side with the Germans.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

Vrouwen in de oorlog
Women in war

Fighters, resistance fighters, followers of the New Order, deportees, mothers of families: women largely contributed to the war effort and/or were victimized.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

zaal 40-45
1939-1945: a “world” war

The five continents were involved in the war, on their territories or through their fighting forces.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

zaal 40-45
Key episodes in the Second World War

The Battle of Britain, El-Alamein, Stalingrad, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the battle for Berlin, the atomic bomb: as many pivotal moments in the course of the conflict.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

propagande
Propaganda in the Second World War

War is not fought and won on the battlefield only. In order to dedicate all human and material resources to war minds have to be mobilized as well.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

terreur en genocide
The Second World War: Terror, Persecution and Genocide

Joe Public, political opponents or racial enemies: all were subjected to terror and persecution.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

Tactics of war
The Second World War through the techniques and tactics of war

The different operation theaters (air, sea, desert, etc.), climatic conditions, technological developments (radar, encryption, flying bombs, etc.) all made for evolutions in the art of war.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

Civilians WWII
Civilian population put to the test of the Second World War

Sent on the roads of exodus, endangered by occupation, terrorized by bombings, subjected to persecutions, but finally liberated by victory: civilians were severely tried by the war.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

Historische zaal
Museology at the Military Museum (only available in French)

Settled on the Cinquantenaire site since 1923, our collections reflect a century of museological visions, from the overflowing showcases in the Historic Gallery to the touch screens in the gallery dedicated to the Second World War.

Groupe size: no groups in excess of 25 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

Russische zaal
Russian treasures

Luxurious pieces of precious metalwork, majestic uniforms, pieces evoking the astonishing adventure of the Belgian self-propelled guns, exile souvenirs, ... The Russian collection set up in the Museum’s very heart never ceases to amaze.  

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

arcades
Napoleonic collections/arcades

In the early days of the 20th century, two passionate collectors, the banker Georges Titeca and Count Robert de Ribaucourt, each constituted a collection focusing on headgear, edged weapons, firearms, prints, honorary distinctions and musical instruments from the 18th and 19th centuries. This guided tour introduces the riches nestled at the top of the Cinquantenaire arcades.

Group size: no groups in excess of 25 adults (with a maximum of two groups per time slot)

Antartica
Antarctica

This section immerses the visitor in the history of the expeditions Belgium carried out in Antarctica, in close collaboration with Defence. The visit will take you on a journey: from the Belgica in 1897-1899 over King Baudouin Base in the years 1957-1960 to the current Princess Elisabeth Station.

Group size: no groups in excess of 15 adults (with a maximum of one group at a time)