Museum in Belgium.

Climb the 365 steps of the belfry (€8) for the view; combine with the BAM (Beaux-Arts Mons) or the Mons Memorial Museum on WWI/WWII. The city was 2015 European Capital of Culture and still benefits from that investment.

Six floors of toys from 1850 to today: railway sets, dolls, dollhouses, comics. Playful, not stuffy; younger kids get hands-on play areas. Easy combine with Mechelen's old town and Sint-Romboutskathedraal.

Three or four exhibitions on at any time — from Magnum-era reportage to contemporary Belgian portrait work. Ground-floor café is one of the nicer spots in Zuid for a quiet espresso.

The cathedral holds four major Rubens altarpieces, including the Raising of the Cross and the Descent from the Cross. Entry is paid (the cathedral functions as both a working church and a museum) but discounted in late afternoon. Easy combine with a walk down the Grote Markt.

The 2019 audio guide by comedian Wouter Deprez is one of the funniest museum guides in Europe. The castle itself is impressive but small (90 minutes); combine with a walk through the Patershol quarter and a stop at the Gentse Feesten if it's July.

The 2018 reopening rewired the museum around a critical look at Belgium's colonial history in Central Africa. Strong ethnographic, natural-science and political sections. Park outside is free; entry to the museum is paid. Easy half-day from Brussels by tram 44.

The park itself is free; pick one of the three on-site museums for a half-day. Autoworld is the easy win with teenagers; the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces & Military History is enormous and weirdly under-visited. The arch terrace is open weekends.