Page 117 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Brussels Bruges Ghent & Antwerp

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P Vlaamse Opera
Schouwburgstraat 3. Map E3. Tel (09)
268 1011. Open for performances;
guided tours third Saturday of the
month. & ∑ operaballet.be
This classic opera house was
built in 1837–40; it has been
restored to reclaim its reputation
as one of the most spectacular
theatres in Europe, with an
auditorium and adjoining
salons encrusted with gilding,
chandeliers and sculptural
decorations. The resident
company is the much-respected
Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera), The grand, Neo-Classical façade of the Museum voor Schone Kunsten
which formed when the opera
companies of Ghent and enclose a small park and E Stedelijk Museum voor
Antwerp merged. Baroque church, creating a Actuele Kunst (SMAK)
tranquil refuge. This Begijnhof Jan Hoetplein 1. Map E5. Tel (09) 240
was founded as a community 7601. Open 10am–6pm, Tue–Sun.
of single women in about 1235. Closed Mon. & = 0 ∑ smak.be
It has been occupied ever SMAK is one of Europe’s most
since, but the residents today dynamic modern art galleries, a
are no longer béguines. force in the art world that has
helped to bring the spot light to
E STAM the Belgian art scene. Its exten-
Bijlokesite, Godshuizenlaan 2. sive and challenging permanent
Map E4. Tel (09) 267 1400. Open collection includes work by
9am–5pm Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri; artists such as Bacon, Beuys,
10am–6pm Sat & Sun. Closed Wed, Broodthaers, Long, Muñoz,
1 Jan, 24, 25 & 31 Dec. 7 & Nauman, Panamarenko, Tuymans
0∑stamgent.be and Warhol, while temporary
The stunning interior of the Vlaamse Located on a site that brings exhi bi tions feature international
Opera building together a 14th-century artists at the cutting edge of con-
Gothic abbey, a 17th-century tem porary art. The airy and attrac-
P Klein Begijnhof monas tery and the latest in tive building dates from 1949 but
Lange Violettestraat 205. 21st-century architecture, was remodelled in the 1990s.
Open 6:30am–10pm daily. STAM is Ghent’s excellent
The Klein Begijnhof (Small city museum. It provides an E Museum voor
Béguinage) is the prettiest of introduction to the city’s history Schone Kunsten
Ghent’s three béguinages and cultural heritage, tracing its Fernand Scribedreef, Citadelpark. Map
(see p57). Rows of step-gabled, evolution to the present day. F5. Tel (09) 240 0700. Open 10am–6pm
whitewashed houses – most Don’t miss the towers of Ghent Tue–Sun. & ∑ mskgent.be
dating from the 17th century – built with LEGO. Ghent’s largest collection of
fine art is displayed in this
Neo-Classical building. Inside,
a rotunda divides the works,
with the older exhibits in a
series of rooms on the right
and 19th- and 20th-century art
to the left. Medieval paintings
include the Bearing of the Cross
by Hieronymus Bosch (1450–
1516). There are also works by
Rubens (see p21), Anthony van
Dyck (1599–1641) and Jacob
Jordaens (1593–1678).
Visitors planning to also visit
the Royal Museum of Fine Arts
in Antwerp and the Groeninge
Museum in Bruges should
invest in the Flemish Art
A small garden surrounded by step-gabled houses in the Klein Begijnhof Collection combiticket.

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