Hidden Belgium

Unique urban rambles

Hidden Brussels walks: The Ravenstein Steps

The Secret History of Belgium

in 5 audio walks

Discover unexpected spots in 5 slow rambles

Join me as I guide your around the streets of Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and Ypres. I've teamed up with the cool people at VoiceMap to produce audio walking tours of my favourite cities. The tours use GPS to guide you seamlessly around the cities. So you don't need to check your screen or unfold a map. They also add a background soundtrack to add to the experience.  

Hidden Brussels walk

Hidden Brussels: A Local's Guide to Secret Places and Untold Stories

Let me be your guide on a 90-minute audio ramble through the streets of Brussels, taking in 70 sights and stories, including a buried renaissance palace, a Surrealist café and a 500-year-old joke. You can listen to the first three stops on the VoiceMap app for free. Then you need to dig out a few euro to get the whole tour. Buy the walk here  

From the reviews:

Great tour! Lovely to see some different things around Brussels and different aspects of well-known places. Easy to follow and a lovely accent to listen to. I'll be recommending it to my Belgian friends. Karen Packham

Hidden Ghent walk

Hidden Ghent: A Guide to the Authentic Flemish City Almost No One Knows

My VoiceMap audio tour of Ghent takes you on a ramble through secret lanes and along quiet canals. Along the way, you'll learn about the city's mediaeval fortress, the vanished palace where Charles V was born and the massive mediaeval cannon that turned out to be a flop. Plus I will take you past some of Ghent's mellow coffee shops and romantic bars. VoiceMap lets you listed to the first three stops for free so you can decide if this is a walk for you. Check it out here

From the reviews:

As usual, Derek's tours don't disappoint. Full of fascinating stories, off the beaten track wonders as well as the normal tourist spots. Great bars and restaurants en route make for an excellent day out.

Dave Hutchings

Hidden Antwerp walk

Hidden Antwerp: Half a Century of History, Art and Fashion

My VoiceMap audio tour of Antwerp guides you through the winding lanes and leafy squares of this fascinating Flemish city. You'll discover the story of Brabo, follow the footsteps of pilgrims and meander trough hidden mediaeval lanes. I'll alos show you some of my favourite coffee bars and cafes where you can stop for an Antwerp beer. Listen to the first three stops for free here

From the reviews:

Derek brought Antwerp to life in an interesting and fun manner. As well as taking us to the main sights, he showed us secret and charming places with many opportunities to grab a local beer or two.  

Lucie Dutton

Hidden Ypres walk

Hidden Ypres: A Flemish City in War and Peace

My fourth VoiceMap audio tour takes you through the Flemish town of Ypres. This is a special place with a unique history. Everything was destroyed in World War One. Not one building was left standing. It took more than 50 years to rebuild the city, house by house. On this walk, you'll learn the remarkable story of a city reborn. I'll tell you about the ancient cloth hall and the city's fortifications. And I'll also explain the history of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. The walk ends at the memorial arch where the Last Post is played every night. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. Listen to the first three stops for free here

Brussels Art Nouveau walk

Art Nouveau's Sublime Capital: A Brussels Walking Tour

I've produced a second GPS audio tour in Brussels that focuses on Art Nouveau architecture. The tour takes you on a ramble through the Louise district of Brussels in search of stunning Art Nouveau houses. Listen to the first three stops for free here

From the reviews:

Lovely. Made me take note of things I would have passed.

Margaret Achterman

Derek Blyth talks about Hidden Brussels Walks

I launched my Hidden Brussels walking tours in the spring of 2013. I have led dozens of tours with participants from all over the world. Sometimes it rains. It can even snow. But so far I have never had to cancel a walk.

I organise tours for small groups, ranging from two people to 12.

How it works

The walks are different from most guided tours in that they avoid the overcrowded tourist areas of the city and show instead a side of the city that most people do not know about.

* Each walk lasts about two hours.

* You'll cover about 5,000 steps.

* The walks are normally in English.

* The walks take place in all weathers.

* Most walks are free.

My 8 secret Brussels walks

Downtown Brussels

Secret churches and hidden alleys

From a hidden river to an unknown mediaeval lane, this walk takes you through the oldest part of Brussels to parts that tourists never reach. Departs Place St Géry 23.

Leopold II and the Congo

The Heart of Darkness

Discover the forgotten Brussels quarter where Leopold II ran his vast and cruel African colony.

Art Nouveau

A new architecture is born

See the emergence of a new architectural style in a 2-hour ramble around the back streets of Ixelles.

Secrets of Saint-Gilles

Hidden architecture, galleries and shops

Beginning at the Porte de Hal, this walk takes you into one of the city's most creative communes.

The Belgian revolution

Four days that changed Belgium

Walk through the streets where Belgian rebels fought in 1830 and find out how a small revolution helped to create the modern world

Street art

Find secret street art by Bonom, Roa and the Farm Prod collective

Find out about the street artists who work in Brussels, from the man known as “the Banksy of Brusssels” who paints skeletons on apartment walls to the couple who have turned a blank concrete wall into an art gallery. Departs Place Stephanie 6

Secrets of the Cinquantenaire

The birth of a nation

Discover the history of Belgium during a two-hour stroll through the 'Central Park of Brussels'. Departs Berlaymont building entrance

Brussels DC

How a village in a marsh became the capital of Europe

It makes no sense. One thousand years ago, Brussels was a tiny settlement isolated in the damp marshes of northern Europe. Other cities were much more important, like Paris, Rome and Cologne. Now Brussels is one of the most important power hubs in the world. Only Washington and possibly Beijing have more influence in global affairs. So how did Brussels get to be such an important place? Join me on a two-hour walk to find out the incredible story of a city that evolved from a village in a swamp to the capital of Europe.

Private walks

The Brussels no one knows

You can book a private walk for a few friends to celebrate a special event like a birthday or a wedding. Just drop me an email and we can discuss the possibilities

Request a walk here

The central boulevards have been turned over to pedestrians. So you can now stroll all the way from the Bourse to De Brouckère without encountering any cars. It's a strange and slightly unsettling experience for those of us who have become unaccustomed to Belgium's unholy alliance with the automobile.

You said:

I wanted to thank you again for the tour yesterday! It was exactly what we were looking for and you showed us so many things we would have never found! Thank you for playing along with my rambunctious group of friends, and I hope you continue to do these tours--I will definitely be promoting your site to anyone who plans on visiting Brussels in the future!

Laura Saad

Teacher

I just wanted to say a big thank you for the talk and walking tour yesterday evening which everyone thoroughly enjoyed! It really is one of our most popular events at Le Méridien. Looking forward to whenever the next one will be!

Sophie Clarke

Starwood Hotels

I just wanted to thank you for the nice talk and walk yesterday evening. I've been in Brussels for more than seven years and still hadn't noticed some of the spots you showed and explained to us.

Valeria

Brussels

We wanted to thank you for the great walk we had with our group of students on 14 January 2014. It was a hit: our students absolutely loved it! Even though the weather was quite rough, this was the first group that we've had that was collectively enthusiastic right until the end, regardless of the cold.

Pauline Le Floc'h

International Students Abroad

What a treasure trove of knowledge and a delightfully witty one at that! Derek has a delightfully cool approach to the whole tour of street art. And I discovered that Brussels is definitely NOT flat OR boring. He gave his commentary in English. My daughter was too jet-lagged to come along but when I showed her a few pictures and told her about it, she was as turned on by Brussels as me. Now we notice the quirky features of Brussels in a way we would never have done on our own.

Maggie Morgan

Melbourne

I want to thank you for the excellent tour that you did last Saturday. My wife and I learned a lot and we will try our best to be a part of your upcoming trips. We will also be purchasing your book as well as telling our friends about the hidden secrets that we are sure that many of them do not know about.

Klaus Ken Shipley

Thank you for the great tour through Brussels yesterday. It was very interesting. I am flicking through your book that I bought yesterday. What a gem.

Ramona Butler

Thank you so much for your time and enthusiasm and for showing me how much I yet have to discover in this city. I especially liked the banana murals, the mediaeval street, the designers' stores and the hospital square with the white buildings. It helped me imagine how Brussels looked at the time Joseph Conrad referred to it as the whited sepulchre.

Joanna Luczac

I was touched by the city that you showed us. I have lived here for a year and I have always felt that there is more to Brussels than I could describe, show or touch. Even though I have read hundreds of books about Brussels. I loved the gorgeous photo exhibition, and the abandoned old fountain lined with rubbish made me cry. Brussels is a magnificent old city, but it's a pity it's not visble on a daily basis. Like the narrow street near the Rue de Flandres that isn't even on Google maps. Every citizen should be obliged to try to see Brussels through your eyes.   

Joanna Slocka

The walk on Saturday was illuminating and your book is on my list of things to buy. I adore getting to know about my surroundings and our peregrinations were ideal for that.

Nick Hogg

You were fabulous. After 15 months here, I've fallen into a bit of a Brussels funk. Your book and the walk were just what I needed to remind me of the quirkiness and absurdity that makes Brussels such a unique place. After the walk, a friend and I enjoyed drinks as you suggested at the Dominican. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon.   

Brandee Butler

Your narration is fantastic, it could entertain and enlighten me for hours. In fact, one of my group said, "I'd like to take him out to dinner and just let him talk."     

Pam Rubin

Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for everything today. Luke and I thoroughly enjoyed your enthusiasm for your adopted, beloved city. Your expertise was of real benefit, particularly when so much history related to the Congo and Leopold has been erased or forgotten (deliberately or otherwise). If any friends head to Brussels I will certainly encourage them to get in contact with you.

Jonathan Monk

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Behind the scenes at the Plaster Cast Workshop

A downtown ramble in the Brussels pedestrian zone

1 Begin at Place de Brouckère. Stroll down the car-free central boulevards as far as Bourse.

2 Turn right down Rue Orts. Soon you reach the end of the car-free zone. Keep on down Rue Dansaert until you come to the canal.

3 Turn right along the canal. Here you can walk along a wooden boardwalk built recently along the canalside (but still unfinished).

4 You reach the busy Place Sainctelette where street artists recently decorated the lower walls along the canal.

5 Cross the road and keep on straight, with the unfinished Kanal art centre on your right. Admire the huge comic mural on the wall to your right by Pratt.

7 Follow the canal until you come to a bridge. Cross the canal here. Then cross the road to reach the Tour et Taxis neighbourhood.

8 Explore the former industrial site where the city has created a new quarter. End with a Zinnebir at the Brasserie de la Senne.