Belgium is dotted with military heritage: Brialmont forts, casemates, memorial sites and World War museums. Many of these places tell stories that are not only local but inseparably tied to the twentieth-century history of Europe. The question for wheelchair users is usually the same: how much of a fort can I actually visit? The answer differs sharply from site to site. Some museums are exemplary in their step-free design, others can only be explored from the outside. In this guide we cover six Belgian forts and memorial sites and look at how accessible they are for visitors travelling by wheelchair.
Fort Breendonk: national memorial in Willebroek
Fort Breendonk in Willebroek is probably the best-known memorial site in Belgium and one of the best-preserved concentration camps in Western Europe. The visitor centre at the entrance is fully step-free, with a lift to the modern exhibitions, audiovisual halls and accessible toilets. The outdoor area around the fort is largely level and reasonably easy to navigate. Some parts of the fort itself, the underground cells and narrow corridors, are difficult to access due to unpaved floors and changes in level. An adapted route and audio guide lead visitors with reduced mobility past the accessible parts, without losing the impact of the story.
Fort Liefkenshoek and Fort Lillo: the Scheldt forts
On both banks of the Scheldt, near the port of Antwerp, lie two seventeenth-century fortified strongholds. Fort Liefkenshoek on the left bank has grown into a museum that tells the history of the fort and Scheldt shipping. The visitor centre is wheelchair-accessible; the outdoor area is largely passable via semi-paved paths, although the underground sections are out of reach. Fort Lillo on the right bank is not a classic fort museum but a still-inhabited polder village within the old ramparts. The streets are level, the polder dyke offers a paved cycle path around the village, and the Polder Museum can be visited with assistance. Combining the two forts via the Liefkenshoek tunnel makes a fine historical round trip.
Fort of Eben-Emael: the strongest fort in Europe
The Fort of Eben-Emael on the Sint-Pietersberg, south of Maastricht, was the most modern fort in Europe at its construction in the 1930s. The German capture on 10 May 1940 by glider troops made military history. Today a large part of the site can be visited. The outer surface with its famous gun turrets is reachable via paved paths. The underground galleries are only partly accessible: narrow passages, slopes and stairs make the underground route hard to keep up with in a wheelchair. The visitor centre, the film hall and the sanitary facilities are however fully step-free. Book ahead, since the fort is only open on specific opening days.
Forts of the Liege defensive ring: Loncin and Hollogne
The defensive ring around Liege, designed by General Brialmont in the 1880s, originally counted twelve forts. Two of them are relevant today for accessible outings. The Fort of Loncin is fully step-free and certified by Access-i: the museum, the necropolis and the outdoor site are all visitable by wheelchair, and the site offers a moving account of Belgian defence in August 1914. The Fort of Hollogne is less developed as a museum, but the outer ramparts can be explored in dry weather with an outdoor wheelchair. Together the two sites give a good overview of the strategic ring and the fate of August 1914.
Memorial 1815 Waterloo: Napoleon and the British
No tour of Belgian military heritage is complete without the Waterloo battlefield. The Memorial 1815 is an underground visitor centre that opened in 2015 for the bicentenary of the battle. It is entirely step-free: lifts, wide corridors, films at seated height, accessible toilets on every floor and a lift to the famous panoramic painting in the rotunda. Only the Lion's Mound itself, with 226 steps, sadly remains inaccessible. But from the foot of the mound the view of the battlefield is already striking, and the museum offers an immersive experience matched by no other Belgian historic site.
Practical tips for a forts route
Plan visits to underground sections in advance. Many forts have step-free and underground routes side by side. By scheduling your visit around tours for visitors with reduced mobility, you often get to see more than on a free walk-around. At Fort Breendonk and Eben-Emael such guided tours are available on request.
Count on weather-dependent paths. Outdoor sections of forts are mostly semi-paved, with dolomite or grass dykes. In the rain they quickly become muddy or slippery. Visit preferably in dry weather, or pick the fully step-free sites such as Loncin and Memorial 1815 as an alternative on wet days.
Use reduced fares and companion passes. At all the sites mentioned, companions get free admission on presentation of a European parking card or comparable document. For some forts a booking is required, especially for specialist guided tours.
Combine with other local accessible outings. A forts route does not have to be only about forts: combine with a museum, a walk in a park or a culinary stop. This balances the visit to a heavy historical site with a lighter afternoon, which is pleasant for both visitor and companions.