Hotels near MSK

The MSK (Museum voor Schone Kunsten) is one of the oldest museums in Belgium, founded in 1798 and housed since 1904 in a neo-classical building in the Citadelpark. The collection covers Flemish and Belgian painting from the 15th to the 20th century and is exceptionally strong on the Symbolists and early modernists - James Ensor's The Skate (1892) and Skeletons Warming Themselves (1889) are the two most-viewed paintings, and the museum holds one of the largest Ensor collections in the world alongside excellent Rene Magritte, Constant Permeke and Leon Spilliaert rooms.

Older highlights include Hieronymus Bosch's The Bearing of the Cross (a masterpiece of grotesque faces, painted around 1510-1516), Rogier van der Weyden's Madonna with Carnation, and works by Frans Hals, Jacob Jordaens and Peter Paul Rubens. Entry is EUR 12 (free for under-19s), or included in the CityCard Gent. The museum sits directly across the Citadelpark from SMAK (contemporary art) - a combined ticket at EUR 20 covers both and is a full day's art if that appeals.

Pro Tip: Head straight to Room 12 (Ensor room) first before the tour groups arrive at 11:00. The museum cafe overlooks the Citadelpark rose garden and does an excellent EUR 15 lunch. Every first Sunday of the month is free entry - avoid it unless you enjoy queuing.