Gallo-Roman Museum

Northeast Belgium

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Sternly clad in battleship-grey stone, this very spacious modern museum devotes two well-crafted floors to the evolution of human culture then, after a drama-filled seven-minute film about local hero Ambiorix, there's another superb floor dealing with Roman Tongeren.

Thousands of original artefacts are supplemented with interviews, timeline video maps, quizzes and touch boxes for children. It takes around three hours to see everything and read the 160-page book of caption translations, but that's soon to be superseded by audio guides. The basement hosts annually changing exhibitions. There's an excellent cafe too.

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