She was quite something, Marquise Arconati Visconti. She turned the defensive castle, erected in Gaasbeek in 1236 by Godfrey of Louvain, into her own dream palace. A romantic neo-Renaissance-style residence that she filled with an impressive art collection. It is free for all to admire because, after her death in 1923, in her will she left the castle to the Belgian state. Life was less idyllic for an earlier resident, Count Lamoral of Egmond. He chose the wrong side in history and was beheaded in Brussels’ Grote Markt in 1568. Stroll through the large castle park and explore some remarkable sites. Such as the 17th-century pleasure pavilion, a triumphal arch in honour of Napoleon, and the magnificent museum garden with native fruits and vegetable varieties.
