Honestly, I thought this (multi property) site would be a bit boring but I actually really enjoyed visiting a few of the places included in the listing. Not only do the beguinages have a really interesting history - they are actually quite photogenic!

There are 13 properties in the site and I don't feel like you need to see them all to get a good sense of the overall WHS. (Having said that, each is a bit different so you wouldn't get bored if you did want to visit every one of them.)

My favourite - and I would suggest not to miss it - is the Beguinage Bruges. The flowers and the trees in the central courtyard (see my photo) are really beautiful and it's a nice tranquil escape from the tourist crowds in the other parts of Bruges... mainly because there are signs telling people to keep their voices down! :)

If you're wondering which other beguinages to visit, I would suggest the one in Leuven, which is the biggest of them all. There are different streets you can walk down to see different elements of the complex and it's quite a different feel to the smaller ones.

I would also recommend heading to Ghent where there are two beguinages you can see. The older one in the city centre is much more picturesque, though.

As I said, I enjoyed see these more than I thought and, if you're travelling through Belgium to see other WHS, it's not that hard to visit a few of them on your way or with very little detour. If I was to go back and had a car (I was using public transport) I would probably try to even see a few more of them and learn a bit more about some of the personal stories from the earlier days.