Brussels

1. Best for hangover brunch

Plonked on top of a 1899 art-nouveau masterpiece that hides a turbulent architectural past behind its facade, the rooftop of the Musical Instruments Museum is one of Belgium’s finest. Once you get past the museum’s exhibition floors in an ancient lift, take a seat on the terrace that surrounds the dome of the MIM. Sunday brunch is from 10h until 15h and for €28 you’ve got yourself an all-you-can-eat morning after feast.

2. Best for romance

‘How could a car park possibly be romantic?’ you might be thinking. Once you get past the screeching, outdated elevator and reach the tenth floor, Brussels city centre is laid out at your feet. Snogging is most definitely allowed, but simply sitting down with a bunch of friends for an apero is also acceptable.

3. Best for music, sun and drinks

As a summer-only collaboration between Play Label, Downtown Club and Number Six, this rooftop on the fourth floor of the Crosly bowling building is a gem. When the sun decides to show its face, DJs, a bar, beach chairs and comfy cushions turn this tarmac square into one hell of a summer exclusive.

Antwerp

4. Best for stargazing

Although the rooftop of Antwerp’s MAS – an architectural tour de force by Neutelings Riedijk Architects – is open to the public all year round, the museum turns their highest floor into a night sky observatory every Thursday evening during the summer. When clear, planets Venus and Saturn can be seen in all their glory. Neat!

5. Best for networking

Coffeelabs is the moniker under which Idealabs – a start-up collaboration between a coder, an investor and a professor – offer a platform for the like-minded to sit down, sip some of the finest coffee in town and enjoy home-made salads, juices and cakes. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.

Ghent

6. Best for night time shenanigans

You may want to keep this one hush as there’s no official entrance to this industrial, graffiti-covered leftovers of a concrete factory. The Interbeton rooftop is an excellent backdrop for mischievous city kids. If you get caught, you didn’t hear it from us.

7. Best for local produce

Located 30 metres up in the modest penthouse of an old factory building, we get the whole 007 vibe the people behind Ghent-based restaurant Coeur d’Artichaut have put into their rooftop restaurant concept. With a menu that changes only every few months, you can bet your boots that whatever ends up on your plate has been handled with care and conscientiousness. You might want to make a reservation, though.

8. Best for city views

Better be quick if you still want to catch this one, as the inhabitants of these ’70s social housing apartment blocks found out back in 2009 that they’re going to be torn down. The rooftops of the three soon-to-be-gone towers offer an unequaled city panorama. Abandoned by all, it’s a free passage all the way up.