Our museums are far from ordinary. Here, you don't just look at the past — you experience it through accessible, imaginative collections of every kind. Our enthusiastic guides are ready to give your group a memorable experience.
You can also book a guide if you're visiting with a small group of family or friends. It's well worth it, as you'll hear the story behind the collection or exhibition first-hand.
Booking a guided tour is well worth it. A guide costs €80 for a tour of up to 2 hours.
Do you have a special reason for your visit, or specific needs? Please let us know when booking, so we can pass this on to our guide(s).
PLEASE NOTE: Requests must be submitted at least 10 days before your preferred date. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee the availability of guides or staff.
Guided tours at MAP - Mercator
Maps Tell Stories
On a visit to MAP - Mercator, an enthusiastic guide takes your group on a fascinating journey of discovery through the world of maps and imagination. From wall maps and atlases to globes and measuring instruments, you'll discover the exceptional craftsmanship of Gerard Mercator and other visionary mapmakers, and reflect on how maps shape our view of the world — and sometimes distort it.
The museum also encourages interaction: visitors can map out their own life story, project their head onto a flat plane, leaf through a monumental atlas and finish with a spectacular 4D balloon flight.
An inspiring and surprising group outing where knowledge and experience come together.
Duration: 90 minutes
Maximum 15 participants
Guided tours at MAP - Curiosum
Guided tour 'A House Full of Memories'
Discover 'Curiosum. A house full of memories', a museum with a playful nod to old cabinets of curiosities. Let yourself be surprised by the curiosities on display, and wander among the wealth of objects. Curiosum is housed in the stately 19th-century Huis Janssens in Sint-Niklaas.
This monumental building was recently fully restored, and its beautiful colours are once again on show throughout. Enjoy, explore and discover.
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Maximum 15 participants
Guided tour 'Unforgettable'
For people with dementia and their carers
Curiosum is a special house, full of genuine memories and a wide range of remarkable objects. As we walk from room to room, we share interactive stories and show objects to people with dementia and their carers. We engage all the senses to bring cherished memories to the surface, helping us reconnect with one another through the past. It's a precious moment of rediscovery, together.
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Maximum 15 people, including carers
Guided tours at MAP - Den Brei
Guided tour 'Knit One, Purl One'
Knitting is more popular than ever! The sound of clicking knitting needles can be heard in many households. In the 1950s and 60s, Sint-Niklaas was a thriving centre of knitting activity, with countless workshops equipped with knitting machines. It was a flourishing industry! These machines produced stockings, hats, scarves and fabrics in large quantities. At the knitting museum, you can still see these machines in action and experience the rich history of knitting.
Duration: 90 minutes
Maximum 20 participants
Story: 'Tricot Lily'
It's not really about knitting needles, a ball of wool or machines… it's about people.
About the life's work of thousands of men and women, their skills and their pride. A story told with great dedication, colour and detail in the renewed knitting museum, full of surprising facts and a good dose of humour. About the less happy moments, but above all the unforgettable, beautiful ones in this city's knitting history. After the story, the guide will tell you about the Zwijgershoek site, the building itself, and give some background on the knitting machines.
Price: €80 for the guide, €15 standard admission, €8 group rate from 10 people
Duration: 90 minutes
Maximum 25 people
Storytelling Session: ‘A Journey Through Memories’
For people living with dementia and their caregivers
Memories of familiar things from the past can bring comfort and reassurance to people living with dementia. The process of deliberately and systematically recalling memories together is known as reminiscence.
An object, a photograph, a familiar scent… can trigger memories of the past and provide the starting point for a pleasant conversation or an engaging activity.
At the knitting museum, the guide shares delightful stories using objects and artefacts that participants and their caregivers can see, touch and smell. Familiar songs from the past are also sung. All the senses are stimulated to bring back warm memories and create meaningful moments together.
And what better way to round off the experience than with a delicious cup of coffee and a slice of cake?
Price: €3 admission per person + €40 guide fee
Duration: approximately 2 hours
Maximum number of participants: 15 people, including caregivers
Team building for your company
Team building for your company
Step away from the classic team-building activity and take on a unique challenge together at MAP - Mercator. During this interactive experience, your team steps into an exciting story in which collaboration, insight and creativity take centre stage. By solving tasks, gathering clues and thinking logically, you'll work your way, step by step, towards the exit.
This combination of culture and experience makes for a surprising and dynamic activity that brings colleagues closer together. Ideal for companies looking for an original way to strengthen team spirit and share something special together.
You can also book our meeting room in combination with the team-building activity.
Duration: approx. 40 minutes
Maximum 20 people
Price: one admission ticket per participant. The team-building activity itself is free.
The team-building activity is currently only available on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You can also visit our museums and temporary exhibitions as a group without a guide, within the opening hours of our museum sites.
In both cases, whether with or without a guide, booking is always required.
Group visit prices
Guide: €80
Admission per participant: €8 (group discount)
For each additional hour started: €40 extra
For a full day (to be booked via the Tourism Office): €155
Recognised associations that are members of the Sint-Niklaas Cultural Council or the Senior Citizens' Council can partially recover the cost of the guide. Please contact the Culture Department for this.
Care institutions: €40
Evening groups from Sint-Niklaas: €80
Evening groups from outside Sint-Niklaas: €80 + 2 hours of staffing costs
Please make sure your group does not exceed 15 visitors.