A postal sorting shed doesn’t sound like an immediate tourist draw, but the Tour & Taxis complex is an architectural masterpiece, its 21st-century revamp creating a fine exhibition and commercial space in these Victorian warehouses and customs depots. It’s all part of the ongoing gentrification of Brussels’ run-down canal district, from where you can now take a variety of summer barge cruises.
©Analia Glogowski/Lonely Planet
Tour & Taxis
Brussels
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
24.62 MILES
The medieval building and 1622 courtyard garden alone would be worth a visit, but it's the world's oldest printing press, priceless manuscripts and…
1.54 MILES
This 1899 former department store is an art nouveau showpiece with a black facade aswirl with wrought iron and arched windows. The building contains the…
1.19 MILES
Brussels’ magnificent Grand Place is one of the world’s most unforgettable urban ensembles. Oddly hidden, the enclosed cobblestone square is only revealed…
1.53 MILES
Strap on a pair of headphones, then step on the automated floor panels in front of the precious instruments (including world instruments and Adolphe Sax’s…
2.74 MILES
The typically austere exterior doesn’t give much away, but Victor Horta’s former home (designed and built 1898–1901) is an art nouveau jewel. The…
2.7 MILES
One of Brussels’ overlooked architectural wonders, this splendid Napoleon III–style palace
27.8 MILES
Set on the grounds of a former Cistercian Abbey, this 65-hectare park is home to more than 5000 animals (including pandas, koalas, gorillas and lemurs)…
17.69 MILES
The inventive and touchingly nostalgic Hergé Museum celebrates the multitalented creator of comic-strip hero Tintin with an engaging, inventive and…
Nearby Brussels attractions
0.5 MILES
A not-for-profit gallery in a former banana warehouse, founded in 1989 to promote video art that engages with politics. In addition to changing temporary…
0.63 MILES
This bright, dynamic mural features not a football club but a parade of characters based on a TV series that ran from 1990 to 2011. The show was turned…
0.69 MILES
Surmounted by a tall granite tower topped by a bronze statue of St-Micheal, the fountain commemorates a former mayor.
0.73 MILES
In this mural a tetchy-looking Manneken Pis gazes up at his pediment, from which he has been displaced by a grinning, peeing bear.
6. Église St-Jean-Baptiste au Béguinage
0.76 MILES
This soaring 1657 Flemish baroque masterpiece was designed by Luc Fayd’Herbe, a student of Rubens. It’s often cited as Belgium’s most beautiful church and…
7. Église Notre-Dame du Finistère
0.83 MILES
To escape the lacklustre '70s architecture, meditate awhile in this 18th-century church whose baroque interior features a remarkable 1758 altarpiece, its…
0.84 MILES
This raw and unsettling mural is based on Caravaggio's Sacrifice of Isaac, and shows a child about to have his throat cut. The artist, who has also…