Brussels Sights

  1. Atomium

    The Atomium is a space-age leftover from the 1958 World Fair. It was built by the powerful Belgian metal industry as a model of an iron molecule - enlarged 165 billion times. The 102m-high steel structure consists of nine balls linked by columns. When approached from central Brussels, it looms over houses in the nearby suburbs like an alien from a '60s Hollywood movie.

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  2. Autoworld

    Prior to WWII, Belgium had a thriving auto industry and this coolest of car collections is its legacy. On display are some 400 vehicles (Model T Fords, Citroen 2CVs and much more, through to the 1970s), housed in a stunning 1880 steel structure.

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  3. Basilique Nationale Du Sacré-Cœur

    The mighty Basilique Nationale Du Sacré-Cœur sits at the end of the ruler-straight Blvd Léopold II in Koekelberg. It's the world's fifth-largest church and is also arguably the city's most ghastly religious edifice, a discordant mix of neogothic and Art Deco with dull brown stonework, capped towers and a bulbous 90m-high dome (around €3 to climb).

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  4. Berlaymont

    Although the 1967-built, star-shaped Berlaymont building housing the European Commission isn't open to the public, the information panels outside give a succinct overview of the EU and its role in the European capital.

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  5. Bois De La Cambre & Forêt De Soignes

    A vast swathe of woodlands blankets Brussels' southeast. The Bois de la Cambre begins at the end southern end of Ave Louise, and its lakeside lawns and cafés are filled with families on weekends. These woods neighbour the much larger Forêt de Soignes, a state-owned forest roamed by wild boar and deer.

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  7. Bourse

    The Belgian Stock Exchange occupies a grandiose neoclassical edifice from 1873. The cream façade is festooned with friezes and sculptures of exotic fruits, reclining nudes, lunging horses and a multitude of allegorical figures. One of the statues is by Rodin.

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  8. Breugel House

    There is a museum in this step-gabled house where Pieter Breugel the Elder lived and died, but it's only open by reservation; phone ahead or check with the tourist office for details.

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  9. Broussaille

    Don't miss Broussaille, by Frank Pé. Painted in 1991, it was the city's first giant comic mural, depicting a young couple arm-in-arm discovering Brussels. This strip is located in Brussels' gay nightlife hub and, in the original version, it was difficult to tell whether the couple was straight or not.

    Gay establishments used the mural to promote the quarter until 1999 when the mural was repainted and the black-haired figure was given a more feminine hairstyle, earrings and (slightly) bigger breasts.

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  10. Bruparck

    Near Atomium, Bruparck is a theme park that Tincorporates the Océadet water fun park, a giant Kinepolis cinema with a multiplex and an IMAX, and the highlight, T Mini-Europe.

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  11. Brussels City Museum

    The Brussels City Museum provides a historical overview of the city through old maps, architectural relics, paintings and, displayed on the ground floor, Pieter Breugel the Elder's Cortège de Noces (Wedding Procession) of 1567. One room on the 3rd floor is devoted to the worldly wardrobe of Manneken Pis, though only a fraction of his 700-odd garments are displayed.

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  13. Cathédrale des Sts Michel & Gudule

    The twin-towered Cathédrale des Sts Michel & Gudule, named after Brussels' male and female patron saints, sits gleaming on the hillside to the north of Gare Centrale. The out-of-the-way location between the Lower and Upper Towns means it is often overlooked by visitors. In addition, poor city planning has left it marooned like an ancient island in the midst of modern development.

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  14. Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée

    The Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art, or Comic Strip Museum, is a wonderful showcase for Belgium's favourite art. Occupying the splendid Grand Magasin Waucquez, a 1906 Art Nouveau department store created by Victor Horta and painstakingly restored, this extensive collection displays work by Belgium's best-loved comic artists.

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  15. Cinquantenaire Museum

    An incredible 350,000 artefacts from all continents, spanning antiquity, national archaeology, non-European civilizations and European arts and crafts, make up the permanent collection at the majestic Royal Museum of Art and History. We love the fine jewellery and cult of the dead funerary gifts from the Merovingian civilization.

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  16. Cityscape

    This enormous scrap-wood sculpture by Brussels artist Arne Quinze is a whopping 40m-long, 25m-wide, 18m-high canopy that weighs more than 70 tonne. What it actually represents is anyone's guess. The adjacent open-air plaza hosts events during Brussels' tango festival in April.

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  17. Clock Repair Shop

    From the clock repair shop, you can push open the black door to reveal part of a 12th-century sandstone tower, one of 50 such defensive towers that once stretched for 4km around the old city centre.

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  19. Congress Column

    The Congress Column was erected in 1850 to commemorate the National Congress of 1831 which proclaimed the Belgian constitution. It was designed by Joseph Poelaert (better known for his massive Palais de Justice) and soars 25m high to be crowned by a statue of Léopold I. At its base burns the eternal flame, homage to the Belgians who died during the two world wars. Although the square is at a good elevation, the view from here is drab.

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  20. Costume and Lace Museum

    A stone's throw from the Grand Place, the Costume and Lace Museum is Belgium's second-best lace exhibition (top honours goes to the Nationaal Vlas, Kant en Linnenmuseum in Kortrijk). Notice the sombre black attire once worn by women en promenade (out walking in public) and the more colourful lace gowns for women en visite (visiting someone's home). Note also the antique underwear, including an old bustehouder (bra). Pick up the English-language booklet before setting off.

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  21. Domaine Royal

    The Domaine Royal is home to Belgium's ruling family. King Albert II and Queen Paola live in the Villa Belvédère; former Queen Fabiola (widow of King Baudouin) inhabits the Château Stuyvenbergh; and the heir-apparent Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde occupy the main building, the Château Royal de Laeken. All the chateaux are out of bounds to tourists, but you can visit the nearby Serres Royales, the Pavillon Chinois and the Tour Japonaise.

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  22. Église Notre Dame de la Chapelle

    Built in 1134, this Romanesque Gothic church is Brussels' oldest and has a chapel devoted to Pieter Breugel the Elder who once lived nearby.

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  23. Église Notre Dame des Riches Claires

    From a public courtyard off Place St Géry (go through the black steel gates next to the bistro La Lion St Géry), there's a view of Église Notre Dame des Riches Claires, an intriguing asymmetrical church. Nearby is the Nero mural, one of the city's many comic-strip murals.

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  25. Église Notre Dame du Sablon

    Flamboyant Gothic is the style of the large but gloomy church, the Église Notre Dame Au Sablon, located at the top end of the Sablon. It began as a chapel, built by the archers' guild in the 13th century, but was enlarged in the 15th century when pilgrims descended in droves to pay homage to a statue of the Madonna reputed to have healing powers.

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  26. Église St Jean Baptiste au Béguinage

    Check out the imposing façade of the Église St Jean Baptiste au Béguinage . Deemed by many to be Belgium's most beautiful, the church dates from the 17th century and was designed by Luc Fayd'Herbe, a student of Rubens, which explains its strong Flemish baroque style.

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  27. Église St Nicolas

    The Church of St Nicolas is a pint-sized edifice encrusted with shops and easily overlooked. Appropriately enough, it's dedicated to the patron saint of merchants. Almost as old as Brussels itself, it has been heavily restored through the centuries. The dark and sombre interior is noted for the unusual angle at which its three aisles were built.

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  28. Église Ste-Catherine

    Built by Joseph Poelaert, who designed Brussels' Palais de Justice, the 19th-century Church of St Catherine occupies the centre of this quarter. Its blackened façade is pretty scruffy, as is the open-air urinal against the western side, screened by a metallic forest-green fence.

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  29. European Parliament

    The distinctive domed European Parliament sits next to Parc Léopold. Opened in 1998 by King Albert II, it's all steel and blue glass and is nicknamed 'Caprice des Dieux' (Whim of the Gods) after a French cheese. The European Parliament is the EU's legislative branch; elections are held every five years (next in 2010). It is the only EU institution that meets and debates in public.

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