Brussels
This prestigious museum incorporates the Musée d’Art Ancien (ancient art); the Musée d’Art Moderne (modern art), with works by surrealist Paul Delvaux and…
Must-see attractions in Brussels
Brussels
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…
Brussels
Parc du Cinquantenaire was built during Léopold II's reign. It's best known for its cluster of museums – art, history, military and motor vehicles – which…
Institut des Sciences Naturelles
Brussels
Thought-provoking and highly interactive, this museum has far more than the usual selection of stuffed animals. But the undoubted highlight is a unique …
Brussels
Lace making has been one of Flanders’ finest crafts since the 16th century. While kloskant (bobbin lace) originated in Bruges, naaldkant (needlepoint lace…
Brussels
This astonishingly rich collection ranges from ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and Meso-American masks to icons to wooden bicycles. Decide what you want to…
Brussels
Brussels’ magnificent Grand Place is one of the world’s most unforgettable urban ensembles. Oddly hidden, the enclosed cobblestone square is only revealed…
Brussels
The Sablon’s large, flamboyantly Gothic church started life as the 1304 archers’ guild chapel. A century later it had to be massively enlarged to cope…
Brussels
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…
Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée
Brussels
This centre offers a definitive and enjoyable overview of the country’s vibrant comic-strip culture. Even if you’re not excited by the ‘ninth art’, do…
Brussels
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…
Brussels
When opened in 1847 by King Léopold I, the glorious Galeries St-Hubert formed Europe’s very first shopping arcade. Many enticing shops lie behind its…
Brussels
This marvellous 1938 ‘liner’ building originally conceived as the national radio building, is now the centre of an up-and-coming nightlife area. With its…
Brussels
One of Brussels’ overlooked architectural wonders, this splendid Napoleon III–style palace
Brussels
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…
Brussels
Wonderful old engines gleam in the low light of this imaginative and beautiful museum, located in the renovated 1887 Schaerbeek station: exhibits include…
Brussels
The Kuumba Cultural Centre organises tours of the district, plus excellent events featuring Congolese bands, dance workshops and food.
Brussels
Larger than St Peter’s in Rome, this 2.6-hectare complex of law courts was the world’s biggest building when it was constructed (1866–83). While the…
Brussels
In 1881 this superb neo-Renaissance brick-and-wrought-iron meat market was built around a curious pyramidal monument-fountain (itself built to replace a…
Brussels
Closed at the time of writing for restoration, so check in advance before visiting. A pair of East Asian pagodas form the key attractions here. Both are…
Brussels
The space-age Atomium looms 102m over north Brussels’ suburbia, resembling a steel alien from a '60s Hollywood movie. It consists of nine house-sized…
Brussels
Coudenberg Hill (now Place Royale) was the site of Brussels’ original 12th-century castle. Over several centuries this was transformed into one of Europe…
Brussels
For centuries Brussels was surrounded by a grand 8km fortress wall. It was partly demolished in the 1790s, then removed altogether on Napoleon’s orders in…
Brussels
Uniquely colourful Rue and Petite Rue des Bouchers are a pair of narrow alleys jam-packed with pavement tables, pyramids of lemons and iced displays of…
Brussels
Brussels’ 25m-tall version of Nelson’s Column is an 1850s monolith topped by a gilded statue of King Léopold I. It commemorates the Belgian constitution…
Brussels
Chansonnier Jacques Brel (1929–78) made his debut in 1952 at a cabaret in his native Belgium and shot to fame in Paris, where he was a contemporary of…
Brussels
Rue Charles Buls – Brussels’ most unashamedly touristy shopping street, lined with chocolate and trinket shops – leads the hordes three blocks from the…
Brussels
Housed in the beautifully renovated Eastman Building in Parc Léopold, this airy, elegant new museum takes you into some dark corners of European history,…
Brussels
Painted in 1991 by Frank Pé, Broussaille was the city's first giant mural and depicts a young couple arm in arm. This strip is located in Brussels' gay…
Brussels
This extensive forest park forms Brussels’ green lungs. It stretches from regal Ave Louise to the Forêt de Soignes, whose soaring beech trees then extend…
Brussels
Brussels is well endowed with outlying forests and parklands, but in the inner city it's a different story. The largest central patch of greenery is Parc…
Brussels
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…
Brussels
The beautifully presented Magritte Museum holds the world’s largest collection of the surrealist pioneer’s paintings and drawings. Watch his style develop…
Brussels
About 200m uphill from Place du Grand Sablon, this charming little garden is ringed by 48 bronze statuettes representing the medieval guilds. Standing…
Brussels
On the banks of the Brussels Canal, the engaged and engaging Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA) showcases contemporary art with a permanent…
Brussels
Exhibits at Brussels’ museum of cocoa and chocolate give you a quick rundown of chocolate’s history in Europe, along with chocolate’s anti-aging and…
Brussels
Take a chronological audio tour through the airy stuccoed interior of this former royal residence to explore Belgium’s history from independence to today,…
Brussels
These days Belgium’s royal family lives at Laeken, but this sturdy 19th-century palace remains its ‘official’ residence. One unique room has had its…
Brussels
In the old Bruxellois dialect, zinneke means ‘a person of mixed origins’, which sums up the city’s inhabitants to this day. Hence Flemish sculptor Tom…
Brussels
Église Ste-Catherine must be one of the only religious buildings that positively encourages folks to urinate on its walls (there’s a ‘pissoir’ on its…