House of European History

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, from war and destruction to the biggest peace project ever endeavoured. There are detours from this tumultuous path for Dutch tulips, English football and European cuisine,the latter described in disappointingly broadbrush terms. The highly (perhaps overly) interactive experience takes about 1½ hours, with permanent and temporary exhibitions that you can roam through in 24 languages.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Brussels attractions

1. Parc Léopold

0.05 MILES

Steep-sloping Parc Léopold was Brussels Zoo until 1880 and now forms an unexpectedly pleasant oasis, hidden away just behind the EU Parliament.

2. EU Parliament

0.14 MILES

Inside this decidedly dated blue-glass building (completed only just over a decade ago) political junkies can sit in on a parliamentary session in the…

3. Musée Antoine Wiertz

0.18 MILES

If you're into the shocking or nasty, this museum may appeal. Antoine Wiertz (1806–65) was a Brussels artist bent on painting giant religious canvases…

4. Parlamentarium

0.19 MILES

The visitor centre of the EU Parliament makes a valiant multimedia attempt to engage visitors, with an interactive floor map allowing you to tour the EU,…

5. Institut des Sciences Naturelles

0.21 MILES

Thought-provoking and highly interactive, this museum has far more than the usual selection of stuffed animals. But the undoubted highlight is a unique …

6. Berlaymont Building

0.34 MILES

The European Commission, the EU’s sprawling bureaucracy, centres on the vast, four-winged Berlaymont building. Built in 1967, it’s striking but by no…

7. Square Marie-Louise

0.52 MILES

You can feed the ducks in the pretty tree-lined pond surrounded by greenery and a smattering of art nouveau architecture.

8. Hôtel Van Eetvelde

0.55 MILES

A great highlight of an ARAU tour is getting into the otherwise closed Hôtel Van Eetvelde. While the outside of this building is not Brussels’ most…