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 stairwell is the structural triumph of the house: follow the playful knots and curlicues of the banister, which become more exuberant as you ascend, ending at a tangle of swirls and glass lamps at the skylight, glazed with plain and citrus-coloured glass.
©Analia Glogowski/Lonely Planet
Musée Horta
Top choice in Brussels
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Museum Plantin-Moretus
27.3 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…
Old England Building
1.29 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…
Grand Place
1.55 MILES
Brussels’ magnificent Grand Place is one of the world’s most unforgettable urban ensembles. Oddly hidden, the enclosed cobblestone square is only revealed…
MIM
1.29 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…
St-Gilles Town Hall
0.42 MILES
One of Brussels’ overlooked architectural wonders, this splendid Napoleon III–style palace sports a soaring brick belfry dotted with gilt statuary. Try to…
Pairi Daiza
26.29 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)…
Musée Hergé
15.5 MILES
The inventive and touchingly nostalgic Hergé Museum celebrates the multitalented creator of comic-strip hero Tintin with an engaging, inventive and…
Hôpital Notre-Dame à la Rose
24.19 MILES
Founded in 1242, this is Belgium’s only medieval convent-farm-hospital complex to have survived reasonably intact. Laboriously restored, it demonstrates…
Nearby Brussels attractions
1. Musée d’Art Fantastique
0.02 MILES
In what seems an outwardly typical Ixelles town house, this museum hits you with jumbled rooms full of cyborg body parts, Terminator heads and vampire…
3. Rue Africaine 92
0.12 MILES
Art nouveau house with creamy tones, harmonious lines and a big circular window.
4. Église des Augustins
0.15 MILES
A lovely art deco church built from concrete, a bold move in 1935 when it was completed.
5. Rue Defacqz 71
0.24 MILES
An 1893 house was designed by prominent art nouveau architect Paul Hankar (1859–1901) as his own studio.
7. Les Hiboux
0.26 MILES
Features archetypal art nouveau circular window-tops and little owls over the door.