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…
Must-see attractions in Brussels
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
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…
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
One of Brussels’ overlooked architectural wonders, this splendid Napoleon III–style palace
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…
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
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…
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
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…
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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…
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Brussels
Wonderful old engines gleam in the low light of this imaginative and beautiful museum, located in the renovated 1887 Schaerbeek station: exhibits include…
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Brussels
The Kuumba Cultural Centre organises tours of the district, plus excellent events featuring Congolese bands, dance workshops and food.
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
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
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
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
The Bourse is Belgium’s 1873 stock-exchange building. It's closed to visitors, but you can enjoy its grandiose neoclassical facade, which is brilliantly…
Brussels
The Jewish Museum hosts good temporary photography exhibits and a permanent collection relating to Jewish life in Belgium and beyond, with a section on…
Brussels
In one of the most distinctive Marolles murals, slinky chanteuse Josephine, with a leopard on a lead, shakes hands with a rotund monk. Behind, both in the…
Église St-Jean-Baptiste au Béguinage
Brussels
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…
Brussels
The archers' guildhall features a golden phoenix rising from the ashes, which signifies the rebirth of the Grand Place after its bombardment by the French…
Brussels
The lovely butchers' guildhall, featuring a carved swan above the door, hosted Karl Marx in 1847. Ironically, it’s now home to the Grand Place's finest…
Brussels
The city's striking modern library is a beautifully designed space, containing a small museum about books and printing, and a top-floor cafeteria.
Brussels
An 1893 house was designed by prominent art nouveau architect Paul Hankar (1859–1901) as his own studio.
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Brussels
This fanciful feast of neo-Gothic arches, verdigris statues and mini-spires is bigger, darker and nearly 200 years younger than the surrounding guildhalls…
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Brussels
Laboriously built between 1444 and 1480, the splendid, slightly asymmetrical Hôtel de Ville was almost the only building on the Grand Place to escape the…
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Brussels
Due to reopen in late 2018 after five years of restoration, the revived Africa Museum looks set to be a big draw, and a world away from its earlier dusty…
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Musée David et Alice van Buuren
Brussels
In a 1928 art deco showpiece house you’ll find this exquisite museum, where five rooms are crammed with sublime furnishings, stained glass and top-quality…
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Église Notre-Dame de la Chapelle
Brussels
Brussels’ oldest surviving church now curiously incorporates the decapitated tower of the 1134 original as the central section of a bigger Gothic edifice…
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Brussels
This mural very effectively depicts a life-sized figure teetering towards a trompe l’œil window.
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Brussels
Art nouveau house with creamy tones, harmonious lines and a big circular window.
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…
