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Brusselsisacityofcontrastswithenormousdiversitywhenitcomestoplacesofinterestandthings
todo.Belowwe'velistedafewofthosesightsfrommuseums&monumentstoparks&pointsof

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interest.Althoughthislistisbynomeansexhaustive,wefeelitrepresentsagenuinesamplingof

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thediversityBrusselshastooffertravelers.Afterall,you'vegottostartsomewhere!

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Monuments

Museums

Events

Monuments

GrandPlace
TheGrandPlace,withitsornatebaroqueandgothicguildhouses,
islistedasaUNESCOWorldHeritagesite,andoneofthemost
beautifulsquaresinEurope.Builtasamerchantsmarketinthe
13thcentury,itservesasthecitycenterandagreatplaceto
enjoyBelgianhospitalityatoneofthemanyterracecafes.Itis
alsoavenueformanyconcerts&eventsthroughouttheyearand
duringthewarmermonthshasavibrant,dailyflowermarket.

TownHall(HoteldeVille)
ThefirstbuildingyounoticeuponenteringtheGrandPlaceisthe
strikinggothictownhall,whichdatesbacktothe13thcentury.Its
beautifulfacadefeaturesthefamousneedlelikecrookedspire
whichis315feetinheightandistoppedbythearchangelSt.
Michael.Toursareavailableoftheinterior,whichcontains15th
centurytapestriesandworksofart.

TheRoyalPalace(PalaisRoyal)
TheofficialhomeoftheBelgianking,youwillalwaysknowifheis
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inthecountrywhenyouseetheBelgianflagflyingontopofthe
building.ThebuildingisahighlightofNeoClassicalarchitecture
andoverlooksBrusselsPark.TheRoyalPalaceisopentothepublic
duringthesummermonths.

MannekenPis

Thisfamousstatueofalittleboypeeinginafountainisaperfect
representativeoftheirreverentBelgianhumor.Theunique
BrusselsiconhasbeenamusingvisitorsonthecornerofRuede
L'Etuve&Stroofstraatsince1619.Overtimeithasbecomea
traditionforvisitingheadsofstatetodonateminiatureversionsof
theirnationalcostumeforthelittlenakedboy.Thewardrobeof
MannekinPiscanbeseenattheBrusselsmuseumandincludes
over760outfitsevenanauthenticElvisjumpsuit.

Coudenberg
AnundergroundtrailtodiscovertheremainsofKingCharlesthe
Fifth'spalace.AfascinatingwalkunderPlaceroyaletodiscoverthe
remainsoftheCoudenbergPalace,oneofthemainresidencesof
CharlesVinthepast.
TheformerHoogstraetenhouseanditsmagnificentandentirely
renovatedgothicgalleryhousestheMuseumoftheCoudenberg
whereyou'llbeabletoadmirethemostbeautifularchaeological
discoveriesofthelast25yearsoftheCoudenbergexcavations
history...
GaleriesStHubert
Thisgorgeous,glassroofedarcadeinthecenteroftown,linedwith
cafes,theatersandluxurystoreshasthedistinctionofbeingthe
firstshoppingarcadeinEurope.Builtin1847andrecently
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renovated,theRoyalGalleries(GaleriedelaReine,duRoianddu
Prince)areoneofthemostastonishingplacestovisitinBrussels.

Atomium
Builtforthe1958WorldFair,theAtomiumrepresentsa
molecule'snineatomsmagnified165billiontimes.Somethingof
asymbolofthecity,itprovidesapanoramicviewofBrusselsand
itssurroundings.The9spheresthatmakeuptheatom
are
linkedbyescalators.TheAtomiumhostsamuseumandisalsoa
venueforspecialevents.
InSummer:takepartinauniqueactivity:aDeathRidefromthe
topsphereoftheAtomium!Abreathtakingdescentofmorethan
100meters!
CathedralofSaintsMichelandGudule
Thismagnificentcathedral,tactfullydedicatedtothemaleand
femalepatronsaintsofBrussels,islocatednearCentralStation.It
wascompletedbytheendofthe15thcenturyintheBrabant
Gothicstyle,butwasdamagedbytheFrenchshellingof1695.The
whitestonefacadeisfromtheyear1250andtheinterioris
splendidlyproportionedandstuffedwithtreasures.

PlaceduGrandSablon
Thispicturesquesquareissituatedontheslopethatdivides
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Brusselsbetweentheupperandlowerhalvesofthecity.Decked
outwithchicboutiques,alfrescocafes,fashionablerestaurants,
andtrendybars,theGrandSablonismostfamousforitslively
openairantiquesmarketwhichattractsantiquesdealersfromall
overtheworld.Openeveryweekend(Sat96,Sun92).

PlaceduPetitSablon
JustabovetheGrandSablonisthejewelofasquarePetitSablon.
Originallyahorsemarket,itwasconvertedin1890intoanelegant
&charmingflowergardenwithlavishfountains,surroundedby
wroughtironfencesdecoratedwithstonestatuettes.Eachfigure
representsamedievaltradeorcraftthatbroughtprosperityto
Brussels.Todayitisafavoriteareatorelaxwhiletakinginthe
prettyview.

MaisonduChocolat

RuedeBouchers
Knownmorefortheatmosphericcharm,RuedeBoucherisa
walkingthoroughfareaboundingwith17thcenturysteppedgables,
decorateddoorways,cafesandrestaurantswithlavishpavement
displaysofseafood,piledhighonmoundsofice.Thisstreetoffersa
widevarietyofrestaurantsatvariouspricepoints.Twoofthemost
wellknownrestaurantsareChezLeonandAuxArmesde
Bruxelles.

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Museums

TheMuseumofAncientArt
TheMuseumofAncientArthasgotavastcollectionofpaintings,
sculpturesanddrawingsfromthe15thuntil18thcentury.Built
uparoundacoreofrevolutionarycapturesanddepositsofthe
Frenchstate,thiscollectionwasconstantlyenrichedbythe
acquisitions,butalsobygiftsandlegaciesofnumerouspatrons.
ThepaintingsoftheAncientsofthesouthernNetherlandsmake
upanessentialpartofthiscollection(RogiervanderWeyden,
PetrusChristus,DirkBouts,HansMemling,JromeBosch,
Bruegel,PierrePaulRubens,JacobJordaens,AntoinevanDyck).
Thevisitalsoincludesanexceptionalcollectionofterracotta
"modelli"fromthe17thand18thcenturies,aswellasabeautiful
seriesofpaintingsrepresentingforeignschools.

MagritteMuseum
InthebuildingoftheRoyalMuseumsforFineArtsofBelgium,
visitorswillbeabletodiscovertheworld'slargestcollectionof
RenMagritte'sworks.ThecollectionisaperfectproofofRen
Magritte'soeuvreandcoversalltheperiodsfromhislife.The
worksondisplay,amongwhichhismostimportantmasterpieces,
aremainlyfromthelegaciesofIreneScutenaireHamoirand
GeorgetteMagritteandfrompurchasesmadebytheRoyal
MuseumsforFineArtsofBelgium,completedwithworksonloan
fromprivatepersons.

MIM(TheMuseumofMusicalInstruments)
TheMuseumofMusicalInstrumentsisastrikinglybeautiful
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buildinginBrusselscombiningthearchitecturalstylesofNeo
ClassicandArtNouveau.Housedinthemuseumisacollectionof
morethan7000instrumentsofvaryingkindsandorigins.Onthe
topfloor,theindoor&outdoorMIMRestaurantprovidesvisitors
withamagnificent360viewofBrussels.

MuseumHorta
TheformerhomeofArtNouveau'sbestknownarchitect,Victor
Horta,isnowtheHortaMuseumashowcaseofstainedglass
andsubwaytile,palewoodandwroughtironwhoseeverycorner
seemsmagicallybathedingoldensunlight.

TheDinosaurGalleryattheRoyalBelgianInstituteof
NaturalSciences
ExplorethelargestdinosaurmuseuminEuropeonpermanent
displayattheMuseumofNaturalSciencesstartingonOctober27.
Thisisagreatexhibitforthewholefamily,withmanynew
dinosaurskeletonstodiscoverandlearnaboutaswellashands
onactivitiesforchildren.
TheBelgianCenterforComicStripArt
HousedinanartnouveaumasterpiecedesignedbyVictorHorta,
thismuseumpayshomagetoaparticularBelgianpassion,
cartooning.TintinandtheSmurfsarethemostfamousBelgian
comicstripcharactersbutthemuseumalsodisplaysartworkfrom
over670cartoonists.Otherdisplaysdetailthestagesofputting
togetheracomicstrip,fromexamplesofinitialideasandpencil
sketchesthroughtofinalpublication.Arrangedoverthreelevels,
themuseumalsohasalibraryandanartnouveaubrewery.
DiscoverthecentreofBrusselsanditsinhabitantsbyfollowing
theComicStripRouteandadmiringcomicstripfaades,walls
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andstatues.

Events

ChristmasMarkets
DuringthemonthofDecemberBrussels'GrandPlaceismagically
transformedintoawinterwonderlandofholidaydelightswithan
enormousChristmastreeandnightlysound&lightshows.Nearby
onPlaceSainteCatherineresidesaEuropeanChristmasMarket
villagemadeupofwoodencottagesfilledwithChristmasgoodies,
Europeanfoodspecialtiesandhandicrafts.

Tapisdefleurs

Amillionbegoniasfor...onesinglecarpet?Thisiscertainlyan
extraordinaryachievement.ThefamousCarpetofFlowerscovers
almost20,000squarefootrightinthecentreoftheGrandPlace.

OmmegangFestival(GrandPlace)
Takeaseatonthetieredstandsorleanonthelowbarriersandfind
yourselftransportedto1549.Everyyear,thelavishOmmegang
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processioncommemoratesthetributepaidtoEmperorCharlesV
andhisVIPguests.Richlycoloredcostumes,horses,embroidered
banners,flagthrowingandstiltjoustingarealwaysonthemenu
forthisannualevent.

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