The capital of Belgium is an interesting place to visit with lots to see and do. The city’s architecture ranges from medieval Gothic buildings, many of which are architectural landmarks, to state-of-the-art modern constructions. What’s more, Brussels is a hub for art and culture, with lots of museums and quirky street art. Top attractions in Brussels include the Grand Place with its Gothic Town Hall, the famous Manneken Pis, the Royal Palace, the Atomium and Mini-Europe. And let’s not forget about the mouthwatering food that’s available. Think Belgian chocolate, waffles, Belgian fries and mussels to name only a few.
Brussels city center is compact and easily walkable. It’s also divided into two areas: Lower Town and Upper Town. The Lower Town is the oldest part of the city and dates back to the Middle Ages. It’s a network of narrow cobblestone streets fanning out from the Grand Place. As for the Upper Town, this area is known for its palaces, Gothic churches and museums. It’s also where you’ll find the Royal Palace and beautiful parks. We found that it was easy to navigate from one area to another.
Brussels’ Lower Town and Grand Place Area
The Grand Place is the city’s heart and soul, and somehow, we always ended up there at the end of the day. No complaints. It’s magnificent and a must-see place in Brussels. And every other year Brussels’ most famous square is decorated with a Flower Carpet turning the Grand Place into a masterpiece. The next one will be held in August 2020 and the best place to view it is from the City Hall balcony. Every evening there’s a concert and a light show. A feast for the eyes and ears!
The ideal way to explore the historical center is simply to wander around its winding alleyways. Most of the important buildings surround the Grand Place and highlights include the City Hall and the Maison du Roi which now houses the Brussels City Museum. Nearby, there’s a bronze statue of Everard ’t Serclaes, a 14th century hero, and it is said that rubbing its arm brings luck. It’s under an archway near the City Hall (Hotel de Ville).
For some reason the Manneken Pis has become a popular attraction in Brussels. It’s a tiny bronze statue of a naked boy relieving himself in a basin and it dates back to the 1600s. The original statue is at the Brussels City Museum and there’s even an exhibit with some of the Manneken Pis’ outfits! To balance things out Jeanneke Pis, a female version, was added in 1987. Ironically, you can find her near the upscale Saint-Hubert Royal Galleries. This pee theme doesn’t end here, in 1998, Het Zinneke, a dog version was added! Ok, where’s the cat version?
Also, in the Lower Town, the Royal Opera House, La Monnaie De Munt is the place to go to see a show. The theater’s facade is beautiful with columns and relief carvings.
Aside from these landmarks there are lots of bars, restaurants, cafes, shops and museums in the Grand Place area.
Brussels’ Upper Town and Royal Area
Another interesting area to visit is the Quartier Royal. This is where you’ll find the Royal Palace, home to the Royal Family and the King’s main workplace. This neoclassical building dates back to the 1820s. Highlights include the Throne Room and Hall of Mirrors which reminded us of the one we saw at the Palace of Versailles. Do keep in mind that it’s only open to the public from July 21 through September, so you may have to content yourself with only seeing the exterior. While in the area, be sure to see the Academy Palace and Palace of the Nation, two other neoclassical palaces. You cannot visit the inside but it’s close and worth a look!
Right across from the palace there’s the Brussels Park which used to be the Royal hunting grounds. Now, it’s a lovely park with fountains and sculptures, and a nice place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
Another landmark in the area is the Place Royale where you’ll see the 18th century Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg church. Also, in the middle of the square there’s a statue of Godefroi of Bouillon mounted on a horse and holding a flag.
Nearby there’s the national church of Belgium, St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral. The Gothic cathedral’s most striking features are its 210-foot-tall (64 m) towers. From March to October guided tours of the towers are available but advance booking is necessary.
Also, in the Upper Town, the Place du Grand Sablon is a nice place to grab a bite and you’ll find lots of restaurants and terraces to choose from. We went to buy some delicious homemade Belgian chocolate treats at one of the upscale chocolate shops instead. Nearby, there’s the 15th century Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon and the lovely Square of Petit Sablon.
Favorite Museums in Brussels
Brussels has a lot of interesting and unusual museums. Some of our favorites were the Museum of Comic Strip Art and the Musical Instruments Museum.
The Comic Strip Art Museum featured original works by world-renowned artists. On display there were exhibits about Tintin, the Smurfs and many others. At the Musical Instrument Museum, we loved the fact that when we stood in front of an exhibit, the instrument on display would start to play. It was interesting to hear how some of these century-old musical instruments sounded.
Also, one of my husband’s favorite museums was Autoworld housing an impressive collection of cars including race cars. Of course, art aficionados will want to visit the Royal Museums of Fine Arts.
Parc du Cinquantenaire (Jubelpark)
This large urban park and palace spans over 74 acres (about 56 football fields) and was built to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Belgium’s independence in 1880. The Triumphal Arch is most impressive. On site you’ll find the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, the Art and History Museum and Autoworld.
Atomium and Mini-Europe
Both of these attractions are located further afield, and you can get there with public transportation. The tourist bus also goes there.
The Atomium is probably the most unusual building we have ever visited. It was built for the 1958 World Exhibition. It looks like an iron atom, only magnified 165 billion times. From the top we got spectacular views and it proved to be a great vantage point to get a bird’s-eye view of Mini-Europe.
Mini-Europe is a park with 350 miniature replicas of some of Europe’s most famous landmarks. All are created on a scale of 1:25. You can tour Europe in a few hours and see the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Brussels Grand Place, and many more famous landmarks.
Day trips to take from Brussels
Bruges, Belgium
In Bruges going on a canal boat tour is a must-do activity. It’s very picturesque and as we sailed along the narrow canals we marveled at the beautiful medieval architecture.
Following the boat tour, we headed towards the Markt, the Old Town’s main market square. There we saw the iconic Belfry of Bruges (also Belfort) towering above the town square. It’s a medieval bell tower measuring 272 ft (83 m).
Other points of interest in Bruges’ Old Town include the Town Hall which was built between 1376 and 1420 and the Church of Our Lady Bruges (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk). It’s a 13th century Gothic church with a tower measuring 380 ft (115 m) making it the tallest structure in the city. Inside there’s a marble statue of Michelangelo’s world-famous Madonna and Child.
Ghent, Belgium
If you only have a short time in this beautiful city, start in the Old Town. It’s compact and walkable.
We started our visit at the Gravensteen, one of the city’s top attractions. It’s a 12th century medieval castle with a moat and turrets. The Castle of the Counts served as residence for the Counts of Flanders before being repurposed in the 14th century as a court of law and prison. Then in the 1800s it was even used as a cotton factory. It’s now an armory museum with a torture chamber exhibit.
We then made our way towards Saint Bavo’s Cathedral (Sint Baafskathedraal) and admired the sites along the way. This thousand-year-old Gothic cathedral has a 292-foot-tall (89 m) bell tower that overlooks the old city center of Ghent. Two other impressive churches in the historical center include the Belfry of Ghent (or Belfort) and Saint Nicholas’ Church.
Good to know: Bruges and Ghent can be combined into a day trip from Brussels as both cities are in the same direction and you can easily find a tour that visits both.
Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp makes for another interesting place to visit in Belgium. Our tour included a guided visit of the Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp. It took 169 years to build this monumental cathedral. It has dominated the Old Town’s skyline since 1521 with a height of 404 ft (123 m).
Less than a minute’s walk away there’s Grote Markt, a town square with historical buildings and horse-drawn carriages. But we did find that the best way to explore Antwerp’s Old Town was simply to wander around on foot. We ended up by the riverside and saw the Het Steen castle. It’s a fortress dating to the 1200s and it served as a prison until 1823. It was then used as a private residence before opening as a museum in 1862. It’s currently closed for renovations.
Antwerp is famous for its diamonds, so our tour included a stop at a diamond museum (which was really a store). We would have preferred spending this time in the Old Town! These sort of stops on organized tours are one of the reasons we now prefer to travel independently. See our Travel Planning Guide
Amsterdam, Netherlands
It’s also easy to get to Amsterdam from Brussels, but it does make for a bit of a long drive. Two and a half hours each way, so best to get an early start. We opted for a tour to keep things simple. Our first stop as we entered the Netherlands was to a cheese and clog factory.
Then we headed toward Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ capital. Once there, we toured the city’s canal system by boat. It was very nice, and we enjoyed seeing the sites along the way. We saw rows of narrow houses with gabled facades, as well as the Church of St. Nicholas. We also saw lots of boaters and people enjoying the sights along the canals.
Following the boat tour, our guide took us for a sprint through the Red-Light District and was adamant about not taking any pictures. Have some respect and don’t take any. It was heartbreaking to see the girls on display in the windows…
In the Art District there’s the Van Gogh Museum which houses the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings. Unfortunately, our free time in the city was limited and we didn’t have time to go. Perhaps if we had rented a car instead of opting for a tour it would have been possible.
Conclusion
Overall, we enjoyed our visit to Brussels. Considering that we took some day trips and spent only four days exploring the Belgian capital, we covered a lot of ground.
We were delightfully surprised to see the Flower Carpet in the Grand Place since we had no idea this would be going on during our time in Brussels.
Finally, Brussels’ central location enabled us to take day trips to other parts of Belgium and the Netherlands. Even though our time in each of these places was much too brief to immerse ourselves, we’re happy we had the chance to see them.