Friendly disclaimer! We want to be as accurate as possible, but given these challenging times, we urge you to recheck that the venues are open when you decide to visit.
Brussels, the city-region-capital of 500 million Europeans, is fast emerging as a city waiting to share its treasures with you. It’s a fair bet that its stormy history is the reason for its open-mindedness, warmth and friendliness. You’ll feel right at home in Brussels! Apart from its historic monuments, Brussels has so much to share with you: its comic strip speech bubbles, its Art Nouveau façades, the talent of its stylists and designers, its delicacies and its surrealism, which can be found in every street corner.
The Grand-Place
The Grand Place, listed under the UNESCO world heritage, is considered one of the most beautiful squares on earth.
Useful Info:
- Location: Grote Markt
- Timings: Always open.
Manneken Pis
This bronze statuette, produced in the 17th century by J. Duquesnoy the elder, embodies the rebellious spirit of Brussels. From the status of a public fountain, today it’s presented as a legendary figure. With numerous costumes and decorations, its wardrobe includes some 800 pieces.
Useful info:
- Location: Corner of Rue de l’Étuve and Rue du Chêne
- Timings: Always open.
BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels
The Centre for Fine Arts is the centre of arts par excellence in the cultural landscape of Belgium. It proposes an international programme in the centre of Brussels.
Useful Info:
- Location: Centre for Fine Arts, Rue Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000 Brussels
- Website: https://www.bozar.be/en
- Timings: Tuesday- Sunday: 10:00 hrs – 18:00 hrs.
Magritte Museum – Royal Museums of Fine Arts
Situated in the heart of the museum quarter in Brussels, the Magritte Museum is home to a rich collection of surrealism masterpieces from around the world.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue de la Régence 3
- Website: https://www.musee-magritte-museum.be/en
- Timings: Tuesday- Friday: 10:00 am- 5:00 pm, Saturdays and Sundays: 11:00 am- 6:00 pm.
Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert
Initiated by the architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer, the spectacular Galeries Royales project took shape in the 1830’s. The works, begun in 1846, were almost completed in time for the official opening on 20 June 1847.
Useful Info:
- Location: Galerie du Roi 5
- Website: https://www.grsh.be/en/home/
- Timings: Always open.
La Bourse de Bruxelles
Built in 1873, on the former site of the convent des Recollets, it was designed by the architect Léon Suys. Rodin collaborated on the exterior decoration of the building as an employee of Carrier-Belleuse. While the former became a famous sculptor, the latter is a name familiar only to specialists now. Of neoclassical inspiration, its simplicity is broken by very ornate decorations that have been described by some people as baroque excesses.
Useful Info:
- Location: La Bourse, Place de la Bourse, 1000 Brussels
- Website: https://beursbourse.be/en
The Atomium- Monument and Symbol Built for Expo 58
The Atomium is the symbol of Brussels and Belgium, a unique monument and an emblematic witness to the Universal Exhibition of 1958.
Useful Info:
- Location: Square de l’Atomium 1020 Brussels
- Website: https://atomium.be/Home/Index
- Timings: Friday- Monday: 10:00 am- 6:00 pm.
Mini-Europe, the EU’s most beautiful monuments in Brussels
At the foot of the Atomium, Mini-Europe allows you to have a whistle-stop tour around Europe in a few short hours.
Useful Info:
- Location: Avenue du Football 1 1020 Brussels
- Website: https://www.minieurope.com/en/
- Timings: Daily, 9:30 am to 6:00 pm.
Train World, discover the railways in Brussels
Opened in September 2015, a new attraction awaits you in Brussels: Train World. The National Rail Museum opens its doors at Schaerbeek train station.
Useful Info:
- Location: Place Princesse Elisabeth 1030 Brussels
- Website: https://www.trainworld.be/en
- Timings: Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 am- 5:00 pm.
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels
The Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels houses the largest collection of dinosaurs in Europe.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue Vautier 29 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: https://www.naturalsciences.be/en/museum/home
- Timings: Tuesday to Friday: 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts – Musée Fin-de-Siècle Museum
The Musée Fin-de-Siècle Museum is a multidisciplinary museum dedicated to various art genres from the end of the 19th century.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue de la Régence 3 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/en/museums/musee-fin-de-siecle-museum#
- Timings: Tuesday- Friday: 10:00 am- 5:00 pm, Saturdays and Sundays: 11:00 am- 6:00 pm.
Belgian Comic Strip Centre – BCSC
Situated in the heart of Brussels in the majestic setting of an Art Nouveau temple (built by Victor Horta in 1906), the Belgian Comic Strip Centre (CBBD) has been open to the public since 6 October 1989.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue des Sables 20 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: https://www.comicscenter.net/en/home
- Timings: Wednesday- Sunday: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Royal Museum of the Armed forces and Military History, Brussels
The Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, in Cinquantenaire Park and near the EU district, showcases over 100 years of military history.
Useful Info:
- Location: Parc du Cinquantenaire 3 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: https://www.klm-mra.be/D7t/
- Timings: Tuesday- Friday: 10:00 am- 4:00 pm, Saturdays and Sundays: 9:00 am- 5:00 pm.
MIM – The Musical Instruments Museum
The MIM: a museum that invites you to admire some 1200 instruments and pieces in a stunning Art Nouveau building situated next to the Place Royale in Brussels.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue Montagne de la Cour 2 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: http://www.mim.be/en
- Timings: Tuesday- Friday: 9:30 am- 5:00 pm, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 10:00 am- 5:00 pm.
Autoworld Brussels – The World Automobile Centre
Autoworld, the most prestigious collection in the world, inaugurated in 1986 in the luxurious buildings of the Palais Mondial in Brussels.
Useful Info:
- Location: Parc du Cinquantenaire 11 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: https://autoworld.be/home
- Timings: To check seasonal opening hours, visit the official website.
BELvue museum, Brussels
At the BELvue Museum, visitors discover the major historical periods of our country by means of numerous historical documents.
Useful Info:
- Location: Place des Palais 7 1000 Bruxelles
- Website: https://belvue.be/en
- Timings: Monday- Friday: 9:30 am- 5:00 pm, Saturdays and Sundays: 10:00 am- 6:00 pm.
Cinquantenaire Museum – Royal Museums of Art and History
Set in the heart of Cinquantenaire Park, the museum offers visitors a rich and varied view of our past from pre-history to the 20th century.
Useful Info:
- Location: Parc du Cinquantenaire 10 1000 Bruxelles
- Timings: Always open.
ADAM, Art & Design Atomium Museum
The ADAM, the Atomium’s new museum, will open its doors at the Brussels Trade Mart, at the Heysel Exhibition Park.
Useful Info:
- Location: Place de Belgique 1 1020 Brussels
- Website: http://www.plasticarium.be/home-museum-en.html
- Timings: Daily, 10:00 am- 6:00 pm.
MIMA Millenium Iconoclast Museum of Arts
The New MIMA Millenium Iconoclast Museum of Arts museum invites to discover the history of culture 2.0.
Useful Info:
- Location: Quai du Hainaut 33 1080 Brussels
- Website: http://www.mimamuseum.eu/
Belgian Chocolate Village
In the old Koekelberg chocolate factory, Brussels, come and discover the largest museum in Belgium solely dedicated to chocolate: the Belgian Chocolate Factory.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue De Neck 20 1081 Bruxelles
Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale
Surrounded by a beautiful park, this stately edifice was built between 1904 and 1910 at the command of King Leopold II. This museum is home to the largest collection of ethnographic objects from central Africa. Liberally sprinkled with pictures, masks, everyday objects, jewels, decorative elements, musical instruments and a wide range of exotic animals, it showcases the richness and diversity of the African continent.
Useful Info:
- Location: Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren
- Website: https://www.africamuseum.be/en
- Timings: Tuesday – Friday: 11 am – 5 pm, Weekends: 10 am- 6 pm.
Horta Museum, an Art Nouveau gem in Brussels
The Horta Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, welcomes you to the former home of famous Belgian architect Victor Horta.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue Américaine 25 1060 Bruxelles
- Website: http://www.hortamuseum.be/en/Welcome
- Timings: Tuesday – Friday: 2:00pm- 5:30 pm, Weekends: 11 am- 5:30 pm.
Parlamentarium, the European Parliament Visitors’ Centre
Come and discover the Parlamentarium, the European Parliament’s Visitors Centre. An original and free discovery in the heart of the European quarter.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue Wiertz 60 1047 Brussels
- Website: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/visiting/en/visitor-offer/brussels/parlamentarium
- Timings: Friday: 9:00 am- 6:00 pm.Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 am- 6:00 pm.
House of European History
From myths and discoveries to the chaos and cohesion of the 20th century, the House of European History will take visitors on a journey along the path of Europe’s history and challenge them to contemplate its future.
Useful Info:
- Location: Rue Belliard / Belliardstraat 135
- Website: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/visiting/en/visitor-offer/brussels/house-of-european-history
- Timings: Friday: 9:00 am- 6:00 pm.Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 am- 6:00 pm.
The European Parliament Hemicycle
Brussels hosts the main offices of the Members of the European Parliament. A visit to the Hemicycle is a great way to soak up the exciting atmosphere of the world’s largest transnational parliament and find out about its powers and role.
Useful Info:
- Location: Wiertzstraat 60 B-1047 Brussels
- Website: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/visiting/en/visitor-offer/brussels/hemicycle
- Timings: Varies depending on Plenary sessions. For more information, check the official website.