February
Brussels
General Information
From its breath-taking medieval centre, to its 21st century temple bearing the traces of surrealism, Brussels offers its visitors much more than only beer and chocolate.
Brussels’ city centre is abundant with bars, restaurants and museums along the cobbled streets that open up to Grand-Place. When you take the adorned guildhalls, the impressive Town Hall and the buzzing atmosphere into consideration, it might be difficult to find a prettier plaza in entire Europe.
While, the Parisian boulevards of Léopold II era are full of embassies, banks, and large apartment buildings, Sainte Cathérine, the Art Nouveau district of St-Gilles and Ixelles attract crowds with their calm shops and restaurants. In the city, you can witness the longwinded flirt of the surrealism movement started by René Magritte and Hergé’s hero Tintin.
Where to see?
Atomium
Heysel, spreading 125 acres, has been handed down to Brussels by Léopold II in 1909. Wide exhibition areas have been set up towards the northwest of Heysel. However, the most important symbol of this place is Atomium, a gigantic model of the unit cell of an iron crystal. Atomium has been reopened in 2006, after its metal “outer surface” was replaced and after it underwent a major renovation. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of the whole region; the bottom sphere offers exhibition spaces.
Belgian Comic Strip Centre
The history of the Belgian comic strip, along with silent movie and animation, is exhibited at Grand Magasin Waucquez, designed by Victor Horta. The original drawings of early period masters André Franquin, (the creator of accident-prone Gaston Lagaffe) and Georges Remi (Hergé) (the creator of Tintin) are accompanied by cartoons of modern times, temporary exhibitions, an impressive academic library, children’s library and a pub.
Grand-Place
A network of narrow and cobblestoned streets open up to Grand-Place, a plaza that, since the Middle Ages, has been the economic and social heart of Brussels. The asymmetric Hôtel de Ville, which was built in the 15th century, overrides the series of gothic thin-shell precast concrete ribbed panel buildings. Atop the spire of its 96 metre (315 feet) bell tower, stands the gilt metal statue of the archangel Michael. Across the Town Hall, stands Maison du Roi, almost as big as the Town Hall itself. Maison du Roi was commissioned in 1515 and reconstructed at 1890’s. Occasionally used as the second house of the Hapsburg monarchy, Maison du Roi today hosts Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles, where a small collection of Manneken-Pis costumes along with wallpapers and altar screens are exhibited. It completes the rectangular silhouette of a series of plazas consisting of extravagant guildhalls. No. 10 still hosts Maison de l'Arbre d'Or, the guild of brewers. At Grand-Place, activities, performances and markets are organised frequently.
Rue de l'Etuve SculptureRue de l'Etuve differs from the magnificence of the Grand-Place by its bronze sculpture of a urinating boy. Created by Jérôme Duquesnoy, it was built in the 1660’s. One of the several legends behind this statue is that it was dedicated to a boy who urinated on the fuse of explosives placed by a foreign power sieging Brussels, thus saving the City.
Mini-Europe
Standing beside Atomium, Mini-Europe reproduces the cities of European Union with miniatures of their monuments like the Eiffel Tower, the Westminster Abbey and the Berlin Wall under demolition, all scaled at a size that require a short walk to visit. The last added cities are Prague, Bratislava and Vilnius.
Belvue Museum
This entertaining museum is reserved for the most important periods of the Belgian history since Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1830. The theme of the permanent collection is shaped around the periods of each monarch of Belgium. The building itself is built on the area of the 1830 Belgian Revolution, after which the independent kingdom of Belgium was established.
Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate
This delicious little museum, at the corner of Grand-Place, hosts one of the most well-known products of Belgium. It spans the history of chocolate starting from the ancient Mayan Empire. The production process of this modern delicacy is revealed along with audio-visual presentations and demonstrations of the chocolate art masters.
Musée du Cinquantenaire
Everything dreamt by Léopold II ends up being over majestic. Parc du Cinquantenaire which was built for the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence is not an exception. At Musée de l'Armée, at the north wing, a special collection of classical aircraft is exhibited and admittance is free. Nevertheless, Musée du Cinquantenaire is the major attraction of the area. At the museum with distinctive collections from five continents, dating back from the prehistoric ages to the modern times, Art Nouveau furniture designed by Victor Horta and lacework samples from centuries back are exhibited. Comic strip fans can also find some familiar pieces – the expansive Egypt collection was the source of inspiration for Belgian artists, including Hergé.
Musée Horta
Victor Horta (1885-1946), the architect, has built 110 buildings, starting with the neo-gothic style, then art nouveau and later in the modernist style. Most of them (Hôtel Solvay, Avenue Louise 224, and Hôtel Van Eetvelde on Avenue Palmerston 4) are still erect. Furthermore, Musée Horta (the architect’s previous home and atelier) is preserved beautifully and the care given to details can be observed from the thin calligraphic number 25 written on the façade of the carved staircase, to the banquet hall floor where a strip of marble mosaic frames a thin layer of American ash wood. The theatrical arrangement of the hidden front doors, allowed the architect to entertain his guests from different social and religious classes, preventing them to be aware of each other.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Belgium’s most important museum compounds are located somewhere close to Royal Place. In this compound there are three rich museums, collections of which extend from the 14th century to today. Located at the previous palace of Charles de Lorraine, Musée d'Art Ancien (The Museum of Ancient Art) is prominent with the works of old masters like Rubens, Bouts and Memling. The collections of the Young and Old Brueghel and Hieronymus Bosch are small as the Belgium’s foreigner masters have taken their own treasures away with themselves. A corridor leads to Musée d'Art Moderne (Museum of Modern Art) and here a magnificent collection of Belgian Surrealists, including the unforgettable works of René Magritte and Paul Delvaux are exhibited. Picasso, Chagall, Henry Moore and Francis Bacon are also represented here. The new Musée Magritte is extended to three floors and exhibits Magrittes’s art and a chronological study of its context
Museum of Natural Sciences
Close to the Parliament of Europe, and claiming to have the best dinosaur collection of the world (Bernissart’s herbivorous dinosaurs having the lead), this enchanting museum also stands out with the special presentations of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. An expansive exhibition of sea mammals are displayed here, permanently. Surviving or extinct, all species of wild life and mineralogy are exhibited.
The Royal Palace
Some of the Brussels’s richest and spectacular buildings are clustered around Parc de Bruxelles, a park built in 1870’s, with its iron rods, three lane streets and a central fountain. At the Southeast corner stand, Palais des Académies, the old house of Prince of Orange and Place du Trône and an impressive statue of Léopold II on horseback. Across the Parc de Bruxelles, Palais Royal, which was built by King William I in the 19th century and later expanded by Léopold II, is located. The royal family is living at Laeken, North Brussels, today. Nevertheless, the palace is still being used by the state functions. Every summer, the palace is opened for exhibition with its Throne Room, chandeliers, wallpapers and its magnificent banquet hall.
Place du Grand-Sablon
Although the smallest plaza of the city, Place du Grand-Sablon represents a casual style. Notre-Dame du Sablon dominates the plaza. Built as an ordinary chapel for the guild of Archers, but later, after the Virgin Mary statue (with its all healing effects) was brought from Antwerp in 1348, it became increasingly popular. The building was expanded to become an impressive gothic church, still hosting the annual Ommegang ceremony. This plaza is an important centre for antique dealers and entertains a crowded antique and book market on the weekends. It is worth to stroll around the Sablon district. Charming dead-end streets like Impasse Saint-Jacques open up to the plaza and shaded areas. The nearby Place du Petit-Sablon is a small and green square with big statues of martyr-heroes like Egmont and Hornes and cartographer Mercator in its centre, and surrounded by 48 bronze statues representing the guilds of 16th century.
Shopping
The most classic gift from Brussels is surely chocolate. The pralines with fresh cream are sold at Wittamer, Place du Grand Sablon. Neuhaus with its numerous branches including the one at Grand-Place 27 is also a brand worth checking.
About Belgian biscuits... Dandoy, rue au Beurre 31, produces almond biscuits that melt in your mouth and speculoos crispy gingerbread biscuits, a Belgian specialty.
At Beermania, Chaussée de Wavre 174, 400 sorts of beer and complementing glasses are offered. Around the elegant Avenue Louise and Avenue de la Toison d'Or streets, designer clothing stores and main street stores are clustered. Key shopping points on Avenue Louise are Caroline Biss (No. 21), one of the many fashion boutiques, and Les Enfants d'Edouard (No. 175) for quality wines.
The indulgences of children and some adults are satisfied by many comic strip shops in Brussels. Among these is La Boutique Tintin at the central location of Rue de la Colline 13. Brussels lace is sold at Grand-Place 23, at F Rubbrecht or at Manufacture Belge de Dentelle (Galerie de la Reine 6-8), the largest lace maker of the city. Most of the souvenir lace shop shops around Grand-Place are authentic.
Night Life at Brussels
Brussels’ location in the heart of Europe attracts major performers and the new rising stars to the city. However, the city also offers striking local talent, unique to Brussels. Since 1920’s, you can listen to live jazz music at many places. The new clubs of Brussels, entertain locals as well as tourists, after having spent time at the city’s numerous bars and Irish pubs. The Matonge district is a place where African sounds are sought and the best clubs are located at Place de St-Géry, Manneken-Pis and the Marolles district.
Where to stay?
Conrad Hotel, 171, Avenue Louise, 1050 BrusselsRocco Forte Hotel Amigo, 1-3, Rue de l’Amigo, 1000 Brussels
Royal Windsor Hotel Grand-Place, 5, Rue Duquesnoy, 1000 Brussels
Be Manos, Boulevard de Waterloo 30, 1000 Brussels
Where to eat?
Comme Chez Soi, 23, Place Rouppe, 1000 BrusselsVilla Lorraine, 75, Avenue du Vivier D’Oie, 1000 Brussels
La Truffe Noire, 12, Boulevard de la Cambre, 1000 Brussels
Aux Armes De Bruxelles, 13, Rue des Bouchers, 1000 Brussels
Cospaia, 1, Rue Capitaine Crespel, 1050 Brussels
Belga Queen Brussels, 32, Rue Fossé aux Loups, 1000 Brussels
Le Chalet de la Forêt , 43, Drève de Lorraine, 1180 Brussels
Museum Brasserie 3, Place Royal, 1000 Brussels
Bars and Clubs
Jeux d’Hivers, 1, Chemin du Croquet, 1000 BrusselsBarsey, 381-383, Avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels
Le Seigneur, 389, Chaussée de Tervuren, 1410 Waterloo
Les Halles St Géry, Place St Géry, 1000 Brussels
Carré , 2, Koning Léopoldlaan, 2830 Willebroek
Louise Gallery, Level -1, Gallerie Louise, 1050 Brussels