Brussels Travel Guide

10 Places to visit in Brussels

The capital of Belgium, Brussels is an administrative and cultural hub for European union activities. Along with corporate actions, Brussels is a favorite destination for visitors worldwide. The climate of the city is mild with slightly warm summers and dry cold winters with precipitation and rarely occurring snow. Brussels is famous for delicious Belgium food cuisines, chocolates, and gigantic Architectural marvels.

Here we are listing a few top-notch places that one can visit in the city of Brussels;

1. Grand Place of Brussels

Beautifully constructed in classical style, the Grand Place of Brussels gives a vibe of old times. The place is surrounded by guild houses, Town hall buildings, and the Museum of Brussels. Due to its historical importance, it was included in the world heritage sites by UNESCO in 1998. The palace started as a marketplace and then later on other buildings were constructed like Palace and guild houses etc.

The grand place has many paramount buildings like the king’s house, town hall, and museum. Located in Maison du Roi (king’s house ), the museum of the city of Brussels is a beautiful stone building. Museum depicts the history, culture, and folklore of the country. The Grand Place of Brussels has a Gothic and baroque-style architecture that reminds visitors of old times.

Visitors can walk through the grand place and enjoy architecture and can find out about the history of these buildings. The grand place is the hub for major events and exhibitions. Light and sound shows are regularly arranged here for entertainment purposes. Every year in summer, during August, a flower carpet is spread over the square area that gives an alluring view of the Grand Place.

2. Royal Palace of Brussels

The royal palace of Brussels is the king’s administrative center and represents the monarchy system in the country. The royal family residence is located in Laeken, which also has greenhouses that open for the general public once a year. Palace is the official residence of the King where he hosts political and administrative visitors and guests. The mesmerizing interior of the palace was designed by the interior designer Alphonse Balat. 

The Palace consists of different rooms like the empire room (used for the meetings of the king with ambassadors and different government officials ), and small and large white rooms that have different royal furniture, paintings, and portraits of Queen Loius-Marie and king Leopold 1. In the summer, the Palace is open to the general public so visitors can enjoy its Neoclassical architecture, majestic interior, and beautiful lawns.

3. Atomium ( Belgian Icon)

Atomium is the most famous tourist attraction in the city of Brussels as 60,000 visitors come here every year. The structure was built in 1958 for the world’s fair and now it has become the identity of the city of Brussels. The structure consists of nine spheres that represent atoms of an iron crystal that is magnified 165 billion times. The names of the engineers who built this majestic building are Andre waterkyn and Andre and Jean Polak. It symbolizes the importance of scientific progress and nuclear power. To show the importance of Belgian culture different exhibitions are held here. Digital art is also presented to entertain tourists.

A selfie with the Atomium is a must for the person who is visiting Belgium. Different exhibitions and events are held in different spheres. The upper sphere offers a beautiful 360-degree view of Brussels and its Surroundings. You can enjoy a beautiful dinner in the clouds with your loved ones in the gastronomic restaurant.

4. Comic Arts Museum Brussels

The Comic arts museum in Brussels is an attraction for comic character lovers and pays great tribute to contemporary comic artists. The art building was designed by architect Victor Horta and represents statues of different cartoon characters. Visitors can see smurf village, captain  Haddock's moon rocket, and other corners for other comic characters like Tintin and Asterix, etc.

Brussels has many cartoon walls which visitors can see while wandering in the city. Old commercials were removed from the walls in the nineties and the city authorities contacted the Belgian Comic strip center to decorate these walls. Different comic characters and cartoons are painted on the walls. A few names of these comic characters are smurfs, Tintin, Bobe Bobette, and Dalton.

5. Galeries Royales saint-Hubert

Galeries Royales saint-Hubert is heaven for shopaholics. This is a huge area for shopping as it has many brands, shops, and galleries where you can shop from. Architecture Jean Pierre cluysenaer constructed this place in the 19th century. The salient feature of this arcade is that it is a covered shopping area.

The Galerie du Roi ( king's gallery ), displays the major work of people in different fields like arts, music, and science.Galerie de Reine (Queen's gallery ), is famous for the shopping of leather goods and chocolates.Galerie des princes has also different types of stores and boutiques to shop for different goods.

These galleries have a specially designed glass roof with a delicate cast-iron framework that provides aesthetic beauty to the place. If you are planning your trip to Brussels this is a must-visit place.

6. Palace of Justice

The Palace of Justice was built on a hill, in the morralles area and is visible from far away. The beautiful Golden dome of the palace makes it the most prominent courthouse in Belgium. This was designed by a great architect Joseph Poelaert. The Palace of justice was a court building in historic times where the judiciary used to announce decisions of different criminals. The towers of the Palace were used to hang down criminals of serious offenses in the middle ages.

The Palace of justice is one of the major court buildings in the country. Nowadays, the Palace of Justice is a tourist visiting place as people go there to enjoy the beautiful view and architecture of the building. As it is one of the highest buildings in Brussels, People also love to sit down and enjoy sunset views.

7. Brussels food street (Rue Des Bouchers)

If you want to Eat in Brussels, Rue Des Bouchers is a  photogenic and beautiful food street in Brussels with lots of cafes and restaurants. Rue des Bouchers street is also known as the “ belly of Brussels”. In medieval times the street was famous for butchers and sausage makers. Recently the street is famous for a different variety of Belgian food. Due to the display of food menus, decorations, and beautiful lights, it's a very photogenic place. You will come across many people and restaurants while walking in the streets.

Cuisines of every nationality are present here like you can find Spanish paella and Argentinian grilled steak etc. Visitors have no issue in finding their individual food choice food places in Brussels, as this place has almost a hundred restaurants here. At night time the place has a whole vibe as the neon lights add to the beauty of the atmosphere and jam-packed streets give the idea of tourists' love for the food.

8. Magritte Museum

Museums are a must-visit place to know about the history, culture, and art of any country or region. Magritte museum in Brussels is a treat for people who take interest in art and history. The museum is named after the Belgian artist Rene Magritte and is made to honor his services in the field of arts. Museum was the house of the painter where he lived and worked for 24 years of his life from 1930-1954. 

Magritte museum was opened in 2009, and it has a colossal variety of artistic works and  sculptures. Abstract art of different Belgian artists is also displayed in the museum. Museum has almost 200 sculptures, Magritte paintings, and drawings. Artworks like Return,Scheherazade, and the Empire of the lights.

9. Brussels Cathedral

Formerly the building was known as the cathedral of St.Michael and St.Gudula is a beautiful Church in the city. Now the name of this church is changed to Brussels cathedral. Built with stones, this structure almost took 300 years to complete. The cathedral has a gothic style of construction and architecture as it has a huge area and gigantic pillars and structures in it.

Named after the country’s patron saint, Brussels cathedral is the main church of the country where royal weddings, coronations, and royal funerals are held.

Visitors love the construction style and especially the beautifully designed glass windows of the church. The cathedral hosts exhibitions, events, concerts, etc, so visitors can plan their visit around an event they like to attend.

10. King Baudouin Park

Nature lovers can enjoy the greenery and a peaceful environment by visiting this park in the city of Brussels. Vegetation of different types, beautiful pavements, and beautiful meadows are major highlights of this park.

The Garden was initially constructed by King for fruit trees. Different fruit trees like apples, grapes, and pears are planted in the garden. A huge area is dedicated to pedestrians and also there is a nice route for bikers and cyclists so both walking and cycling are easy for visitors.

Greenery offers mental peace and relaxation away from the noise and traffic of the city. Aquatic vegetation like pueblos, Dieleghem woods, and laerbeek are planted here to protect the beach vegetation. Fish ponds and also duck ponds are also present in the park.

To enjoy the particular cultural identity of Belgian products, fusion cooking and experience new flavors, Meet the chef.