Brussels

Wherever else you go in Belgium, allow time for Brussels, which is anything but the dull centre of EU bureaucracy some would have you believe: in postwar years, the city has become a thriving, cosmopolitan metropolis, with top-flight museums and architecture, a superb restaurant scene and an energetic nightlife. Moreover, most of the key attractions are crowded into a well-preserved late seventeenth-century centre that is small enough to be absorbed over a few days, its boundaries largely defined by a ring of boulevards – the “petit ring” or, less colloquially, the “petite ceinture”.

First-time visitors to Brussels are often surprised by the raw vitality of the city centre. It isn’t neat and tidy, and many of the old tenement houses are shabby, but there’s a buzz about the place that’s hard to resist. The larger, westerly portion of the centre comprises the Lower Town, fanning out from the marvellous Grand-Place, with its exquisite guildhouses and town hall, while up above, on a ridge to the east, lies the much smaller Upper Town, home to the finest art collection in the country at the Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts.

Since the eleventh century, the ruling elite has lived in the Upper Town – a state of affairs that still in part remains, though in recent times this class division has been complicated by discord between Belgium’s two main linguistic groups, the Walloons (the French-speakers) and the Flemings (the Dutch- or Flemish-speakers). To add to the communal stew, these two groups now share their city with many others, including EU civil servants and immigrants from North and Central Africa, Turkey and the Mediterranean. Brussels’ compact nature heightens the contrasts: in five minutes you can walk from a chichi shopping mall into an African bazaar, or from a depressed slum quarter to a resplendent square of antique shops and exclusive cafés. This is something that increases the city’s allure, not least by way of the sheer variety of affordable cafés and restaurants – Brussels is a wonderful place to eat, its gastronomic reputation perhaps exceeding that of Paris these days. It’s also a great place to drink, with bars ranging from designer chic to rough-and-ready, plus everything in between.

The city’s specialist shops are another pleasure. Everyone knows about Belgian chocolates, but here in the capital there are also huge open-air markets, contemporary art galleries and shops devoted to anything from comic books to costume jewellery and club-land fashion. Furthermore, Belgium is such a small country, and the rail network so fast and efficient, that Brussels also makes the perfect base for a wide range of day-trips – to Ghent, Bruges and the French-speaking cities to the south, Tournai and Mons.

Brüsel comic shop

Highlights

1 The Grand-Place Extraordinarily beautiful, this is one of Europe’s most perfectly preserved Gothic-Baroque squares.

2 Éditions Jacques Brel Devotees of chanson should make a beeline for the Éditions to hear Brel in full, very anguished, voice.

3 Musée Old Masters Holds an exquisite sample of early Flemish paintings.

4 Musée Victor Horta A fascinating museum set in the old house and studio of Victor Horta, the leading exponent of Art Nouveau.

5 Bars Brussels has some wonderful bars; two of the oldest and most atmospheric are À l’Imaige de Nostre-Dame and Au Bon Vieux Temps.

6 Comic strips The Belgians love their comics, and the Brüsel comic shop has the best range in the city.

7 Flea markets The pick of the bunch is held daily on place du Jeu de Balle.

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Brief history

Brussels takes its name from Broekzele, or “village of the marsh”, a community which grew up beside the wide and shallow River Senne in the sixth century, allegedly around a chapel built here by St Géry, a French bishop turned missionary. An insignificant part of Charlemagne’s empire at the end of the eighth century, it was subsequently inherited by the dukes of Lower Lorraine (roughly Wallonia and northeast France), who constructed a fortress here in 979. Protected, the village benefited from its position on the trade route between Cologne and the burgeoning towns of Bruges and Ghent to become a significant trading centre in its own right. The surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion, and in 1229 the city was granted its first charter by the dukes of Brabant, the feudal overlords who controlled things here, on and off, for around two hundred years. In the early fifteenth century, marriage merged the interests of the Duchy of Brabant with that of Burgundy, whose territories passed to the Habsburgs in 1482.

The first Habsburg rulers had close ties with Brussels, and the Emperor Charles V ran his vast kingdom from the city for over a decade, making it wealthy and politically important in equal measure. By contrast, his successor Philip II lived in Spain and ruled through a governor resident in Brussels. Horrified by the Protestant leanings of many of his Low Country subjects, the king imposed a series of anti-Protestant edicts, and when these provoked extensive rioting, he dispatched an army of ten thousand men – led by a hardline reactionary, the Duke of Albe – to crush his opponents in Brussels absolutely. Albe quickly restored order, and then, with the help of the Inquisition, set about the rioters with gusto, his Commission of Civil Unrest soon nicknamed the “Council of Blood” after its habit of executing those it examined. Brussels, along with much of the Low Countries, exploded in revolt, and in 1577, the one-time protégé of the Habsburgs, William the Silent, made a triumphant entry into the city and installed a Calvinist government. Protestant control lasted for just eight years, before Philip’s armies recaptured Brussels. Seeing which way the religious wind was blowing, hundreds of Protestants left the city and the economy slumped, though complete catastrophe was averted by the conspicuous consumption of the (Brussels-based) Habsburg elite, whose high spending kept hundreds of workers in employment. Brussels also benefited from the digging of the Willebroek Canal in 1561, which linked it to the sea for the first time in its history.

Bilingual Brussels

As a cumbersome compromise between Belgium’s French- and Flemish-speaking communities, Brussels is the country’s only officially bilingual region. This means that every instance of the written word, from road signs and street names to the Yellow Pages, has by law to appear in both languages. Visitors soon adjust, but for simplicity we’ve used the French version of street names, sights, etc throughout this chapter.

By the 1580s, the Habsburgs had lost control of the northern part of the Low Countries (now the Netherlands) and Brussels was confirmed as the capital of the remainder, the Spanish Netherlands – broadly modern Belgium. Brussels prospered more than the rest of the country, but it was always prey to the dynastic squabbling between France and Spain: in 1695, for example, Louis XIV bombarded Brussels for 36 hours merely to teach his rivals a lesson, though the guilds, those associations of skilled merchants and workers who were crucial to the economy of Brussels, rebuilt their devastated city in double time, and it’s this version of the Grand-Place that survives today.

In 1700 Charles II, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs, died without issue. The ensuing War of the Spanish Succession dragged on for over a decade, but eventually the Spanish Netherlands was passed to the Austrian Habsburgs, who ruled – as had their predecessors – through a governor based in Brussels. It was during this period as capital of the Austrian Netherlands (1713–94) that most of the monumental buildings of the Upper Town were constructed and its Neoclassical avenues and boulevards laid out – grand extravagance in the context of an increasingly industrialized city crammed with a desperately poor working class.

The French Revolutionary army brushed the Austrians aside in 1794, and the Austrian Netherlands became part of France until the defeat of Napoleon, when it was absorbed into the new Kingdom of the Netherlands. Brussels took turns with The Hague as the capital, but the experiment was short-lived, and in 1830 a Brussels-led rebellion removed the Dutch and led to the creation of an independent Belgium with Brussels as capital.

The nineteenth century was a period of modernization and expansion, during which the city achieved all the attributes of a modern European capital under the guidance of Burgomaster Anspach and King Léopold II. New boulevards were built; the Senne – which by then had become an open sewer – was covered over in the city centre; many slum areas were cleared; and a series of grand buildings was erected. The whole enterprise culminated in the golden jubilee exhibition celebrating the founding of the Belgium state in the newly inaugurated Parc du Cinquantenaire. Following the German occupation of Belgium in World War II, the modernization of Brussels has proceeded inexorably, with many major development projects refashioning the city and reflecting its elevated status as the headquarters of both NATO and the EU.

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The Grand-Place

The obvious place to begin any tour of Brussels is the Grand-Place, one of Europe’s most beautiful squares, which sits at the centre of the Lower Town. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally marshland, the Grand-Place was drained in the twelfth century, and became a market, cementing its role as the commercial hub of the emergent city when the city’s guilds built their headquarters on the square. In the fifteenth century it also assumed a civic and political function, with the construction of the Hôtel de Ville. The ruling dukes visited the square to meet the people or show off in tournaments, and it was here that official decrees and pronouncements were proclaimed. During the religious wars of the sixteenth century, the Grand-Place became as much a place of public execution as of trade, but thereafter it resumed its former role as a marketplace. Of the square’s medieval buildings, however, only parts of the Hôtel de Ville and one or two guildhouses have survived, the consequence of an early example of the precepts of total war, a 36-hour French artillery bombardment which pretty much razed Brussels to the ground in 1695. After the French withdrew, the city’s guildsmen dusted themselves down and speedily had their headquarters rebuilt, adopting the distinctive and flamboyant Baroque style that characterizes the square today – a set of slender, gilded facades swirling with exuberant, self-publicizing carvings and sculptures. Each guildhouse has a name, usually derived from one of the statues, symbols or architectural quirks decorating its facade. Inevitably, such an outstanding attraction draws tourists and expats in their droves, but there’s no better place to get a taste of Brussels’ past and Eurocapital present.

Hôtel de Ville

South side of the Grand-Place • Guided tours only: in French Wed 1pm, Sun noon & 2pm; in Dutch Wed 3pm & Sun 10am; in English Wed 2pm, Sun 11am, 3pm & 4pm • €6

The scrubbed and polished Hôtel de Ville (town hall) dominates the Grand-Place, its 96m spire soaring high above two long series of robust windows, whose straight lines are mitigated by fancy tracery and an arcaded gallery. The building dates from the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the town council decided to build itself a mansion that adequately reflected its wealth and power. The first part to be completed was the east wing – the original entrance is marked by the twin lions of the Lion Staircase, though the animals were only added in 1770. Work started on the west wing in 1444 and continued until 1480. Despite the gap, the wings are of very similar style, and you have to look hard to notice that the later one is slightly shorter than its neighbour, allegedly at the insistence of Charles the Bold who, for some unknown reason, refused to have the adjacent rue de la Tête d’Or narrowed. The niches were left empty and the statues seen today, which represent leading figures from the city’s past, were added as part of a nineteenth-century refurbishment.

Visits take in a string of lavish official rooms used for receptions and council meetings (but not the tower), with tours starting at the reception desk off the interior quadrangle – be prepared for the guides’ overly reverential script.

The Brussels Card

The good-value Brussels Card (brusselscard.be) provides free access to 39 of the city’s museums, and discounts of up to 25 percent at specified restaurants, bars and shops. There are three versions – 24hr (€24), 48hr (€32), and 72hr (€39). You can add on “hop on hop off” bus tours or free travel on public transport for additional fees. The card is on sale online via the website (you can print it off or download it onto your smartphone) and at both main tourist offices; there are no concessionary rates for seniors or children. It’s issued with a free city map and a booklet detailing all the benefits.

The tower

No public access

By any standard, the tower of the Hôtel de Ville is quite extraordinary, its remarkably slender appearance the work of Jan van Ruysbroeck, the leading spire specialist of the day, who also played a leading role in the building of the cathedral. Ruysbroeck had the lower section built square to support the weight above, choosing a design that blended seamlessly with the elaborately carved facade on either side – or almost: look carefully and you’ll see that the main entrance is slightly out of kilter. Ruysbroeck used the old belfry porch as the base for the new tower, hence the misalignment, a deliberate decision rather than the miscalculation which (according to popular legend) prompted the architect’s suicide. Above the cornice protrudes an octagonal extension where the basic design of narrow windows flanked by pencil-thin columns and pinnacles is repeated up as far as the pyramid-shaped spire, a delicate affair surmounted by a gilded figure of St Michael, protector of Christians in general and of soldiers in particular.

The west side of the Grand-Place

On the west side of the Grand-Place, at the end of the row, the Roi d’Espagne is a particularly fine building which was once the headquarters of the guild of bakers; it’s named after the bust of King Charles II of Spain on the upper storey, flanked by a Moorish and a Native American prisoner, symbolic trophies of war. Balanced on the balustrade are allegorical statues of Energy, Fire, Water, Wind, Wheat and Prudence, presumably meant to represent the elements necessary for baking the ideal loaf. The guildhouse now holds the most famous of the square’s bars, Le Roy d’Espagne, though more appealing is the café next door, La Brouette, in La Maison de la Brouette at nos. 2–3, once the tallow makers’ guildhouse – though it takes its name from the wheelbarrows etched into the cartouches. The figure at the top is St Gilles, the guild’s patron saint.

Next door, the three lower storeys of the Maison du Sac, at no. 4, were constructed for the carpenters and coopers, with the upper storeys being appropriately designed by a cabinet-maker, and featuring pilasters and caryatids which resemble the ornate legs of Baroque furniture. The Maison de la Louve, at no. 5, was originally home to the influential archers’ guild, and the pilastered facade is studded with sanctimonious representations of concepts like Peace and Discord, and the medallions just beneath the pediment carry the likenesses of four Roman emperors set above allegorical motifs indicating their particular attributes. Thus, Trajan is shown above the Sun, a symbol of Truth; Tiberius with a net and cage for Falsehood; Augustus with the globe of Peace; and Julius Caesar with a bleeding heart for Disunity. Above the door, there’s a charming if dusty bas-relief of the Roman she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, while the pediment holds a relief of Apollo firing at a python; right on top, the Phoenix rises from the ashes.

At no. 6, the Maison du Cornet was the headquarters of the boatmen’s guild and is a fanciful creation of 1697, sporting a top storey resembling the stern of a ship. Charles II makes another appearance here too – it’s his head in the medallion, flanked by representations of the four winds and of a pair of sailors. Finally the house of the haberdashers’ guild, Maison du Renard at no. 7, displays animated cherubs in bas-relief playing at haberdashery on the ground floor, while a scrawny gilded fox – after which the house is named – squats above the door. Up on the second storey a statue of Justice, flanked by figures symbolizing the four continents, suggests the guild’s designs on world markets – an aim to which St Nicholas, patron saint of merchants, glinting above, clearly gives his blessing.

The health of Charles II

Philip IV of Spain (1605–65) had no fewer than fourteen children, but only one of his sons – Charles II (1661–1700) – reached his twenties. With women banned from the succession, the sickly Charles became king aged just four and, much to everyone’s surprise, survived to adulthood. After his first marriage in 1679, there were great hopes that he would sire an heir, but none arrived. A second marriage, twenty years later, was equally fruitless, and, as it became increasingly clear that Charles was unable to procreate, Europe focused on what was to happen when Charles died and the Spanish royal line died out. Every ambassador to the Spanish court wrote long missives home about the health of Charles, none more so than the English representative, Stanhope, who painted an especially gloomy picture: “He (Charles) has a ravenous stomach and swallows all he eats whole, for his nether jaw stands out so much that his two rows of teeth cannot meet.” In the autumn of 1700, it was clear that Charles was dying and his doctors went to work in earnest, replacing his pillows with freshly killed pigeons and covering his chest with animal entrails. Not surprisingly, this didn’t work and Charles died on November 1, an event which triggered the War of the Spanish Succession.

The south side of the Grand-Place

Beside the Hôtel de Ville, the arcaded Maison de l’Étoile, at no. 8, is a nineteenth-century rebuilding of the medieval home of the city magistrate. In the arcaded gallery, the exploits of city magistrate Everard ’t Serclaes are commemorated: in 1356 the Francophile Count of Flanders attempted to seize power from the Duke of Brabant, occupying the magistrate’s house and flying his standard from the roof. ’t Serclaes scaled the building, replaced the count’s standard with that of the Duke of Brabant, and went on to lead the recapturing of the city, events represented in bas-relief above a reclining statue of ’t Serclaes. His effigy is polished smooth from the long-standing superstition that good luck will come to those who stroke it – surprising really, as he was hunted down and hacked to death by the count’s men in 1388.

Next door, the Maison du Cygne, at no. 9, takes its name from the ostentatious swan on the facade, but is more noteworthy as the place – it was once a bar – where Karl Marx regularly met up with Engels during his exile in Belgium. It was in Brussels in February 1848 that they wrote the Communist Manifesto, before they were deported as political undesirables the following month. Appropriately enough, the Belgian Workers’ Party was founded here in 1885, though nowadays the building shelters one of the city’s more exclusive restaurants.

The adjacent Maison des Brasseurs, at no. 10, is the only house on the Grand-Place still to be owned by a guild – the brewers’ – not that the equestrian figure stuck on top gives any clues: the original effigy (of one of the city’s Habsburg governors) dropped off, and the present statue, picturing the eighteenth-century aristocrat Charles of Lorraine, was moved here simply to fill the gap. Inside is a small and mundane brewery museum, the Musée des Brasseurs Belges (daily 10am–5pm; €5).

The east side of the Grand-Place

The seven guildhouses (nos. 13–19) that fill out the east side of the Grand-Place have been subsumed within one grand facade, whose slender symmetries are set off by a curved pediment and narrow pilasters, sporting nineteen busts of the dukes of Brabant. More than any other building on the Grand-Place, this Maison des Ducs de Brabant has the flavour of the aristocracy – as distinct from the bourgeoisie – and, needless to say, it was much admired by the city’s Habsburg governors.

The north side of the Grand-Place

Other than the Maison du Roi, the guildhouses and private mansions (nos. 20–39) running along the north side of the Grand-Place are not as distinguished as their neighbours, though the Maison du Pigeon (nos. 26–27), the painters’ guildhouse, is of interest as the house where Victor Hugo spent some time during his exile from France – he was expelled for his support of the French insurrection of 1848. The house also bears four unusual masks in the manner of the “green man” of Romano-Celtic folklore. The adjacent Maison des Tailleurs (nos. 24–25) is appealing too, the old headquarters of the tailors’ guild, adorned by a pious bust of St Barbara, their patron saint.

Maison du Roi: Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles

Grand-Place • Tues–Sun 10am–5pm • €8, free to under-18s • 02 279 43 50, brusselscitymuseum.brussels

Much of the north side of the Grand-Place is taken up by the late nineteenth-century Maison du Roi, a fairly faithful reconstruction of the palatial Gothic structure commissioned by Charles V in 1515. The emperor had a point to make: the Hôtel de Ville was an assertion of municipal independence, and Charles wanted to emphasize imperial power by constructing his own building directly opposite. Despite its name, no sovereign ever lived here permanently, though this is where the Habsburgs held their more important prisoners – the counts of Egmont and Hoorn spent their last night here before being beheaded just outside. The building now holds the Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles, comprising a wide-ranging collection whose best sections feature medieval fine and applied art.

The ground floor

Inside, the first room to the right of the entrance boasts several superb retables, altarpieces that were a speciality of the city from the end of the fourteenth century until the economic slump of the 1640s – most of them comprised of a series of mini-tableaux illustrating biblical scenes, with the characters wearing medieval gear in a medieval landscape. It’s the extraordinary detail that impresses: look closely at the niche carvings on the whopping Saluzzo altarpiece (aka The Life of the Virgin and the Infant Christ) of 1505 and you’ll spy the candlesticks, embroidered pillowcase and carefully draped coverlet of Mary’s bedroom in the Annunciation scene. Up above and to the right, in a swirling, phantasmagorical landscape of what look like climbing toadstools, is the Shepherds Hear the Good News. Also in this room is Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Wedding Procession, a good-natured scene with country folk walking to church to the accompaniment of bagpipes. The second room to the right is devoted to another municipal speciality: large and richly coloured tapestries, dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and depicting folkloric events and tales of derring-do.

The upper floors

Upstairs, the first floor has scale models of the city and various sections on aspects of its history, and the second continues in the same vein. Also on the second floor is a sample of the Manneken Pis’ vast wardrobe. You can see wider selection of his outfits at the new GardeRobe MannekenPis, which opened in 2017.

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The Lower Town

Cramped and populous, the Lower Town fans out from the Grand-Place in all directions, bisected by one major north-south boulevard, variously named Adolphe Max, Anspach and Lemonnier. Setting aside the boulevard – which was ploughed through in the nineteenth century – the layout of the Lower Town remains essentially medieval, a skein of narrow, cobbled lanes and alleys in which almost every street is crimped by tall and angular town houses. There’s nothing neat and tidy about any of this, and it’s this that gives Brussels its appeal – dilapidated terraces stand next to prestigious mansions and the whole district is dotted with superb buildings, everything from beautiful Baroque churches through to Art Nouveau department stores.

These days arguably the most attractive part of the area is northwest of the Grand-Place, where the church of Ste-Catherine stands on its own café-table-covered square, and not far away place St-Géry is a secondary hub of activity. The streets immediately north of the Grand-Place are of less immediate appeal, with dreary rue Neuve – a pedestrianized main drag that’s home to the city’s mainstream shops and stores – leading up to the clumping skyscrapers that surround the place Rogier and the Gare du Nord – although relief is at hand in the precise Habsburg symmetries of the place des Martyrs and the Art Nouveau Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée. You’ll also want to take a stroll in the elegant Galeries St-Hubert, though nearby rue des Bouchers is not the restaurant haven it cracks itself up to be. To the south of the Grand-Place, almost everyone makes a beeline for the city’s mascot, the Manneken Pis, but more enjoyable is the museum dedicated to Belgium’s most celebrated chansonnier, Jacques Brel, and the lively, increasingly gentrified but still resolutely working-class Marolles district.

St-Nicolas

rue au Beurre 1 • Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 9.30am–6.30pm

Walking northwest out of the Grand-Place along rue au Beurre, you soon reach the church of St-Nicolas, dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari, the patron saint of sailors or, as he’s better known, Santa Claus. The church dates from the twelfth century, but has been heavily restored on several occasions, most recently in the 1950s when parts of the outer shell were reconstructed in a plain Gothic style. The interior hardly sets the pulse racing, although – among a scattering of objets d’art – there is a handsome reliquary shrine near the entrance. Of gilded copper, the shrine was made in Germany in the nineteenth century to honour a group of Catholics martyred by Protestants in the Netherlands in 1572.

Bourse

place de la Bourse

Opposite the church of St-Nicolas rises the grandiose Bourse, formerly the home of the city’s stock exchange, a Neoclassical structure of 1873 caked with fruit, fronds, languishing nudes and frolicking putti. This breezily self-confident structure sports a host of allegorical figures (Industry, Navigation, Asia, Africa, etc) that both reflect the preoccupations of the nineteenth-century Belgian bourgeoisie and, in their easy self-satisfaction, imply that wealth and pleasure are synonymous. Nowadays the building hosts temporary exhibitions while it’s made ready as the home of the new Belgian Museum of Beer, due to open in 2020.

Rue Antoine Dansaert and Place St-Géry

In front of the Bourse, place de la Bourse is little more than a traffic-heavy knot in boulevard Anspach, but the streets beyond have more appeal, especially rue Antoine Dansaert, where several of the most innovative and stylish of the city’s fashion designers have set up shop among the dilapidated old townhouses that stretch up to place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains. At No.10 you’ll find the new Mode & Design Center (MAD; 02 880 85 62, mad.brussels), which has been set up to promote fashion and design in the city and is open to the public for temporary exhibitions (€6). Off the left side of rue Dansaert is tiny place St-Géry, which is crowded by high-sided tenements whose stone balconies and wrought-iron grilles hark back to ritzier days. The square is thought to occupy the site of the sixth-century chapel from which the medieval city grew, and has one specific attraction in the refurbished, late nineteenth-century covered market, the Halles St-Géry (02 502 44 24, hallessaintgery.be), an airy glass, brick and iron edifice now used for temporary, free exhibitions of art and photography. The square is also home to some of the trendiest bars and most boisterous terraces in town, such as Café Central.

Place Ste-Catherine

Just off rue Antoine Dansaert, tree-shaded place Ste-Catherine lies at the heart of one of the city’s most fashionable districts. It’s named for the large church of Ste-Catherine (Mon–Sat 9am–8pm, Sun until 7pm), a battered nineteenth-century replacement for the Baroque original, of which the creamy, curvy belfry beside the west end of the church is the solitary survivor. Venture inside and, behind the glass screen that closes off most of the nave, you’ll spy a fourteenth-century Black Madonna and Child, a sensually carved stone statuette that was chucked into the Senne by Protestants but fished out while floating on a fortuitous clod of peat. The real attraction here and on the adjacent place du Vieux Marche-aux-Grains, though, is the buzzy cafés which spread their tables out across the two squares.

The Quais

Quai aux Briques and the parallel quai au Bois à Brûler extend northwest from place Ste-Catherine on either side of a wide and open area that was, until it was filled in, the most central part of the city’s main dock. Strolling along this open area, you’ll pass a motley assortment of old houses, warehouses, shops and restaurants which together maintain an appealing canal-side feel – an impression heightened in the early morning when the streets are choked with lorries bearing trays of fish for local restaurants. The fanciful Anspach water fountain at the end of the old quays, with its lizards and dolphins, honours Burgomaster Anspach, a galvanizing force in the 1880s drive to modernize the city.

Galeries St-Hubert

Northeast corner of the Grand-Place

The Galeries St-Hubert, whose handsome glass-vaulted galleries – du Roi, de la Reine and the smaller des Princes – date from 1847, are one of Europe’s first indoor shopping arcades. Even today, it’s a grand place to escape the weather or have a coffee, and the pastel-painted walls, classical pilasters and cameo sculptures retain an air of genteel sophistication. Try Arcadi at the far end for snacks and lunches, while l’Ogenblik, just off the main gallery, is good for high-end slap-up dinners.

Rue des Bouchers

Halfway down, rue des Bouchers divides the Galeries St-Hubert in two and is the city’s best-known restaurant ghetto, where the narrow cobblestone lanes are transformed at night into fairy-lit tunnels flanked by elaborate displays of dull-eyed fish and glistening molluscs; it’s all very tempting, but these restaurants have a reputation for charging way over the odds, and are best avoided. A small side alley, Impasse de la Fidélité, is home to a number of rowdy drinking joints centred on the Delirium Café, the heart of the Brussels drinking scene for young tourists. It’s far better, though, to head for the rather wonderful bar of the nearby puppet theatre Théâtre Royal de Toone.

La Monnaie

It’s a short walk from rue des Bouchers to the place de la Monnaie, a dreary modern square that’s overshadowed by the huge shopping and office complex of Centre Monnaie and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (nowadays simply known as La Monnaie) – Brussels’ prestigious opera house, a Neoclassical structure built in 1819 with an interior added in 1856 to a design by Poelaert, the architect of the Palais de Justice. The theatre’s real claim to fame, however, is as the starting point of the revolution against the Dutch in 1830: a nationalistic libretto in Auber’s The Mute Girl of Portici sent the audience wild, and they poured out into the streets to raise the flag of Brabant, signalling the start of the rebellion. The opera told the tale of an Italian uprising against the Spanish, and with such lines as “To my country I owe my life, to me it will owe its liberty”, one of the Dutch censors – of whom there were many – should really have seen what was coming, as a furious King William I pointed out.

Rue Neuve and the Place des Martyrs

From place de la Monnaie, Brussels’ principal shopping street, pedestrianized rue Neuve, forges north as far as the boulevards of the petit ring. About halfway up, on the right, the place des Martyrs is a cool, rational square superimposed on the city by the Habsburgs in the 1770s. There’s no mistaking the architectural elegance of the ensemble, though the imposing centrepiece was added later: it comprises a stone plinth surmounted by a representation of the Fatherland Crowned and rising from an arcaded gallery inscribed with the names of those 445 rebels who died in the Belgian revolution of 1830.

Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée

rue des Sables 20 • Daily 10am–6pm • €10 • 02 219 19 80, cbbd.be

Just east of the place des Martyrs, Brussels’ only surviving Horta-designed department store, the Grand Magasin Waucquez, dating from 1906, exhibits all the classic features of Victor Horta’s work, from the soft lines of the ornamentation to the metal grilles, exposed girders and balustrades, and is worth a visit just for that. It’s now home to the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, which incorporates a café, reference library and bookshop downstairs and the enjoyable Belgian Comic Strip Center on the floors above. Among much else, there are examples of work from all the leading practitioners: Tintin creator Georges Remi; Jijé; Peyo (best known for the Smurfs); and Edgar P. Jacobs, whose theatrical compositions and fluent combination of genres – science fiction, fantasy and crime – are seen to good effect in his Blake and Mortimer series.

Manneken Pis

Walking south from the Grand-Place, it’s the briefest of strolls to Brussels’ best-known tourist sight, the Manneken Pis, a diminutive statue of a pissing urchin stuck high up in a shrine-like affair that’s protected from the crowds by an iron fence. There are all sorts of folkloric tales about the origins of the lad, from lost aristocratic children recovered when they were taking a pee to peasant boys putting out dangerous fires and – least likely of the lot – kids slashing on the city’s enemies from the trees and putting them to flight. More reliably, it seems that Jerome Duquesnoy, who cast the original bronze statue in the 1600s, intended the Manneken to embody the “irreverent spirit” of the city; certainly, its popularity blossomed during the sombre, priest-dominated years following the Thirty Years’ War. The statue may have been Duquesnoy’s idea, or it may have replaced an earlier stone version of ancient provenance, but whatever the truth it has certainly attracted the attention of thieves, notably in 1817 when a French ex-convict swiped it before breaking it into pieces. The thief and the smashed Manneken were apprehended, the former publicly branded on the Grand-Place and sentenced to a life of forced labour, while the fragments of the latter were used to create the mould in which the present-day Manneken was cast. It’s long been the custom for visiting VIPs to donate a costume, and the little chap is regularly kitted out in different tackle – often military or folkloric gear, but occasionally stetsons and chaps, golfers’ plus fours and Mickey Mouse outfits, which you can see in either the city’s historical museum Musée de la Ville or the new GardeRobe MannekenPis (rue du Chêne 19; Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; €8 combi ticket with Maison du Roi; mannekenpis.brussels). You can also see the Manneken’s equally irreverent though rather more modern sister – Jeanneke Pis – squatting in a niche opposite Delirium Café.

Jacques Brel playlist

If you like what you hear at the Éditions Jacques Brel, you might want to check out some songs from the playlist below, which covers the very best of Brel’s work.

Amsterdam This deliberately repetitive, climactic tale of sailors in seedy ports is a fantastically evocative song, and one of Brel’s most intense live numbers.

Au suivant A typically satirical, biting rant against war, militarism and middle-class bourgeois values.

Les Bonbons Brel at his wittiest and most unforgiving, poking fun at 1960s hippies.

La Chanson de Jacky The songwriter in autobiographical mode, looking back in fantastically rumbustious fashion on his career, and forward to his future.

Je suis un soir d’été This late and very atmospheric study of summer ennui in small-town Belgium is one of Brel’s most beautiful creations.

Mathilde One of Brel’s greatest love songs, brilliantly covered by Scott Walker.

Le Moribond The tormented and yet curiously upbeat lament of a dying man that gave rise to the Terry Jacks hit of 1974.

Ne me quitte pas A truly anguished love song – perhaps one of the most affecting ever written – that was memorably covered by Nina Simone.

Quand on n’a que l’amour One of Brel’s earliest songs, When love is all you have was his first hit single.

La Quête The Impossible Dream has been covered by just about everyone and is quite rightly one of Brel’s best-known songs, but his version stands out.

Éditions Jacques Brel

place de la Vieille-Halle aux Blés 11 • Tues–Sat noon–5.30pm, plus July & Aug Sun noon–5.30pm • €7, €13 inc audioguide city-centre tour • jacquesbrel.be

A five-minute walk from the Grand-Place, Éditions Jacques Brel is a small but inventive museum celebrating the life and times of the Belgian singer Jacques Brel (1929–78), who was born and raised in Schaarbeek, a suburb of Brussels, although he lived much of his life in France. A legend in his own musical lifetime, Brel became famous in the 1960s as the gravelly voiced singer of mournful chansons about death, loss, desire and love, all of which he wrote himself. He died in 1978 at the age of 49 in Paris (having spent his final years in the Marquesas Islands, where he is buried), but he was a proud Belgian to the end, and this museum goes some way to explaining the man and his relationship with his homeland through family reminiscences, film and music, with the help of a free audio tour: Brel’s monologue on the charms and tedium of Belgian life – “The Doctor” – is hilarious. You can also don another headset and set off on a Jacques Brel city-centre tour, which was put together – like the museum – by the songwriter’s widow and daughters, strolling the streets of Brussels to his songs and stopping off at sights meaningful to Brel along the way, such as the spot on the Grand-Place where he conceived the song Jef.

Notre Dame de la Chapelle

place de la Chapelle 15 • Daily 9am–6pm

Founded in 1134, the sprawling, broadly Gothic Notre Dame de la Chapelle is the city’s oldest church, though the attractive Baroque bell tower was only added after the French artillery bombardment of 1695. Inside, heavyweight columns with curly capitals support a well-proportioned nave, whose central aisle is bathed in light from the soaring windows. Among the assorted furniture and fittings, the pulpit is the most arresting, an intricately carved hunk of wood featuring the Old Testament prophet Elijah stuck out in the wilderness. The prophet looks mightily fed up, but then he hasn’t realized that there’s an angel beside him with a loaf of bread (manna). The church’s main claim to fame is the memorial to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, high up on the wall of the south aisle’s fourth chapel. The painting – a copy of a Rubens showing St Peter being given the keys to heaven – is the work of Pieter’s son Jan, while the other plaque and bronze effigy in the chapel were added in the 1930s. Pieter is supposed to have lived and died just down the street at rue Haute 132.

The Quartier Marolles

South of Notre Dame de la Chapelle, rue Blaes, together with the parallel rue Haute, form the double spine of the Quartier Marolles, which was home to artisans working on the nearby mansions of the Sablon in the seventeenth century. Industrialized in the eighteenth century, it remained a thriving working-class district until the 1870s, when the paving-over of the Senne led to the riverside factories closing down and moving to the suburbs. The workers and their families followed, initiating a long process of decline, which turned the district into an impoverished slum. Things finally started to change in the late 1980s, when outsiders began to snaffle up property here, and although the quartier still has its rougher moments, the two main streets – rue Haute and rue Blaes (or at least those parts from Notre Dame de la Chapelle to place du Jeu de Balle) – are now lined with antique and interior-design shops, and the odd decent restaurant. Place du Jeu de Balle, at the heart of Marolles, is also the appropriately earthy location of the city’s most famous flea market (daily 6am–2pm), which is at its hectic best on Sunday mornings.

It’s worth knowing that a free public elevator (daily 7am–11.30pm), just off rue Haute on rue Notre-Dame de Graces, can whisk you up to the Palais de Justice in the Upper Town – a useful short cut.

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The Upper Town

From the heights of the Upper Town, the Francophile ruling class long kept a beady eye on the proletarians down below. It was here they built their mansions and palaces, and the wide avenues and grand architecture of this aristocratic quarter – the bulk of which dates from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries – have survived pretty much intact, lending a stately, dignified feel that’s markedly different from the tatty confusion of the Lower Town.

The Upper Town begins at the foot of the sharp slope which runs north to south from one end of the city centre to the other, its course marked – in general terms at least – by a wide boulevard that’s variously named Berlaimont, L’Impératrice and L’Empereur. Above here the rue Royale and rue de la Régence together make up the Upper Town’s spine, on and around which is the outstanding Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts, the pick of Belgium’s many fine art collections; the low-key Palais Royal; and the entertaining Musée des Instruments de Musique (MIM). A short walk south, rue de la Régence soon leads to the well-heeled Sablon neighbourhood, whose antique shops and chic bars and cafés fan out from the medieval church of Notre Dame du Sablon. Beyond this is the monstrous late nineteenth-century Palais de Justice, traditionally one of the city’s most disliked buildings.

Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula

place Ste-Gudule • Mon–Fri 7.30am–6pm, Sat 7.30am–3.30pm, Sun 2–6pm • Free • Guided tours in English: Sat 2pm (free; 02 219 75 30, churchandtourismbrussels.be) • cathedralisbruxellensis.be

It only takes a couple of minutes to walk from the Grand-Place to the east end of rue de la Montagne, where a short slope climbs up to the city’s cathedral, a splendid Gothic edifice whose commanding position is only slightly compromised by the modern office blocks either side. Begun in 1215, and three hundred years in the making, the cathedral is dedicated jointly to the patron and patroness of Brussels, respectively St Michael the Archangel and St Gudula, the latter a vague seventh-century figure whose reputation was based on her gentle determination: despite all sorts of shenanigans, the devil could never make her think an uncharitable thought.

The cathedral sports a striking, twin-towered, white stone facade, with the central double doorway trimmed by fanciful tracery as well as statues of the Apostles and – on the central column – the Three Wise Men. The facade was erected in the fifteenth century in High Gothic style, but the intensity of the decoration fades away inside with the cavernous triple-aisled nave, completed a century before. Other parts of the interior illustrate several phases of Gothic design, the chancel being the oldest part of the church, built in stages between 1215 and 1280 in the Early Gothic style.

The interior is short on furnishings and fittings, reflecting the combined efforts over the years of Protestants and the French Republican army, but the massive oak pulpit survives, an extravagant chunk of frippery by the Antwerp sculptor Hendrik Verbruggen, featuring Adam and Eve being chased from the Garden of Eden, while up above the Virgin Mary and some helpful cherubs stamp on the head of the serpent-dragon.

The stained-glass windows

The cathedral also boasts some superb sixteenth-century stained-glass windows, beginning above the main doors with the hurly-burly of the Last Judgement. Look closely and you’ll spy the donor in the lower foreground with an angel on one side and a woman with long blonde hair (symbolizing Faith) on the other. Each of the main colours has a symbolic meaning, green representing hope, yellow eternal glory and light blue heaven. There’s more remarkable work in the transepts – in the north transept Charles V kneels alongside his wife beneath a vast triumphal arch as their patron saints present them to God the Father, and in the south transept Charles V’s sister, Marie, and her husband, King Louis of Hungary, play out a similar scenario. Both windows were designed by Bernard van Orley (1490–1541), long-time favourite of the royal family and the leading Brussels artist of his day.

Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and treasury

Mon–Fri 10am–12.30pm & 2–5pm, Sat 10am–3pm, Sun 2–5pm • €2

Just beyond the north transept, flanking the choir, is the Flamboyant Gothic Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, named after an anti-Semitic legend that featured a Jew from a small Flemish town stealing the consecrated Host from his local church and seeing it stabbed with daggers by his fellow Jews, before being rescued by his wife and brought to the cathedral, thereby saving her soul – the chapel was built to display the retrieved Host in the 1530s. The four stained-glass windows of the chapel retell the tale in a strip cartoon that unfolds above representations of the aristocrats who paid for the windows. The workmanship, based on designs by van Orley and his one-time apprentice Michiel van Coxie (1499–1592), is delightful. The highlight of the cathedral treasury – also displayed in the chapel – is a splendid Anglo-Saxon reliquary of the True Cross, recently winkled out of the ornate, seventeenth-century, gilded silver reliquary Cross (Item 4) that was made to hold it. There are also two flowing sixteenth-century altar paintings to look out for in the chapel – The Legend of St Gudula and The Last Supper by Michiel van Coxie – and, behind the chapel’s high altar, the ghoulish skull of St Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–31), a faithful wife, a devoted mother and a loyal servant of the church – hence her beatification.

Galerie Ravenstein and the Palais des Beaux Arts

Across the road from Gare Centrale, dug deep into the slope where the Lower and Upper Town meet, the Galerie Ravenstein shopping arcade (galerieravenstein.com) clambers up to rue Ravenstein – a classic piece of 1950s design, sporting bright and cheerful tiling and an airy atrium equipped with a (defunct) water fountain. At the far end, on rue Ravenstein, stands the Palais des Beaux Arts or BOZAR, a severe, low-lying edifice designed by Horta during the 1920s. The building holds a theatre and concert hall and hosts numerous temporary exhibitions, mostly of contemporary art and photography. From here, you can either climb the steps up to rue Royale or follow the street along to the top of the Mont des Arts and the Musée des Instruments de Musique.

Mont des Arts

The most prominent feature of the slope between the Lower and Upper Towns is the Mont des Arts, a name bestowed by Léopold II in anticipation of a fine art museum he intended to build. However, the project was never completed, and the land was only properly built upon in the 1950s. At the bottom, place de l’Albertine is overlooked by a large and imposing equestrian statue of Belgium’s most popular king, Albert I (1875–1934), gazing out at a modest statue of Albert’s popular queen, Elizabeth, across the street. From here a wide stone stairway clambers up to a piazza equipped with water fountains, footpaths and carefully manicured shrubbery, and eventually to the Upper Town proper and the Musée des Instruments de Musique and Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts. Not surprisingly, there are nice views from the top and a decent restaurant – Kwint – from which to enjoy them.

Musée des Instruments de Musique (MIM)

rue Montaigne de la Cour 2 • Tues–Fri 9.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–5pm • €8 • mim.be

Near the top of the Mont des Arts, the Old England building is a whimsical Art Nouveau confection – all glass and wrought iron – that started life as a store built by the eponymous British company as its Brussels headquarters in 1899. Cleverly recycled, it now houses the entertaining Musée des Instruments de Musique, whose permanent collection, featuring several hundred musical instruments, spreads over four main floors. The special feature here is the infrared headphones, which are cued to play music to match the type of instrument you’re looking at. This is really good fun, especially in the folk-music section on Floor 1, where you can listen, for example, to a Tibetan temple trumpet, Congolese drums, a veritable battery of bagpipes and a medieval cornemuse, as featured in the paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Younger. There’s usually a live concert on Tuesdays (12.30–1.30pm; free).

Place Royale

Composed and self-assured, place Royale forms a fitting climax to rue Royale, the dead-straight backbone of the Upper Town, which runs the 2km north to the Turkish neighbourhood of St-Josse. Precisely symmetrical, the square is framed by late eighteenth-century mansions, each an exercise in architectural restraint, though there’s no mistaking their size or the probable cost of their construction.

St-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg

place Royale • Mon noon–2pm, Tues–Fri noon–5.45pm, Sat 1–5.45pm, Sun 8.30am–7pm

The indifferent church of St-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg is a fanciful 1780s version of a Roman temple, with a colourfully frescoed pediment representing Our Lady as Comforter of the Depressed. Indeed, the building was so secular in appearance that the French Revolutionary army had no hesitation in renaming it a Temple of Reason. The French destroyed the statue of a Habsburg governor that once stood in front of the church; its replacement – a dashing equestrian representation of Godfrey de Bouillon, one of the leaders of the First Crusade – dates from the 1840s. It was an appropriate choice, as this was the spot where Godfrey is supposed to have exhorted his subjects to enlist for the Crusade, rounding off his appeal with a thunderous “Dieu li volt” (God wills it).

Experience Brussels

rue Royale 2–4 • Mon–Fri 9.30am–5.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • €4 • 02 563 61 11, experience.brussels

Experience Brussels is an interactive walk-through exhibition of what makes Brussels what it is today – an international multicultural city that arguably has little to do with the rest of Belgium. It’s full of population statistics and is really targeted more at Belgian school kids than casual tourists, but the pictures and recordings of ordinary Brussels residents, and a large interactive map of the city’s neighbourhoods, give a nice insight into the city beyond the tourist attractions.

Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts

rue de la Régence 3 • Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 11am–6pm (Musée Magritte also open Mon 10am–5pm) • €8 for each museum, €13 for all three • fine-arts-museum.be

On the edge of place Royale, the Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts holds Belgium’s best all-round collection of fine art, a vast hoard that is exhibited in three interconnected museums: the Musée Old Masters, with art from the Renaissance to the early nineteenth century; the Musée Magritte, devoted solely to the work of the Belgian surrealist; and the Musée Fin-de-Siècle which covers art from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The museums also host a prestigious programme of temporary exhibitions for which a supplementary admission fee is usually required.

from top THE ATOMIUM ; Éditions Jacques Brel

Musée Old Masters

The galleries of the Musée Old Masters surround the main hall on Level 2, with the paintings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, including the Flemish primitives and the Bruegels, along the corridor at the top of the stairs on the right, and later work – principally paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including the work of Rubens and his contemporaries – in the rooms on the left side of the stairs.

The fifteenth century

The museum’s collection begins with several paintings by Rogier van der Weyden (1399–1464), who moved to Brussels from his home town of Tournai in the 1430s, becoming the city’s official painter shortly afterwards. When it came to portraiture, Weyden’s favourite technique was to highlight the features – and tokens of rank – of his subject against a black background. His Portrait of Antoine de Bourgogne is a case in point, with Anthony, the illegitimate son of Philip the Good, casting a haughty, tight-lipped stare to his right while wearing the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece and clasping an arrow, the emblem of the guild of archers.

Weyden’s contemporary, Leuven-based Dieric Bouts (1410–75), is well represented by the two panels of his Justice of the Emperor Otto. The story was well known: in revenge for refusing her advances, the empress accuses a nobleman of attempting to seduce her. He is executed, but the man’s wife remains convinced of his innocence and subsequently proves her point by means of an ordeal by fire – hence the red-hot iron bar she’s holding. The empress then receives her just desserts, being burnt on the hill in the background.

Moving on, the anonymous artist known as the Master of the Legend of St Lucy weighs in with a finely detailed, richly allegorical Madonna with Saints where, with the city of Bruges in the background, the Madonna presents the infant Jesus for the adoration of eleven holy women. Decked out in elaborate medieval attire, the women have blank, almost expressionless faces, but each bears a token of her sainthood, which would have been easily recognized by a medieval congregation: St Lucy, whose assistance was sought by those with sight problems, holds two eyeballs in a dish.

Beyond here is a beautifully coloured, clear and precise Lamentation by Petrus Christus (1410–75), and several fine portraits by Hans Memling (1430–94), plus his softly hued Martyrdom of St Sebastian, which was commissioned by the guild of archers in Bruges around 1470 and shows the trussed-up saint serenely indifferent to the arrows of the firing squad.

The sixteenth century

One of the museum’s most interesting paintings is a copy of Temptations of St Anthony, the original of which, by Hieronymus Bosch (1450–1516), is in Lisbon’s Museu Nacional. No one is quite sure who painted this triptych – it may or may not have been one of Bosch’s apprentices – but it was certainly produced in Holland in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century and shows an inconspicuous saint sticking desperately to his prayers surrounded by all manner of fiendish phantoms. On the right panel, Anthony is tempted by lust and greed; on the left, his companions help him back to his shelter after he’s been transported through the skies by weird-looking demons. Another leading Flemish artist, Quinten Matsys (1465–1530), is well represented, not only by his Triptych of the Holy Kindred, which abandons the realistic interiors and landscapes of his Flemish predecessors in favour of the grand columns and porticoes of the Renaissance, and a loving and sensitive Virgin and Child. There’s also a beautifully composed Adoration of the Magi by Gerard David (1460–1523).

Beyond here are paintings by the German painters Lucas Cranach the Younger and Elder and the museum’s superb collection of works by the Bruegel family, notably Pieter the Elder (1527–69), who moved to Brussels in the early 1560s. He preferred to paint in the Netherlandish tradition and his works often depict crowded Flemish scenes in which are embedded religious or mythical stories, a sympathetic portrayal of everyday life that revelled in the seasons and was worked in muted browns, greys and bluish greens with red or yellow highlights. Typifying this approach are two particularly absorbing works, the Adoration of the Magi and the Census at Bethlehem – a scene that Pieter (1564–1638), his son, repeated on several occasions. The versatile Pieter the Elder also dabbled with the lurid imagery of Bosch, whose influence is seen most clearly in the Fall of the Rebel Angels, a frantic panel painting which had actually been attributed to Bosch until Bruegel’s signature was discovered hidden under the frame. The Fall of Icarus is, however, his most haunting work, its mood perfectly captured by Auden in his well-known poem Musée des Beaux Arts.

The seventeenth century

The larger works of the museum’s other major painter, Peter-Paul Rubens (1577–1640), are gathered together in one room, as are the works of his contemporary Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678), whose big and brassy canvases perfectly suit the space. Like Rubens, Jordaens had a bulging order book, and for years he and his apprentices churned out paintings by the cartload. His best work is generally agreed to have been completed early on – between about 1620 and 1640 – and there’s evidence here in the two versions of the Satyr and the Peasant, the earlier work clever and inventive, the second a hastily cobbled-together piece that verges on buffoonery. As for Rubens, the museum holds a wide sample of his work, including the Ascent to Calvary, an intensely physical painting, capturing the confusion, agony and strain as Christ struggles on hands and knees under the weight of the cross; and the bloodcurdling Martyrdom of St Lieven, whose cruel torture – his tongue has just been ripped out and fed to a dog – is watched from on high by cherubs and angels. In another room there are more paintings by Rubens, among them depictions of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella and the wonderfully observed Four Studies of the Head of a Negro, a preparation for the black magus in the Adoration of the Magi, a luminous work that hangs in the same room. From the same era there are also works by the skilled portraitist Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), who is well represented by depictions of St Anthony and St Francis and figures of an old man and an old woman, and there are also portraits by the Dutchmen Rembrandt and Frans Hals, among a variety of other Dutch works.

The eighteenth century

The museum has a scattering of eighteenth-century paintings, the main highlight of which by far is the much celebrated Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), a propagandist piece of 1793 showing Jean-Paul Marat, the French Revolutionary hero, dying in his bath after being stabbed by Charlotte Corday. David has given Marat a perfectly proportioned, classical torso and a face, which, with its large hooded eyes, looks almost Christ-like, the effect heightened by the flatness of the composition and the emptiness of the background. The dead man clasps a quill in one hand and the letter given him by Corday in the other, inscribed “my deepest grief is all it takes to be entitled to your benevolence”. As a counterpoint, to emphasize the depth of Corday’s betrayal, David has added another note, on the wooden chest, written by Marat and beginning, “You will give this warrant to that mother with the five children, whose husband died for his country”. The painting was David’s paean to a fellow revolutionary, for, like Marat, he was a Jacobin – the deadly rivals of the Girondins, who were supported by Corday. David was also a leading light of the Neoclassical movement and became the new regime’s Superintendent of the Fine Arts. He did well under Napoleon, too – until Waterloo, after which he was exiled, along with all the other regicides, ending his days in Brussels.

Musée Magritte

From the ground floor of the Musée d’Art Ancien, a passageway leads through to Level -2 of the Musée Magritte, whose four floors are devoted to the life, times and work of René Magritte. Beginning on the top floor, the museum trawls through Magritte’s life chronologically, with original documents, old photos and snatches of film, quotations and a decent sample of his paintings (though sadly not many of his most famous works, which are scattered around the galleries of the world). There is an early sketch of his wife Georgette, early Cubist efforts and the later surrealist works he became best known for – often perplexing pieces, whose weird, almost photographically realized images and bizarre juxtapositions aim to disconcert. There are posters by Magritte, too (he was an accomplished graphic artist), advertising drinks, films and commercial products, as well as a selection of the more Impressionistic works he produced in the 1940s. All in all it gives a good sense of his restless intelligence, skill and, above all, wit, which shines through in everything on display.

René Magritte

René Magritte (1898–1967) is easily the most famous of Belgium’s modern artists, his disconcerting, strangely haunting images a familiar part of popular culture. Born in a small town just outside Charleroi, he entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels in 1915, and was a sporadic student there until 1920. Initially, Magritte worked in a broadly Cubist manner, but in 1925, influenced by the Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico, he switched over to Surrealism and almost immediately stumbled upon the themes and images that would preoccupy him for decades to come. His work incorporated startling comparisons between the ordinary and the extraordinary, with the occasional erotic element thrown in. Favourite images included men in bowler hats, metamorphic figures, enormous rocks floating in the sky and juxtapositions of night and day. He also dabbled in word paintings, mislabelling familiar forms to illustrate the arbitrariness of linguistic signs. His canvases were devoid of emotion, deadpan images that were easy to recognize but perplexing because of their setting. He broke with this characteristic style at times, most famously in 1948 to revenge long years of neglect by the French artistic establishment. Hundreds had turned up to see Magritte’s first Paris exhibition, but were confronted with crass and crude paintings of childlike simplicity. These so-called Vache paintings created a furore, and Magritte beat a hasty artistic retreat. Despite this, Magritte was picked up and popularized by an American art dealer, Alexander Iolas, who made him very rich and very famous.

Magritte and his family lived in Jette, a suburb of Brussels, until the late 1950s, and the house is now the Musée René Magritte. He died in 1967, shortly after a major retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York cemented his reputation as one of the great artists of the twentieth century.

Musée Fin-de-Siècle

From Level -2 of the Musée Magritte, a stairway proceeds down to the six subterranean half-floors of the Musée Fin-de-Siècle, a strong and well-presented selection of works from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are decadent high society scenes by Félicien Rops and, at the other end of the spectrum, paintings by Belgium’s Social Realists, including Charles de Groux (1825–70) and Eugene Laermans (1864–1940), who shifted from the Realist style into more Expressionistic works, as in the overtly political Red Flag and The Emigrants. Look out too for Leon Frederic’s (1856–1940) The Chalk Sellers, and the paintings of the ultimate chronicler of nineteenth-century working-class life, Constantin Meunier (1831–1905), who is well represented here by a number of paintings, for example the Banks of the Sambre, which hangs near Van Gogh’s The Peasant. There are works by French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists – Monet, Seurat, Gauguin among them – and also paintings by the Belgian Impressionists, such as Théo van Rysselberghe (1862–1926), a Brussels artist whose most interesting canvases – as in his The Promenade – exhibit a studied pointillism; Émile Claus (1849–1924), who produced the charmingly rustic Trees Beside the River Leie; and the versatile Henry van de Velde (1863–1957), who also came under the influence of Seurat – hence the similarly pointillist-style Girl Darning.

Among the Symbolists, look out for the disconcerting canvases of Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921), who painted his sister, Marguerite, again and again, using her refined, almost plastic beauty to stir a vague sense of passion. His haunting Memories of Lawn Tennis is typical of his oeuvre, a work without narrative, a dream-like scene with each of the seven women bearing the likeness of Marguerite. In The Caress, Marguerite pops up once more, this time with the body of a cheetah pawing sensually at an androgynous youth. Antoine-Joseph Wiertz, who has a museum all to himself near the EU Parliament building, pops up too, his La Belle Rosine a typically disagreeable painting in which the woman concerned faces a skeleton.

There is also a superb sample of the work of James Ensor (1860–1949). Ensor, the son of a Flemish mother and an English father, spent nearly all of his long life working in Ostend, his home town. His first paintings were impressionistic portraits and landscapes, delicately picking out his colours, as in Sombre Lady and Drunkards. Later, he became fascinated by masks, and painted them repeatedly, along with images of death and perversity. His Scandalized Masks of 1883 was his first mask painting, a typically unnerving canvas that works on several levels, while his Skeletons Quarrelling for a Kipper (1891) is one of the most macabre paintings you’ll see.

Palais Royal

Late July to mid-Sept Tues–Sun 10.30am–4.30pm (last entry 3.45pm) • Free • monarchie.be

Around the corner from place Royale, the long and rather cumbersome Palais Royal is something of a disappointment, consisting of a stodgy nineteenth-century conversion of late eighteenth-century town houses, begun by King William I, the Dutch royal who ruled both Belgium and the Netherlands from 1815 to 1830. The Belgian rebellion of 1830 polished off the joint kingdom, and since then the kings of independent Belgium haven’t spent much time here. Indeed, although it remains their official residence, the royals have lived in Laeken for decades and it’s hardly surprising, therefore, that the palace interior is formal and unwelcoming. It comprises little more than a predictable sequence of opulent rooms, all gilt trimmings, parquet floors and endless royal portraits, though three features make a visit (just about) worthwhile: the tapestries designed by Goya; the magnificent chandeliers of the Throne Room; and the Mirror Room’s Heaven of Delight iridescent ceiling, a contemporary work by the Belgian artist Jan Fabre, made up of more than a million wing cases of the Thai jewel beetle.

Musée BELvue

The corner of place des Palais and rue Royale • Tues–Fri 9.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • €7; combined ticket with Coudenberg Palace €12 • 02 500 45 54, belvue.be

The Hôtel Bellevue was once part of the palace, but has been turned into the Musée BELvue, which aims to help visitors understand Belgium and Belgian society. Reopened in 2016 after renovation, the new layout was devised with the help of a team of twenty young people aged 20 to 25. It’s all very professionally done, with interactive displays on seven themes: democracy, prosperity, solidarity, pluralism, migration, language and Europe. Plus, a gallery of around two hundred objects including a lithograph by Magritte and a football signed by the Belgium national football team, gives an insight into daily life and popular culture in the country since the nineteenth century. It’s a fascinating exhibition, not least thanks to the filmed interviews with the locals on different subjects. It’s an appropriate location for the museum too, as it was in this building that the rebellious Belgians fired at the Dutch army, which was trying to reach the city centre across the Parc de Bruxelles in 1830.

Coudenberg Palace

Tues–Fri 9.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • €7; combined ticket with Musée BELvue €12 • 02 500 45 54, coudenberg.brussels.be

Dating from the 1770s, the Hôtel Bellevue was built on top of the subterranean remains of the Coudenberg Palace, which stretched right across to what is now place Royale. A castle was first built on this site in the eleventh century and was enlarged on several subsequent occasions, but it was badly damaged by fire in 1731 and the site was cleared forty years later, leaving only the foundations. These have recently been cleared of debris, revealing a labyrinth of tunnels that can only be reached from the Musée BELvue. Visitors can wander round these foundations, the most notable feature of which is the Aula Magna, or great hall, built by Philip the Good in the 1450s. It’s a good idea to download an audioguide and map onto your smartphone from the website or pick up a device at reception (€3) to get the most out of your visit. You emerge on the other side of the street at the so-called Hoogstraten House, which displays a collection of objects found on the site, and then exit onto an alley next door to the Musical Instruments Museum.

Parc de Bruxelles

Set between the Palais Royal and the Belgian Parliament building, the Parc de Bruxelles is the most central of the city’s main parks, along whose tree-shaded footpaths civil servants and office workers stroll at lunch time, or race to catch the métro in the evenings. They might well wish the greenery was a bit more interesting. Laid out in the formal French style in 1780, the park undoubtedly suited the courtly – and courting – rituals of the times, but today the straight footpaths and long lines of trees seem a little tedious, though the classical statues and large fountain in the centre do cheer things up a tad.

Place du Trône

From the east side of the royal palace, rue Ducale leads to place du Trône, where the conspicuous equestrian statue of Léopold II was the work of Thomas Vinçotte, whose skills were much used by the king – look out for Vinçotte’s chariot on top of the Parc du Cinquantenaire’s triumphal arch.

Place du Petit Sablon

Just off the eastern side of busy rue de la Régence, the peaceful rectangle of place du Petit Sablon was laid out as a public garden in 1890 after previous use as a horse market. The wrought-iron fence surrounding the garden is decorated with 48 statuettes representing the medieval guilds; inside, near the top of the slope, are ten slightly larger statues honouring some of the country’s leading sixteenth-century figures. The ten are hardly household names in Belgium, never mind anywhere else, but one or two may ring a few bells – Mercator, the sixteenth-century geographer and cartographer responsible for the most common representation of the earth’s surface, and William the Silent, to all intents and purposes the founder of the Netherlands. Here also, on top of the fountain, are the figures of the counts Egmont and Hoorn, beheaded on the Grand-Place for their opposition to the Habsburgs in 1568.

Notre Dame du Sablon

place du Grand Sablon • Mon–Fri 9am–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 9am–7pm

The fifteenth-century church of Notre Dame du Sablon began life as a chapel for the guild of archers in 1304. Its fortunes were, however, transformed when a statue of Mary, purportedly with healing powers, was brought here from Antwerp in 1348. The chapel soon became a centre of pilgrimage, and a proper church – in High Gothic style – was built to accommodate its visitors. The church endured some inappropriate tinkering at the end of the nineteenth century, but remains a handsome structure, the sandy hues of its exterior stonework enhanced by slender buttresses and a forest of prickly pinnacles. The interior no longer holds the statue of Mary – the Protestants chopped it up in 1565 – but two carvings of a boat with its passengers and holy cargo recall its story, one located in the nave, the other above the inside of the rue de la Régence door. The woman in the boat is one Béatrice Sodkens, the pious creature whose visions prompted her to procure the statue and bring it here. The occasion of its arrival in Brussels is still celebrated annually in July by the Ommegang historic-heritage procession from the Sablon to the Grand-Place.

Place du Grand Sablon

Behind the church of Notre-Dame du Sablon, the sloping wedge of the place du Grand Sablon serves as the centre of the Sablon neighbourhood, which is one of the city’s wealthiest districts – as evidenced by the luxury stores and chocolate shops that sit around its fringes. The square is busiest at weekends, when it hosts an antiques market, and many of the shops hereabouts are devoted to antiques and art. You could easily spend an hour or so browsing the market and surrounding shops, or just soak up the atmosphere in one of Sablon’s several cafés.

Palais de Justice

From place du Grand Sablon, it’s a brief walk south to place Poelaert, named after the architect who designed the immense Palais de Justice which anchors the end of rue de la Régence, a monstrous Greco-Roman wedding cake of a building that dwarfs the square and everything around it. It’s possible to wander into the building’s sepulchral main hall, but it’s the size alone that impresses – not that it pleased the several thousand townsfolk who were forcibly evicted so that the place could be built. Poelaert became one of the most hated men in the capital and, when he went insane and died in 1879, it was widely believed a steekes (witch) from the Marolles had been sticking pins into an effigy of him.

Place Louise

A stone’s throw from the Palais de Justice, place Louise – part square, part traffic junction – heralds the edge of perhaps the city’s most exclusive shopping district, home to a good proportion of Brussels’ designer boutiques, jewellers and glossy shopping malls, which spread east along boulevard de Waterloo and south down the first part of avenue Louise.

< Back to Brussels

The EU quarter and Le Cinquantenaire

By no means does Brussels end at the petit ring. King Léopold II pushed the city limits out beyond the course of the old walls, grabbing land from the surrounding communes to create the irregular boundaries that survive today. To the east, he sequestered a rough rectangle of land, across which he ploughed two wide boulevards to link the city centre with Le Cinquantenaire, a self-glorifying and markedly grandiose monument erected to celebrate the golden jubilee of Belgian independence, and one that now houses three sprawling museums, including the large Musée du Cinquantenaire. In recent decades the grandeur of Léopold’s design has been overlaid with the uncompromising office blocks of the EU, which coalesce on and around rue de la Loi to form the loosely defined EU quarter – not a particularly enjoyable area to explore, although there are a handful of appealing parks and squares, while the flashy EU Parliament building is of passing interest, as are the other EU institutions.

EU Parliament

Parliamentarium Mon 1–6pm, Tues–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • Free Parliamentary chamber tours Mon–Thurs 9am, 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm, Fri 9am, 10am & 11am; July & Aug extra tour at noon; report to the visitors’ entrance 15min in advance and be sure to take photo ID • Free • europarl.europa.eu/visiting/en

The EU Parliament complex fronts onto the busy rectangle of place du Luxembourg, a wide and attractive square framed on three sides by late nineteenth-century town houses. The Parliament’s central structure, the Spaak building, was completed in 1997, a glass, stone and steel behemoth equipped with a horseshoe-shaped debating chamber and a curved glass roof that rises to a height of 70m. It has its admirers, but is known locally as the “caprice des dieux”, a wry comment on the EU’s sense of its own importance. Behind, the Spinelli building, connected by a footbridge, was completed in 1992 and houses MEPs’ offices and those of the various political groupings. The free thirty-minute tours of the Spaak building are fairly cursory affairs, more or less a look at the debating chamber and the stairwell outside, with the aid of headphones that take you through the whole thing and explain how the EU works. It’s not exactly essential viewing, but you do learn something of the purpose of the building – which, amazingly enough, is here less for the debating chamber than to house the Parliament’s various committees.

The other way to get the lowdown on the EU Parliament is in the Parliamentarium exhibition, housed in a separate building on the left side of the main plaza. This is a series of interactive displays, around which you’re guided by audio guide, that trace the origins of the European vision, taking you through the EU’s evolution from the Schuman Agreement of 1950 to its current 28 member states. It’s a slick presentation, and free (EU citizens have already paid for it, after all) and gives a crash course on the workings of the EU Parliament and its other institutions, with screens on which you can find out about any of the 751 MEPs, displays on the various political groupings and their agendas and a mock parliamentary chamber that takes you through the excruciating decision-making processes by way of a series of short films. You can also take a mini-tour around the continent, listening to various European initiatives, and sit in comfy chairs and listen to European citizens describing their daily lives. Good stuff, all of it, but inevitably a touch worthy – and above all a giant slice of propaganda for the EU.

The EU in Brussels

The three main institutions of the European Union operate mainly, though not exclusively, from Brussels. The European Parliament carries out its committee work and the majority of its business in Brussels, heading off for Strasbourg for around a dozen three-day plenary sessions per year. It’s the only EU institution to meet and debate in public, and has been directly elected since 1979. There are currently 751 MEPs (678 after Brexit) and they sit in political blocks made up of like-minded parties rather than national delegations; members are very restricted on speaking time, and debates tend to be well-mannered, consensual affairs controlled by the President, who is elected for a five-year period by Parliament itself – although this mandate is often split in two and shared by the two biggest political groups. The Conference of Presidents – the President of the Parliament and Leaders of all the political groups – meet to plan future parliamentary business. Supporting and advising this political edifice is a complex network of committees from agriculture to human rights.

The European Council consists of the heads of government of each of the member states and the President of the European Commission; they meet twice every six months in the much-publicized “European Summits”. However, in between these meetings, ministers responsible for different issues meet in the Council of the European Union, the main decision-making structure alongside the European Parliament. There are complex rules regarding decision-making: some subjects require only a simple majority, others need unanimous support, some can be decided by the Council alone, others need the agreement of Parliament; and overall, in a bid to make the EU more democratic, the power of the Parliament has been strengthened in recent years. This political structure is underpinned by scores of Brussels-based committees and working parties, made up of both civil servants and political appointees.

The European Commission acts as the EU’s executive arm and board of control, managing funds and monitoring all manner of agreements. The 28 Commissioners are political appointees, nominated by their home countries, but their tenure has to be agreed by the European Parliament and they remain accountable to the MEPs. The president of the Commission is elected by the European Parliament for a five-year period of office. Over twenty thousand civil servants work for the Commission, whose headquarters are in Brussels, mainly in the Berlaymont and adjacent Charlemagne building on rue de la Loi as well as other buildings in the area.

Musée Wiertz

rue Vautier 62 • Tues–Fri 10am–noon & 12.45–5pm • Free • 02 648 17 18, fine-arts-museum.be/en/museums/musee-wiertz-museum

There couldn’t be a greater contrast to the squeaky-clean buildings of the EU Parliament than the Musée Wiertz, a small museum devoted to the works of one of the city’s most distinctive nineteenth-century artists, Antoine-Joseph Wiertz (1806–65). Though little known now, Wiertz was a popular painter in his day (so much so that Thomas Hardy could write of “the staring and ghastly attitudes of a Wiertz museum”), and this museum is housed in his former studio, built for him by the Belgian state on the understanding that on his death he bequeath both it and his oeuvre to the nation. Wiertz painted mainly religious and mythological canvases, featuring gory hells and strapping nudes, as well as fearsome scenes of human madness and suffering. There are a number of elegantly painted quasi-erotic pieces featuring coy nudes, a colossal Triumph of Christ, a small but especially gruesome Suicide – not for the squeamish – and macabre works such as The Thoughts and Visions of a Severed Head and Hunger, Folly, Crime – in which a madwoman is pictured shortly after hacking off her child’s leg and throwing it into the cooking pot. Mercifully, there is some relief, with a few conventional portraits and various saucy girls in states of undress. But whether Wiertz was really one of the greatest painters who ever lived – as he believed – only time will tell.

Muséum des Sciences Naturelles

rue Vautier 29 • Tues–Fri 9.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • €7 • naturalsciences.be

Follow rue Vautier up the hill from the Wiertz museum and you soon reach the Musée des Sciences Naturelles, which holds the city’s natural history collection. It’s a large, sprawling and somewhat disorientating museum, whose wide-ranging displays are lodged in a mixture of late nineteenth-century and 1960s galleries. There are sections devoted to crystals and rocks; rodents and mammals; insects and crustaceans; a whale gallery featuring the enormous remains of a blue whale; and, most impressive of the lot, a capacious dinosaur gallery with a superb selection of dinosaur fossils discovered in the coal mines of Hainaut in the late nineteenth century. The most striking are those of a whole herd of iguanodons, whose skeletons are raised on two legs, though in fact these herbivores may well have been four-legged. In December 2017, the museum put on show its first new dinosaur fossil in more than one hundred years – a 210 million-year-old Plateosaurus called “Ben”, which was discovered in Switzerland.

Parc Léopold

On rue Vautier, almost opposite the Musée Wiertz, a back entrance leads into the rear of Parc Léopold, a green and hilly enclave landscaped around a lake. The park is pleasant enough, but its open spaces were encroached upon years ago when the industrialist Ernest Solvay began constructing the educational and research facilities of a prototype science centre here. The end result is a string of big, old buildings that spread along the park’s western periphery. The most interesting is the Bibliothèque Solvay (rue Belliard 137; 02 738 75 96; edificio.be/en/solvay-library), a splendid barrel-vaulted structure with magnificent mahogany panelling overlaying a cast-iron frame, which is now an events venue. On the northern edge of the park is the new Maison de l’Histoire Européenne (rue Belliard 135; Mon 1–6pm, Tues–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; free), which has a permanent exhibition on the history of Europe from the nineteenth century and explores the Union’s future.

Parc du Cinquantenaire

The wide and leafy lawns and tree-lined avenues of the Parc du Cinquantenaire slope up towards a gargantuan arch surmounted by a huge and bombastic bronze entitled Brabant Raising the National Flag. The arch, along with the two heavyweight stone buildings it connects, comprise Le Cinquantenaire, which was erected by Léopold II for an exhibition to mark the golden jubilee of the Belgian state in 1880. The buildings themselves contain three extensive collections – art and applied art; weapons; and cars – displayed in separate museums.

Musée du Cinquantenaire

South side of south wing of Cinquantenaire complex • Tues–Fri 9.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–5pm • €8, €15 combi ticket with the other two museums • 02 741 73 31, www.kmkg-mrah.be

The Musée du Cinquantenaire brings together the city’s main archeological, anthropological and decorative arts museums into one. The collection spans the world and the centuries, and there’s too much to absorb on one visit, with galleries of Greek, Egyptian and Roman artefacts, Far Eastern art and textiles, medieval and Renaissance carving and religious artefacts, Belgian archeology and a decent collection of glasswork and ceramics from all eras.

To the right of the entrance hall and set in part around the museum’s neo-Gothic cloister, the European decorative arts galleries have perhaps the most immediacy. Highlights include some striking fifteenth- and sixteenth-century altarpieces from Antwerp, a prime collection of Brussels tapestries dating from the middle of the sixteenth century (the heyday of the city’s tapestry industry), and an intriguing selection of scientific and precision instruments from the sixteenth century onwards.

On the other side of the entrance hall, the European collection continues with turn-of-the-twentieth-century furnishings, and an Art Nouveau section where the display cases were designed by Victor Horta for a firm of jewellers and now accommodate the celebrated Mysterious Sphinx, an ivory bust of archetypal Art Nouveau design – the work of Charles van der Stappen in 1897. On the same side of the museum, seek out the Greek and Roman sections – among various statuary, pottery and other artefacts you’ll find a fabulous mosaic depicting hunting scenes dating from the fifth century AD, which you can view from a balcony above. There’s also a bronze of an emperor and a wonderful scale model of ancient Rome, again viewable from above. Next door, a lovely gallery displays artefacts from the Islamic world, with Persian and Ottoman ceramics, carpets, manuscripts and all sorts of beautiful objects. The same wing of the museum has a ton of Mayan, Incan and Aztec artefacts from south and central America, including a Peruvian mummy that was Hergé’s inspiration for two Tintin tales – The Broken Ear and The Seven Crystal Balls. Further non-European galleries hold a good collection of sculptures and other pieces from the Far East, including a couple of wooden sculptures from China dating back to 1200 or so.

Autoworld

South wing of Le Cinquantenaire • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct–March Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • €10 • 02 736 41 65, autoworld.be

Housed in a vast hangar-like building, Autoworld is a chronological stroll through the short history of the automobile, with a huge display of vintage vehicles that begins with turn-of-the-twentieth-century motorized cycles and Model T Fords. European varieties predominate, with Peugeot, Renault and Benz well represented, and there are home-grown vehicles too, including a Minerva from 1925 that once belonged to the Belgian monarch. American cars include early Cadillacs, a Lincoln from 1965 that was also owned by the Belgian royals, and some gangster-style Oldsmobiles. Among the British brands, there’s a mint-condition Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost from 1921, one of the first Austins and, from the modern era, the short-lived De Lorean sports car. Upstairs you’ll find a mishmash of assorted vehicles that don’t fit into the main exhibition: early Porsches and Volvos, classic 1960s Jaguars and even a tuk-tuk from Thailand.

Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire Militaire

North wing of Le Cinquantenaire • Tues–Sun 9am–5pm • €5 • 02 737 78 33, www.klm-mra.be

The Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire Militaire traces the history of the “Belgian” army from the late eighteenth century to the present day by means of a vast hoard of weapons, armaments and uniforms. The first part of the collection is enjoyably old-fashioned, with a long series of glass cases holding a small army of life-sized model soldiers, with assorted rifles, swords and muskets nailed to the walls above. Of particular interest here are the sections dealing with “Belgian” regiments in the Austrian and Napoleonic armies, and the volunteers who formed the nucleus of the 1830 revolution. Elsewhere, there’s an excellent World War I display, with uniforms and kit from every nationality involved in the conflict, together with a fearsome array of field guns, artillery pieces and very primitive early tanks. A second, larger hall covers World War II, including the Belgian experience of collaboration and resistance, all illustrated by a superb selection of blown-up period photographs. The courtyard outside has a large collection of World War II tanks, armoured cars and artillery pieces – British, American and German – and there’s a third large hall dedicated to aviation, with a large array of aircraft, some of which you can clamber aboard.

< Back to Brussels

The outer neighbourhoods

Central Brussels is full of interest beyond the petit ring, with the outer neighbourhoods of this multicultural city home to some of its most interesting attractions and finest restaurants. To the southeast, cobwebbed by tiny squares and narrow streets, the St-Gilles and Ixelles areas make a great escape from the razzmatazz of the city centre. St-Gilles, the smaller of the two communes, has patches of inner-city decay but is nicer the further east you go, its run-down streets giving way to attractive avenues and some of the city’s best Art Nouveau buildings, including Victor Horta’s own house and studio, now the glorious Musée Victor Horta (a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with three of his other town houses). Ixelles, meanwhile, is one of the capital’s most interesting and exciting neighbourhoods, with a diverse street life and arty, Bohemian vibe that has long drawn artists, writers and intellectuals – Karl Marx, Auguste Rodin and Alexandre Dumas all lived here. Ixelles is split in two by avenue Louise, a prosperous corridor that was laid out by Léopold II in the 1840s, and named after his eldest daughter. Some of Brussels’ premier hotels, shops and boutiques flank the northern reaches of the avenue; further along it lies the enjoyable Musée Constantin Meunier, sited in the sculptor’s old house. Northwest of the Gare du Midi, flanking the southwestern edge of the city centre, Anderlecht is best known for its football team, and remains a working-class neighbourhood at heart, with one very popular, very Brussels attraction in the Cantillon Brewery. Northwest of the petit ring, Jette is a well-heeled suburb that wouldn’t merit a second glance if it weren’t for the former home of René Magritte, now turned into the engaging Musée René Magritte, which pays detailed tribute to the artist, his family and friends. Just east of Jette and immediately north of the city centre, leafy Laeken is where the Belgian royal family hunker down. A short distance northwest of here lies Heysel with its trademark Atomium – a hand-me-down from the 1958 World’s Fair. Finally, if you’ve an insatiable appetite for the monuments of the Belgian royal family, then you should venture out east of the city to Tervuren, where the king built the massive Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale on the edge of the woods of the Forêt de Soignes.

Musée Victor Horta

rue Americaine 25 • Tues–Sun 2–5.30pm • €10 • 02 543 04 90, hortamuseum.be • Tram #92 or #97 to Janson

The principal sight in the St-Gilles neighbourhood is the delightful Musée Victor Horta, which occupies the two houses Horta designed as his home and studio at the end of the nineteenth century, and was where he lived until 1919. The exterior sets the tone, a striking reworking of what was originally a modest terraced structure, the design fluidly incorporating knotted and twisted ironwork. Yet it is for his interiors that Horta is particularly famous, and inside is a sunny, sensuous dwelling exhibiting all the architect’s favourite flourishes – wrought iron, stained glass, ornate furniture and panelling made from several different types of timber. The main unifying feature is the staircase, a dainty spiralling affair, which runs through the centre of the house illuminated by a large skylight. Decorated with painted motifs and surrounded by mirrors, it remains one of Horta’s most magnificent and ingenious creations, giving access to a sequence of wide, bright rooms. Also of interest is the modest but enjoyable selection of paintings, many of which were given to Horta by friends and colleagues, including works by Félicien Rops and Joseph Heymans.

Horta’s progress

The son of a shoemaker, Victor Horta (1861–1947) was born in Ghent, where he failed in his first career, being expelled from the city’s music conservatory for indiscipline. He promptly moved to Paris to study architecture, returning to Belgium in 1880 to complete his internship in Brussels with Alphonse Balat, architect to King Léopold II. Balat was a traditionalist, partly responsible for the classical facades of the Palais Royal – among many other prestigious projects – and Horta looked elsewhere for inspiration. He found it in the work of William Morris, the leading figure of the English Arts and Crafts movement, whose designs were key to the development of Art Nouveau. Taking its name from the Maison de l’Art Nouveau, a Parisian shop which sold items of modern design, Art Nouveau rejected the imitative architectures which were popular at the time – Neoclassical and neo-Gothic – in favour of an innovative style characterized by sinuous, flowing lines. In England, Morris and his colleagues had focused on book illustrations and furnishings, but in Belgium Horta extrapolated the new style into architecture, experimenting with new building materials such as steel and concrete, as well as traditional stone, glass and wood.

In 1893, Horta completed the curvaceous Hôtel Tassel (just off Avenue Louise), Brussels’ first Art Nouveau building (“hôtel” meaning town house). Inevitably, there were howls of protest from the traditionalists, but no matter what his opponents said, Horta never lacked work again. The following years – roughly 1893 to 1905 – were Horta’s most inventive and prolific. He designed over forty buildings, including the Hôtel Solvay, the Hôtel Max Hallet, and his own beautifully decorated house and studio, now the Musée Victor Horta. The delight Horta took in his work is obvious, especially when employed on private houses, and his enthusiasm was all-encompassing – he almost always designed everything from the blueprints to the wallpaper and carpets. He never kept a straight line or sharp angle where he could deploy a curve, and his use of light was revolutionary, often filtering through from above, with skylights and as many windows as possible. Horta felt that the architect was as much an artist as the painter or sculptor, and so he insisted on complete stylistic freedom. Curiously, he also believed that originality was born of frustration, so he deliberately created architectural difficulties, pushing himself to find harmonious solutions. His value system allied him with the political Left – as he wrote, “My friends and I were reds, without however having thought about Marx or his theories”. Completed in 1906, the Grand Magasin Waucquez department store was a transitional building signalling the end of Horta’s Art Nouveau period. His later works were more Modernist constructions, whose understated lines were a far cry from the ornateness of his earlier work. In Brussels, the best example is the Palais des Beaux Arts (BOZAR) of 1928.

Musée Constantin Meunier

rue de l’Abbaye 59 • Tues–Fri 10am–noon & 12.45–5pm • Free • 02 648 44 49, fine-arts-museum.be/en/museums/musee-meunier-museum • Tram #93 or #94 from place Louise to Abbaye

The Musée Constantin Meunier is housed on the ground floor of the former home and studio of Brussels-born artist Constantin Meunier (1831–1905), who lived here for the last six years of his life. Meunier is best known as a chronicler of Belgium’s rapid industrialization during the nineteenth century, and his anger over the dreadful living conditions of Belgium’s working class – particularly (like Van Gogh before him) the harsh life of the coal miners of the Borinage – was poured into his art, with miners and other workers depicted in unflinching detail in the paintings and drawings displayed here. According to historian Eric Hobsbawm’s Age of Empire, “Meunier invented the international stereotype of the sculptured proletarian”. The museum has a substantial collection of his dark and brooding bronzes, with the largest and most important pieces in the old studio at the back, where a series of life-size depictions of muscular men – Le Faucheur (The Reaper), Un Semeur (A Sower) and Le Marteleur (The Metalworker), among others – strike heroic poses while going about their work. There are also a couple of large paintings, notably the gloomy dockside of The Port, one of Meunier’s most forceful works.

Abbaye de la Cambre

Church daily 9am–noon & 2–5pm • Free • Tram #93 or #94 to Abbaye

The postcard-pretty Abbaye de la Cambre nestles in a lovely little wooded dell just to the east of avenue Louise and not far from the Meunier Museum. Of medieval foundation, the abbey was suppressed by the French Revolutionary army at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but its eighteenth-century brick buildings survived pretty much untouched and, after many toings and froings, have ended up as government offices. An extensive complex, the main courtyard is especially attractive and it serves as the main entrance to the charming Notre-Dame de l’Abbaye church, whose nave, with its barrel vaulting and rough stone walls, is an exercise in simplicity. The church is an amalgamation of styles, but Gothic predominates except in the furnishings of the nave, where carefully carved Art Deco wooden panelling frames a set of religious paintings of the Stations of the Cross. The church also holds Albert Bouts’ tiny Mocking of Christ, a marvellous, early sixteenth-century painting in the left aisle that depicts a mournful, blood-spattered Jesus. There’s a small cloister attached to the church and around the abbey’s buildings are walled and terraced gardens plus the old abbatial pond, altogether an oasis of peace away from the hubbub of avenue Louise.

Brasserie Cantillon

rue Gheude 56 • Mon, Tues & Thurs–Sat 10am–5pm • Tours €7 • 02 520 28 91, cantillon.be • Métro #2 to Clemenceau

A short walk northwest of the Gare du Midi, in the heart of the working-class district of Anderlecht, the Brasserie Cantillon is one of the city’s most popular attractions, and the only place in Brussels that still makes the local brew – otherwise known as lambic beer or gueuze – according to traditional methods. The beer, a sour, almost cidery concoction made only with water, barley and hops, is allowed to ferment naturally, reacting with the natural yeasts present in the Brussels air, and is bottled two years before it is ready to drink. You can do a quick tour of the mustily atmospheric brewery (best outside summer months when they are actually making the beer), and have a taste afterwards in the comfy bar area. Plus, of course, you can buy bottles to take home, and there is perhaps no better souvenir of Brussels than a bottle of Cantillon gueuze.

Lambic beers

One of the world’s oldest styles of beer manufacture, Brussels’ lambic beers are tart brews made with at least thirty percent raw wheat as well as the more usual malted barley. Their key feature, however, is the use of wild yeast in their production, a process of spontaneous fermentation in which the yeasts – which are specific to the air of the Brussels area – gravitate down into open wooden casks over a period of between two and three years. Draught lambic is extremely rare, but the bottled varieties are more commonplace; Cantillon Lambic is perhaps the most authentic, an excellent drink with a lemony zip. Gueuze is a blend of old and new lambics in a bottle, a little sweeter and fuller bodied than straight lambic, with an almost cider-like aftertaste; again, Cantillon’s is the best you’ll find (5%), although you may have to settle for Belle Vue Gueuze (5.2%), Timmermans Gueuze (5.5%) or Lindemans Gueuze (5.2%).

Musée René Magritte

rue Esseghem 135, Jette • Wed–Sun 10am–6pm • €7.50 • 02 428 26 26, magrittemuseum.be • Métro to Belgica and then tram #51 to Cimetière de Jette

Northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Jette, the enthralling Musée René Magritte holds a plethora of the Surrealist’s paraphernalia as well as a limited collection of his early paintings and sketches. Magritte lived with his wife Georgette on the ground floor of this modest house for 24 years from 1930, an odd location for what was effectively the headquarters of the Surrealist movement in Belgium, most of whose leading lights met here every Saturday to concoct a battery of subversive books, magazines and images.

The ground floor

The ground floor has been faithfully restored to re-create the artist’s studio and living quarters, using mostly original ornaments and furniture, with the remainder carefully replicated from photographs; the famous bowler hat which crops up in several of Magritte’s paintings is hung near the indoor studio. Many features of the house itself also appear in a number of his works: the sash window, for instance, framed the painting entitled The Human Condition, while the glass doors to the sitting room and bedroom appeared in The Invisible World. Magritte built himself a studio – which he named Dongo – in the garden, and it was here that he produced his bread-and-butter work, such as graphics and posters, though he was usually unhappy when working on such mundane projects, and his real passions were painted in the dining-room studio, where he displayed just one work by another artist – a photo by Man Ray – which is there again today.

The first and second floors

You have to don shoe covers to visit the first and second floors of the house, which were separate apartments when the Magrittes lived here, but are now taken up by letters, photos, telegrams, lithographs, posters and sketches pertaining to the artist, all displayed in chronological order. There are two fine posters announcing the international film and fine arts festivals which took place in Brussels in 1947 and 1949, as well as Magritte’s first painting, a naive landscape which he produced at the tender age of 12, the blue rug he had made for the bedroom and work by other Surrealists. Finally, there are a number of personal objects displayed in the attic (which he rented), including the easel he used at the end of his life. Overall, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.

Laeken

Mid-April to early May, see website for opening times • €2.50 • monarchie.be • Métro #6 to Bockstael then bus #53 to Serres Royales

To the north of Brussels’ city centre, Laeken is home to the Belgian royal family at the Château Royal. Built in 1790, its most famous occupant was Napoleon, who stayed on a number of occasions and signed the declaration of war on Russia here in 1812. You can’t visit the palace itself, but for three weeks every year they open up the royal greenhouses for public visits – worth doing not just for the plants but for the magnificent structures themselves. Be warned, though, that the queues can be long at weekends. Opposite the front of the royal palace, a wide footpath leads up to the fanciful neo-Gothic monument erected in honour of Léopold I, the focal point of the pretty Parc de Laeken. The park’s glorious woods and grassy meadows, lawns and wooded thickets extend northwest for a couple of kilometres towards Heysel and are well worth a stroll and a picnic, particularly if you’re en route to the Atomium.

The Atomium

Square de l’Atomium • Daily 10am–6pm • €12 • 02 475 47 75, atomium.be • Tram #51 or #93, or métro, to Heysel

Most visitors come to the north part of Brussels to see the Atomium, a curious model of a molecule expanded 165 billion times. Built for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, it has never quite become the symbol of the city it was intended to be, but after restoration a few years ago it is looking better than it has for some time. Visits are in two parts: the lift whizzes you up to the top sphere for the views, after which you descend and then come back up again to take in the other three spheres, reached by a mixture of escalators and stairs. It’s all pleasingly retro – the Atomium was quite a feat of technology in its day (its elevator was the world’s fastest, the escalator connecting the spheres the world’s longest), and its construction is remembered by apposite photos. There’s not actually all that much to see – the spheres are mainly given over to temporary exhibitions and a café, and trudging up and down the stairs and escalators can turn into a bit of a slog – but it’s an undeniably impressive sight overall and the views from the top are as spectacular as you would expect (enhanced by computer screens pointing out what you’re looking at). One of the spheres also houses a rather nice restaurant with views. While you’re here, it’s worth checking out the new, nearby Art & Design Atomium Museum (ADAM; place de Belgique; Mon & Wed–Sun 10am–6pm; €10, €17 combi ticket with Atomium; 02 669 49 29, adamuseum.be), which celebrates plastic art and design of the twentieth century and holds interesting temporary exhibitions.

Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale

Leuvensesteenweg 13 • Closed for renovation until June 2018 • www.africamuseum.be • Tram #44 from Métro Montgomery; the museum is a 2min walk from the tram terminus

Closed for renovation until 2018, the grandiose Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, in the suburb of Tervuren, on the edge of the vast and beautiful expanse of the Forêt de Soignies, is the biggest monument there is to Belgium’s murky colonial past. Personally presented with the vast Congo River basin by a conference of the European Powers in 1885, King Léopold II of Belgium became one of the world’s richest men through exploiting the region’s people and natural resources. In part aided and abetted by the explorer, Henry Stanley, who went to the Congo on a five-year fact-finding mission in 1879 (just a few years after he had famously found the missionary David Livingstone), Léopold’s regime was chaotic and extraordinarily cruel even by the standards of the colonial powers. The Belgian government was finally shamed into taking over the territory in 1908 and installed a marginally more efficient state bureaucracy. But when the Belgian Congo gained independence as the Republic of Congo in 1960, it was poorly prepared and its subsequent history (as both Zaire and the Republic of Congo) has been one of the most bloodstained in Africa.

For the moment the museum’s grounds are well worth a stroll, with formal gardens set around a series of geometric lakes flanked by woods, but the likelihood is that the museum will be completely changed when it reopens, with a more contemporary view of Belgium’s colonial past.

Train station names

When you first arrive, the city’s bilingual signage can be confusing, especially with regard to the names of the three main train stations: Bruxelles-Nord (in Flemish Brussel-Noord), Bruxelles-Centrale (Brussel-Centraal) and, most bewildering of the lot, Bruxelles-Midi (Brussel-Zuid). To add to the puzzle, each of the three adjoins a métro station – respectively the Gare du Nord (Noordstation), Gare Centrale (Centraal Station) and Gare du Midi (Zuidstation). And in an extra twist of unhelpfulness, note that on bus timetables and on maps of the city transit system (including the one in this book), Bruxelles-Nord usually appears as “Gare du Nord”, Bruxelles-Centrale as “Gare Centrale” and Bruxelles-Midi as “Gare du Midi”, taking the names of their respective métro stops.

Arrival and departure: brussels

Brussels has Belgium’s busiest international airport and is on the main routes heading inland from the Channel ports via Flanders. Eurostar trains arrive here direct from London, and the city is also a convenient stop on the fast train line between France and Holland. The city has an excellent public transport system which puts all the main points of arrival – its airport, train and bus stations – within easy reach of the centre.

By plane

Brussels Airport

Most flights to Brussels land at the city’s international airport (0900 70 000, brusselsairport.be) – known as Brussels International – in the satellite suburb of Zaventem, 14km northeast of the city centre. Trains run from Brussels International to the city’s three main stations (4 hourly, 5.30am–midnight); the journey to Bruxelles-Centrale takes 17min and from the airport ticket machine cost €8.80 each way tickets. There are also direct buses into the city centre from the airport’s bus station, one floor below the arrivals hall, most usefully the hourly #12 (Mon–Fri 5.40am–7.48pm) which runs to place de Luxembourg in the EU quarter, stopping off at Schuman and other métro stops along the way, though note that on Sat and Sun, and during the week after 8pm, this becomes the slower bus #21. Tickets cost €4.50 from the ticket machine or €6 from the driver. Outside of these times, you’ll need to take a taxi to get to the city centre, a 20min journey for which you’ll pay €40–45, though less if you ordered one in advance – more like €35–40.

Brussels south (Charleroi) airport

Some airlines – principally Ryanair – fly to Brussels-Charleroi airport (0902 02 490, charleroi-airport.com), which is also sometimes called Brussels South, though it is in fact some 50km south of central Brussels. This secondary airport is rapidly expanding and has a reasonable range of facilities. From the airport, there is a shuttle-bus service to the city centre (every 30min, 7.50am–11.59pm; 1hr; €14 one-way), departing from outside the terminal building and dropping off at the bus stop on the west side of Bruxelles-Midi train station at the junction of rue de France and rue de l’Instruction. Alternatively, you can take a local bus (every 30min; 20min) from the airport to Charleroi Sud train station, from where there are regular services to all three of Brussels’ main stations (every 30min, hourly on Sat & Sun; 50min; €15.80 one-way including bus ticket). A taxi into Brussels city centre will cost €60–70, though less if booked in advance.

By train

Stations Brussels has three main stations. Most domestic trains stop at all three, but many international services only stop at Bruxelles-Midi, including Eurostar trains from London and Thalys express trains from Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne and Aachen. Bruxelles-Centrale is, as its name suggests, the most central of the stations, a 5min walk from the Grand-Place; Bruxelles-Nord lies among the bristling tower blocks of the business area just north of the main ring road; and Bruxelles-Midi is located in a slightly depressed area on the southern edge of the city centre.

Transfers If you need to transfer from one of the three main train stations to another, simply jump on the next available mainline train: there are services between them every 10min or so, the journey only takes minutes and all you’ll have to do (at most) is swap platforms. You can find lots of information in English on the Belgian Railways (SNCB/NMBS) website (www.belgianrail.be) or by calling 02 528 28 28 (daily 7am–9.30pm); for international services call 070 79 79 79.

Destinations Amsterdam Centraal Station (hourly; 2hr 30min); Antwerp (every 20min; 40min); Bruges (every 20min; 1hr); Charleroi (every 20min; 50min); Ghent (every 20min; 35min); Mechelen (every 15min; 25min); Leuven (every 15min; 25min); Liège (every 30min; 1hr 20min); Luxembourg (every 30min; 3hr); Mons (every 30min; 50min); Namur (several hourly; 1hr); Ostend (every 20min; 1hr 20min).

By bus

Most international bus services to Brussels, including Eurolines from Britain, use the Bruxelles-Nord station complex as their terminus. Belgium’s comprehensive rail network means that it’s unlikely that you’ll arrive in the city by long-distance domestic bus, but if you do, then Bruxelles-Nord is the main terminal for these services too.

getting around

Operated by STIB-MIVB (www.stib-mivb.be; information line 070 23 2000), the public transport system comprises an integrated mixture of bus, tram, underground tram and métro lines that covers the city comprehensively. It’s a user-friendly network, with every métro station carrying métro system diagrams, route maps available free from the tourist office and from most major métro stations, and timetables posted or signed at most bus and tram stops.

Tickets Valid on any part of the STIB system, tickets (single/€2.10; 24hr/€7.50) are available from métro kiosks, automatic machines at métro stations and from newsagents displaying the STIB-MIVB sign; note that tram and bus drivers will only issue €2.50 single-journey tickets. At the beginning of each journey, you’re trusted to stamp tickets yourself, using one of the machines on every métro station concourse or inside every tram and bus. After that, the ticket is valid for an hour, during which you can get on and off as many trams, métros and buses as you like.

Fares and travel cards The most convenient way to travel if you’re around for more than a day or so is to invest in a MOBIB card, a credit-card-style pass that you can purchase at any métro station for €5 plus as much credit as you want. You can then add credit to it using the machines and, at the end of your visit, either keep the card or return it and get your €5 back (MOBIB also gives discounts on the city bike scheme). A single journey using MOBIB costs €2.10, and you can buy five journeys for €8 and ten journeys for €14. You can also buy a go-as-you-please pass, which allows citywide travel on all of the system, (24hr/€7.50, 48hr/€14, 72hr/€18).

By Métro, prémétro or tram

The métro system consists of four underground lines (Lines #1, #2, #5 & #6), though to a considerable extent they overlap (map). The city also has a substantial tram system serving the centre and its suburbs. These trams are at their speediest when they go underground to form what is sometimes called the prémétro, which runs as lines #3 and #4 right beneath the heart of the city from Bruxelles-Nord, through De Brouckère and Bourse, to Bruxelles-Midi, Porte de Hal and on into St-Gilles. Times of operation and frequency vary considerably, but key parts of the system operate from 6am until midnight.

By bus

Trams and the métro are supplemented by a network of buses, in particular a limited night bus service on major routes – again timetable info is available in real time on the STIB website. In addition, De Lijn (070 22 02 00, delijn.be) runs buses from the city to the Flemish-speaking communities that surround the capital, while TEC (010 230 53 53, infotec.be) operates services to the French-speaking areas. Most of these buses run from – or at least call in at – the Gare du Nord complex.

By local train

Supplementing the STIB network are local trains, run by Belgian Railways (02 528 28 28, www.belgianrail.be), which shuttle in and out of the city’s seven train stations, connecting different parts of the inner city and the outskirts, but unless you’re living and working in the city, you’re unlikely to need to use them.

by Bicycle

The city council operates an excellent public bicycle scheme (078 05 11 10, www.villo.be) in which bikes can be taken from stands dotted across the city centre, and returned after use to another. There are 350 stands in total and rates are very reasonable: you pay a basic sign-up fee of €7.90/week or €1.60/day, or nothing at all if you have a MOBIB card; the bikes are free for the first 30min and then cost €0.50 for the next half-hour, rising in increments to a maximum of €2 for two and a half hours or more. There’s a pay machine at every bike stand with multilingual instructions.

By taxi

Taxis don’t cruise the streets, but can be picked up at stands around the city, notably on Place de Brouckère in the Lower Town and outside the main train stations. There is a fixed tariff consisting of two main elements – a fixed charge of €2.40 (€4.40 at night) and the price per kilometre (€1.80 inside the city). If you can’t find a taxi, phone Taxis Verts on 02 349 49 49 or Taxis Bleus on 02 268 00 00.

By car

All the main companies have a desk at the airport and at Gare du Midi train station. Those at the airport include Avis (02 720 09 44, avis.be); Europcar (02 721 05 92, europcar.be); Hertz (02 720 60 44, hertz.be); and Sixt (070 22 58 00, sixt.be).

Information

At the international airport you’ll find a tourist information desk (daily 6am–9pm) in the arrivals hall, with a reasonable range of blurb on the city, including free maps. In the city, there’s an office opposite the Eurostar terminal at Bruxelles-Midi (daily 9am–6pm), and two offices in the city centre – in the Hôtel de Ville on the Grand-Place (daily 9am–6pm; 02 513 89 40, visit.brussels), and on place Royale at rue Royale 2 (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; same phone & website). Both issue free city and transport maps, have details of forthcoming events and concerts, make reservations on guided tours and sell the Brussels Card. They can also make last-minute hotel reservations. If you’re heading off into Flemish-speaking Belgium you can pick up oodles of information at Tourism Flanders, metres from the Grand-Place at rue du Marché aux Herbes 61 (Mon–Sat daily 10am–5pm; 02 504 03 90, visitflanders.com).

Guided tours

Both Brussels tourist offices have the details of, and take bookings for, about thirty operators (visit.brussels/discoverthecity). Generally, the standard tours can be booked on the day, while the more exotic need to be booked in advance, either direct with the company concerned or with the tourist offices, who normally require at least two weeks’ notice.

ARAU (Atelier de Recherche et d’Action Urbaines) blvd Adolphe Max 55 02 219 33 45, arau.org. A heritage action group which provides tours exploring the city’s architectural history – with particular emphasis on Art Nouveau – from April through to Dec. Prices vary with the length of the tour and the itinerary, but average about €10 per person for walking tours, €20 if there’s transport involved.

City Sightseeing Brussels city-sightseeing.com/en/12/brussels. Operates two hop-on-hop-off services year-round (daily every 15–30min; 1hr 15min), each of which makes over twenty stops, with 24hr tickets costing €25, 48hr tickets €32.

Accommodation

With over seventy hotels dotted within its central ring of boulevards, Brussels has no shortage of convenient places to stay. Even so, finding accommodation can still prove difficult, particularly in the spring and autumn, when the capital enjoys what amounts to its high seasons. At peak times, it’s prudent to reserve a bed at least for your first night, but if you do arrive with nowhere to stay, the city’s two main tourist offices operate a free same-night hotel booking service. Hotel prices vary hugely, but as the accommodation scene is dominated by business you can almost always expect rates to be quite a lot lower at weekends when many of the city’s higher-end hotels can sometimes as much as halve their rates. In high summer, they’re a lot cheaper during the week too, when the EU, especially, pretty much shuts up shop.

THE LOWER AND UPPER TOWN

9Hotel Central rue des Colonies 10 02 504 99 10, 9-hotel-central-brussels.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. Hip, stylish hotel housing white, minimalist rooms with exposed brickwork; they all have beverage trays and the beds are particularly comfortable. There’s also a 24hr bar and co-working space. Check out the weekend and summer offers online, which include breakfast. €128

Amigo rue de l’Amigo 1–3 02 547 47 47, roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/hotel-amigo; Métro Gare Centrale or Bourse; map. This lavish five-star Rocco Forte hotel must be Brussels’ most desirable place to stay, with impeccable service and a fabulous location just around the corner from the Grand-Place. The building dates from the sixteenth century and has seen several incarnations, including the town prison, only becoming a hotel in the 1950s. Rooms are tasteful and contemporary in all-natural hues enhanced with splashes of colour. The superb Bocconi restaurant serves some of the best Italian food in Brussels. €220

Atlas rue du Vieux Marché-aux-Grains 30 02 502 60 06, atlas.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Modern three-star hotel behind the handsome stone facade of a nineteenth-century mansion in the heart of the Ste-Catherine district, a 5min walk or so from the Grand-Place. The 88 rooms are a (slight) cut above those of the average chain. Wheelchair accessible. €99

Bloom rue Royale 250 02 220 66 11, hotelbloom.com; Métro Botanique; map. A good-value business hotel with a self-consciously cool vibe. Its 300 rooms are furnished with a clean modern feel and incorporate nice touches such as the hand-drawn mural behind each bed. They do a great buffet breakfast (you can make your own waffles if you’re so inclined) and the restaurant does a good-value three-course lunch menu for €28. €69

Brussels Welcome Hotel quai au Bois à Brûler 23 02 219 95 46, hotelwelcome.com; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Friendly, family-run hotel in a brilliant location at the heart of the Ste-Catherine district. The owners’ love of travelling is reflected in the design, with each of the 17 rooms themed around a different country, from Bali to Japan, Morocco to Tibet. The Silk Road suite is a particularly sumptuous affair, and the Thai room at the top of the building is pretty good too. There’s also an attractive wood-panelled breakfast room. €89

Du Congrès rue du Congrès 42 02 217 18 90, hotelducongres.be; Métro Madou; map. Pleasant mid-range hotel occupying a set of attractive late nineteenth-century town houses in an appealing corner of the Upper Town. Each of the 67 en-suite rooms is spacious and decorated in unfussy style. €79

Le Dixseptième rue de la Madeleine 25 02 517 17 17, ledixseptieme.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. This place tries hard to be central Brussels’ most elegant boutique hotel, with just 24 deluxe rooms and suites, and more or less pulls it off. Half are in the tastefully renovated seventeenth-century mansion at the front, the remainder in the new extension behind. There’s a lovely downstairs sitting room and bar with comfy sofas to sink into, and the rooms themselves have a grand yet homely feel – all very soothing, and a real antidote to the mayhem outside. €159

The Dominican rue Léopold 9 02 203 08 08, thedominican.be; Métro De Brouckère or Bourse; map. This deluxe four-star boasts a prime location close to the Grand-Place, and a claim to fame as the place where the painter Jacques-Louis David drew his last breath in 1825 – hence the plaque on the facade. The spacious foyer sets the funky, stylish tone, as do the generous banquettes in the courtyard-style breakfast/restaurant area behind. Beyond, all 150 rooms are well appointed and stylishly kitted out with wooden floors and earthy tones. Breakfast included. €140

L’Esperance rue du Finistere 1 02 219 10 28, hotel-esperance.be; Métro De Brouckere; map.This pleasant Art Deco bar has 17 en-suite rooms upstairs, all very nicely furnished in a fresh style, with flatscreen TVs, wi-fi and lovely big bathrooms with walk-in power showers. They also do a decent buffet breakfast. Extremely good value. €89

La Légende rue du Lombard 35 02 512 82 90, hotellalegende.com; Métro Bourse; map. This old mansion set around a small courtyard is very centrally located but enjoys a pleasant, tucked-away feel. All of the 26 rooms have en-suite facilities and TV, and the decor – while a bit bland – is crisp and modern. €85

Métropole place de Brouckère 31 02 217 23 00, metropolehotel.com; Métro De Brouckère; map. Dating from 1895, this grand five-star is one of Brussels’ finest hotels and boasts exquisite Art Nouveau decor in its public areas. Although some of the rooms beyond are comparatively routine, albeit very spacious, others retain their original fittings. €150

Motel One rue Royale 120 02 209 61 10, motel-one.com; Métro Park; map. Very popular budget design hotel a 10min walk northeast of Grand-Place. The minimalist white rooms have turquoise and chocolate-coloured furnishings and are comfortable enough for a few days. There’s an outdoor terrace and stylish bar, and the copious breakfast buffet is just €9.50. Probably the overall best-value hotel in the centre. €69

NH Grand Sablon rue Bodenbroek 2–4 02 518 11 00, nh-hotels.com; Métro Gare Centrale or Porte de Namur; map. A great location, and a bigger hotel than you might think from the outside, with nearly 200 rooms. It’s comfy and welcoming, with stylish, modern rooms. The café serves tapas and the restaurant, Hispania, specializes in avant-garde Spanish cuisine. €150

Noga rue du Béguinage 38 02 218 67 63, nogahotel.com; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Not the grandest of the city’s hotels, but this pleasant two-star offers 19 comfortable en-suite guest rooms, decorated in an old-fashioned country house-cum-cruise liner style. There’s a library for guests’ use, and a good breakfast buffet. €85

Le Quinze Grand-Place 15 02 511 09 56, hotel-le-quinze-grand-place.be; Métro Bourse; map. The only hotel to look out over the Grand-Place, this small, friendly establishment occupies an old guildhouse on the east side of the square. Formerly the Hôtel St Michel, the 15 rooms have been given a contemporary makeover with a Fifties feel. Breakfast is taken downstairs at the ’t Kelderke café. If you’re not a light sleeper (the revellers on the Grand-Place can make a real racket), treat yourself to one of the slightly more expensive rooms at the front. €119

St-Géry pl St-Géry 29–32 02 204 06 20, hotelstgery.com; Métro Bourse; map. Situated right on place St-Géry, so arguably enjoying one of the coolest locations in Brussels, this tall townhouse has 24 rooms, each done out with edgy, arty decor. They vary quite a lot in size and shape, and the ones at the front can inevitably be a bit noisy at weekends, but all are well furnished and sleek, and most have baths (sometimes in the room itself). There’s a restaurant and bar with live music on Fri and Sat. €68

La Vieille Lanterne rue des Grands Carmes 29 02 512 74 94, lavieillelanterne.be; Métro Bourse; map. This tiny, family-run one-star pension, tucked away above a souvenir shop overlooking the Manneken Pis, is perhaps the cheapest place to stay in the centre. It’s certainly nothing special, but its six boxy rooms are perfectly adequate, simply furnished and each comes with shower and TV. There’s free wi-fi throughout, and breakfast – included in the price – is brought up to your room. €95

OUTSIDE THE PETIT RING

Argus rue Capitaine Crespel 6 02 514 07 70, argus-hotel-brussels.com; Métro Louise; map. Although it’s not in the city centre, this hotel enjoys a good location nonetheless, just to the south of the boulevards of the petit ring. The 42 modest rooms can be a bit on the small side, but they’re cosy enough and the service is impeccable. A nice alternative to the gargantuan, expensive hotels that pepper this district. Breakfast included. €64

L’Art de la Fugue rue de Suède 38 0478 69 59 44, lartdelafugue.com; Métro Gare du Midi; map. At just a 2min walk from the Eurostar terminal, it’s a shame this fabulous B&B doesn’t have more rooms. Each of the three has its theme – “Laurence of Arabia” with an African flavour, “Indochina” with a collection of antique Buddhas, etc – and there’s plenty of space to relax and enjoy the books and art of the owners, as well as an excellent continental breakfast. Book ahead as it quickly fills up. €95

Leopold rue du Luxembourg 35 02 511 18 28, hotel-leopold.be; Métro Trône; map. If you’re staying in the EU quarter, it’s easy to get stuck beside a thundering boulevard, but this fairly smart, four-star hotel has a first-rate location on a quiet(ish) side street, a brief walk from place du Luxembourg. There are over 100 guest rooms, all kitted out in no-nonsense, modern style. €57

Made in Louise rue Veydt 40 02 537 40 33, madeinlouise.com; Métro Louise; map. Very nice family-run boutique hotel in an early twentieth-century townhouse in the Art Nouveau district, about a 10min walk southwest of place Louise. The high-ceilinged rooms are bright and airy; some have fireplaces. There’s a courtyard with a giant chess set and the bar, serving organic Belgian beers, has a pool table. Delicious homemade breakfast dishes are served in the conservatory. €75

Sgt Pepper’s B&B rue de Londres 19 02 512 32 69, sgtpeppersbnb.com; Métro Trône; map. The four large and airy en-suite rooms in this distinguished, nineteenth-century Ixelles townhouse just off rue du Trône are decorated in a clever amalgam of traditional and modern styles. Each room is different, named after a Beatle, with boutique-style touches such as freestanding baths and original art on the walls. €130

Steigenberger Wiltcher’s ave Louise 71 02 542 42 42, steigenberger.com; Métro Louise; map. Formerly the Conrad, this remains one of the capital’s top hotels and the choice of many a visiting VIP. Housed in an immaculate tower block, with all sorts of retro flourishes, it boasts 267 large and lavish rooms, comprehensive facilities and impeccable service. €163

Zoom rue de la Concorde 59 02 515 00 60, zoomhotel.be; Métro Louise; map. Hip boutique hotel in an old townhouse on a quiet side street near the top of avenue Louise. The 37 “industrial chic” rooms come in two sizes: opt for a larger one with a metal four-poster. Each has a photo of Brussels created by a local artist. There’s a good spread at breakfast, and the bar has more than fifty Belgian beers on the menu and, pleasingly, chocolates. €71

Hostels

Bruegel rue du Saint-Esprit 2 02 511 04 36, hihostels.com/hostels/brussels-bruegel; Métro Gare Centrale; map. This official HI hostel, which occupies a functional modern building in a good location by the church of Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, has recently been renovated and now boasts both dorms and private rooms with bunks. A basic breakfast is included. Dorms €20, doubles €57

Jacques Brel rue de la Sablonnière 30 02 218 01 87, www.hihostels.com/hostels/brussels-jacques-brel-youth-hostel; Métro Madou or Botanique;  map. This official HI hostel is modern and comfortable, with a hotel-like atmosphere. All the rooms have showers, and breakfast is included in the price. There’s no curfew and inexpensive meals can be bought at the café. Reservations advised. Dorms €29, doubles €62

Meininger Brussels City Center quai de Hainaut 33 02 588 14 74, meininger-hotels.com; Métro Comte de Flandre; map. Housed in a former brewery next to the canal a short walk west of fashionable rue Antoine Dansaert, this hip new hostel is an excellent budget option. There are 750 beds set over four floors in bright, contemporary dorms and rooms. The bar is a popular meeting place and there’s a games zone too. Dorms €19.95, doubles €52

Sleep Well rue du Damier 23 02 218 50 50, sleepwell.be; Métro Rogier; map. Bright and breezy hostel close to the city centre and only a 5min walk from place Rogier. Hotel-style facilities plus a kitchen, bike rental and free walking tours. The “Star” rooms have TVs and fridges and there are “Duplex” rooms for families. Dorms €25, doubles €69

Eating

Brussels can lay a decent claim to being one of Europe’s best dining destinations, whatever your taste, price range or preferred cuisine. It’s worth seeking out typically Bruxellois dishes, canny amalgamations of Walloon and Flemish ingredients and cooking styles, whether rabbit cooked in beer (usually Gueuze), poulet à la Bruxelles, fish or chicken waterzooi, or just plain saucisses à la stoemp. As for where to eat, as in the rest of Belgium the distinction between the city’s cafés, café-bars and restaurants is fairly elastic: there are particular concentrations of bars and restaurants on and around place Ste-Catherine and place St-Géry in the Lower Town, but really there are decent places to eat everywhere.

The Lower Town

Aksum Coffee House rue des Chapeliers 17 aksumcoffeehouse.com; Métro Gare Centrale; map. A short walk south of Grand Place, this little café is regarded as serving the best coffee in town: Ethiopian coffee made from single-origin beans, to be exact. Noted for its excellent cappuccinos, the café also serves herbal teas, baobab drinks, beer and wine from various African countries. The yummy cakes, though – try their famous passion-fruit tart – are made locally. Tues–Sun 10am–8pm.

Arcadi rue d’Arenberg 1B 02 511 33 43; Métro Gare Centrale; map. At the north end of the Galeries St-Hubert, this busy café’s long opening hours make it a perfect spot for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or a bite before the cinema. The menu offers lots of choices, but the salads, quiches and fruit tarts (around €5) are particularly delicious. Can get a little too crowded for comfort at lunch times. Tues, Wed & Sun 9am–10.30pm, Thurs & Fri until 11.30pm, Sat 7.30am–11.30pm.

Au Bon Bol rue Paul Devaux 9 02 513 16 88; Métro Bourse; map.You could walk right past this Chinese place and not notice it, but the vegetables are as fresh as they come and the noodles are made on the premises. It’s cheap too – huge bowls of noodle soup with beef, duck or seafood will set you back around €10. Not the place for a big night out though – your food is brought quickly and you’re not encouraged to linger. Mon–Fri noon–3pm & 6–11pm, Sat & Sun noon–11pm.

Bar Bik quai aux Pierres de Taille 3 02 219 75 00; Métro Rogier; map. This trendy Flemish restaurant, situated next to the Flemish-language theatre, is a bit of a culinary oasis in what is not a great neighbourhood, serving food that is rooted in Belgian styles and ingredients but with lots of international and contemporary twists. The menu changes regularly, and there are always lots of daily specials and veggie options, with starters from around €10 and main courses for €22 or so. Mon–Fri noon–2.30pm & 6–10pm.

Bij den Boer quai aux Briques 60 02 512 61 22, bijdenboer.com; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. This atmospheric, bistro-style place with tiled floors and old posters on the walls is the best of the fish and seafood restaurants that line the Quais. Main courses average €25–35, but their four-course menus are excellent value at €29.50. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6–10.30pm.

Brasserie de la Roue d’Or rue des Chapeliers 26 02 514 25 54; Métro Gare Centrale; map. Just south of the Grand-Place, this is an eminently appealing old brasserie, with wood panelling, stained glass and brass fittings. It serves generous portions of Belgian regional specialities, with main courses hovering around €20–25. Daily noon–midnight, but closed for one month in summer, usually July.

Café Novo pl de la Vieille Halle aux Blés 37 cafenovo.be; Métro Anneessens; map. Bright, quirky café with lots of original touches, from the menus in old books to the colourful selection of chairs both on the square out front and in the secluded back garden. Simple food – burgers, salads, fish and chips – is available at lunch time and in the evening, and there’s a wide selection of newspapers and books. Mon & Sun 10am–6pm, Tues–Sat 10am–10pm.

La Cantina rue du Jardin des Olives 13–15 02 513 42 76; Métro Anneessens; map. Brazilian warmth and exuberance at this colourful restaurant just west of the Grand-Place. The menu is short but awash with exotic ingredients, and naturally there are one or two cocktails to wash everything down. Buffet available at lunch times when you pay by weight, otherwise main courses around €15. Mon noon–3pm, Tues–Fri noon–3pm & 7–10.30pm, Sat 7–10.30pm.

Henri rue de Flandre 113–115 02 218 00 08, restohenri.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Belgo-French fusion with everything made on site, right down to the stock cubes. The menu changes regularly, dishes are always seasonal and the ingredients top-notch. There’s a lunch menu for €15, while the evening is à la carte – or rather from the blackboard – with mains (fish, steaks, croquettes, salads, mussels) for €16–20. Reservations recommended at all times. Tues–Fri noon–2.30pm & 6–10pm.

Houtsiplou pl Rouppe 9 02 511 38 16, houtsiplou.be; Métro Anneessens; map. This ode to Belgium features walls covered in cartoons depicting the country’s history in true Surrealist style. An equally colourful menu offers home-made burgers with a plant pot of chips, a few Belgian classics and generous delicious salads, plus a kids’ menu. Pasta dishes around €12; main courses €15–18. Mon–Fri noon–2pm & 6–10.30pm, Sat & Sun noon–3pm & 6–10.30pm.

Mirante Plattesteen 13 02 511 15 80; Métro Bourse; map. This small Italian serves the best pizza in the city, cooked in its wood-fired oven, along with all sorts of good and authentic Italian regional specialities. Always a few daily specials on offer. Pizzas from €9.50, pasta dishes from €10. Sept–July Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6–11.30pm.

Nuetnigenough rue de Lombard 25 02 513 78 84, nuetnigenough.be; Métro Bourse; map. You can’t book at this small, unpretentious restaurant, but it’s certainly worth a short wait – the Belgian food and beer are excellent and reasonably priced, and they tend to turn tables round quickly anyway. Lots of dishes are cooked in beer – including rabbit à la Kriek – and all come served with generous helpings of stoemp or fries and a salad for €14–20. Good beer list, too. Mon–Fri 5–10.30pm, Sat & Sun noon–10.30pm.

l’Ogenblik galerie des Princes 1 02 511 61 51, ogenblik.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. In the Galeries St-Hubert, this outstanding Franco-Belgian restaurant is kitted out in antique bistro style, right down to the ancient cash till, and serves a well-judged, wide-ranging menu that includes the basics – steak and chips with wild mushrooms, for instance – but also aims higher. Starters from around €20; main courses €25–36. Plat du jour €12. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6.30pm–midnight.

Ploegmans rue Haute 148 02 503 21 24, ploegmans.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. Situated right in the heart of the Marolles, this is one of Brussels’ most authentic old brasseries, with lots of traditional grub, including meatballs or carbonnades with fries, steaks and rognons de veau (veal kidneys) for €14–18, and lots of hearty starters too for €11 upwards. Tues–Sat noon–2pm & 6.15–10pm, Sun noon–2.30pm.

Le Pré Salé rue de Flandre 20 02 513 65 45, www.lepresale.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Agreeable and typically Bruxellois neighbourhood restaurant, just off place Ste-Catherine, providing an appealing alternative to the swankier places nearby. The plain cream tiled interior dates from the days it used to be a chip shop, but now the menu offers great mussels, fish dishes such as anguilles au vert (eels in a herb sauce) and other Belgian specialities; mains are €15–22. Always crowded, not a place for a quiet dinner. Mon–Fri noon–3pm & 6.30–10.30pm, Sat & Sun noon–10.30pm.

Soul rue de la Samaritaine 20 02 513 52 13, soulresto.com; Métro Gare Centrale; map. An evening at Soul, on the edge of the Marolles, is both a gastronomic delight and an education. The underpinning philosophy is that we are what we eat – but there’s nothing ascetic about the mainly organic food. Mains are €17–22, including lots of nice fish and the desserts are pretty yummy too – like dark chocolate mousse with seasonal fruits. Wed–Sat 7–10pm, Sun 7–9pm.

Vincent rue des Dominicains 8–10 02 511 26 07, restaurantvincent.com; Métro Bourse; map. This long-standing restaurant was a favourite with Jacques Brel and his cronies, who used to drink at the bar next door when it was called Chez Stans. The food is still good and you still have to walk through the kitchen to get to your table, which gives you a good view of the action. Belgo-French cuisine, with meat and seafood dishes that are a cut above what you’ll find on nearby rue des Bouchers; main dishes €19–35. Mon & Wed–Sun noon–3pm & 6.30–11pm.

Viva M’Boma rue de Flandre 17 02 512 15 93, vivamboma.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. The name means “long live grandma” in the Brussels dialect, and this – a former tripe shop with minimalist decor – is one of the best stops in the city for tasting local cuisine, especially offal, prepared in the traditional manner. The food is great, and as refined or as rustic as you like, with lots of traditional Belgian dishes for €24–30. Daily noon–2.30pm & 7–10.30pm.

Upper Town and the EU Quarter

Au Stekerlapatte rue des Prêtres 4 02 512 86 81, austekerlapatte.be; Métro Hôtel des Monnaies; map. This long-established brasserie, on a side street tucked away behind the Palais de Justice, serves Franco-Belgian cuisine in a bustling atmosphere – great carbonnades, stoemp, steaks and other classics. Mains €17–22. Tues–Thurs noon–2.30pm & 6–10.30pm, Fri noon–2.30pm & 6–11.30pm, Sat 6–11.30pm, Sun noon–3pm & 6–10pm.

Le Bier Circus rue de l’Enseignement 57 02 218 00 34, bier-circus.be; Métro Parc; map. One of a number of restaurants on this popular Upper Town street, this place naturally has a great choice of beers but also lots of dishes cooked in them, including spaghetti bolognaise made with Chimay. Belgian classics too: meatballs in tomato sauce, carbonnades flamandes, fish waterzooi, etc. Bank on €11–27 for a main course. Tues–Fri 11.30am–2.30pm & 6pm–midnight, Sat 6pm–midnight.

Café Bota rue Royale 236 02 219 20 65, cafebota.be; Métro Botanique; map. Part of the Botanique arts centre, this is perfect for a bite to eat before a concert, particularly if you sit out on the terrace overlooking the city’s skyscrapers, a very atmospheric spot at sunset. The food is basic, tasty, excellent-value Italian – the heaped antipasti plate is a winner, and there are good veggie options. Pasta dishes €11–12; saltimbocca alla Romana or escalope Milanese around €15. Daily noon–2.30pm, concert evenings 6.30–11pm.

L’Herbaudière pl de la Liberté 9 02 218 77 13; Métro Madou; map. Well-established Breton creperie in a lovely little square up near the Cirque Royale. Long list of tasty sweet or savoury fillings (from €8.50) for the pancakes, which are prepared on the restaurant counter. Omelettes and salads too. The prim-and-proper decor is a good fit for this low-key, family-run café. Mon–Fri 10am–7pm.

Kwint Mont des Arts 1 02 505 95 95, kwintbrussels.com; Métro Gare; map. This smart, airy restaurant at the top of the Mont des Arts steps has nice views over the Lower Town and a real buzz about it, particularly at lunch times when they do an excellent-value three-course lunch for €19 (plus sandwiches and salads for upwards of €14). In the evening it feels like a special place to eat, without being the least bit pretentious. Food is Belgian with a few contemporary and international twists, with steaks, fish, risottos and pasta dishes for €15–32. Mon–Fri noon–3pm & 6–11pm, Sat & Sun noon–11pm.

Maison Antoine 1 pl Jourdan 02 230 54 56, maisonantoine.be; Métro Schuman; map. Opened in 1948, this kiosk in a square to the south east of Parc Léopold serves what are generally regarded as the best fries in town (€3). To accompany, there are about thirty sauces and a wide range of snacks including meatballs, burgers and croquettes. Unfortunately there’s no seating so you’ll have to find a bench. Mon–Thurs & Sun 11.15am–12.30am, Fri & Sat 11.15am–1.30am.

Mer du Nord/Noordzee rue de Luxembourg 62–64 02 280 05 00, vishandelnoordzee.be; Métro Trone; map. Just off place du Luxembourg, within spitting distance of the EU Parliament, this “fishbar” is the EU Quarter love-child of the legendary stand-up seafood joint in Ste-Catherine. You still have to stand (at piles of fish crates) but the selection is slightly larger and there’s a bit more space – you can eat out on the street and also in the upstairs dining room. There are salads, sandwiches and all manner of fish and seafood goodies: succulent pieces of haddock, tuna, herring and tiny prawns, as sweet as you like. All come served with a big bowl of bread and salad, for just €5–13. Beer and wine too, if you want it. Tues–Sat 11am–6pm, Sun 11am–8pm.

Orphyse Chaussette rue Charles Hanssens 5 02 502 75 81; map. Chef and owner Philippe Renoux prides himself on original dishes with quality ingredients, and this cosy restaurant doesn’t disappoint. There’s always a non-meat dish available on the short, predominantly French menu too. The setting is candlelit and intimate, and the staff are willing to help you navigate your way around the extensive wine menu. Main dishes €23–32. Tues–Sat noon–1.30pm & 7–9.30pm.

Pistolet Original rue Breydel 46 02 280 48 88, pistolet-original.be; Métro Schuman; map. In Belgium a pistolet is a crisp-crust bread roll and this place specializes in, you guessed it, gourmet sandwiches (€3.90–9.50). The original bakery-café is at rue Joseph Stevens 24–26, just off Sablon, but this one has a very nice garden. Mon–Fri 10am–3.30pm.

The OUTER NEIGHBOURHOODS

Dolma chaussée d’Ixelles 329 02 649 89 81, dolma.be; Métro Flagey; map. This new-agey, veggie joint is popular with the locals for the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch (€19) and dinner (€24.50). It offers a different set of menus each day and, although it’s not the most refined vegetarian cuisine, it’s tasty and excellent value. Tues–Sat noon–2pm & 7–9.30pm.

La Quincaillerie rue du Page 45 02 533 98 33, quincaillerie.be; map. Mouthwatering Franco-Belgian cuisine in this delightful restaurant, one of the longest-established in the ultra-cool Châtelain area. Set in an imaginatively converted old hardware shop with splendid Art Nouveau flourishes, it serves great fish and seafood (particularly oysters) and fabulous steaks, duck and chicken. Their two-course “business lunch” menu is good value at €17.95, and there’s a three-course evening menu for €36; à la carte mains run €17–33. Reservations advised, especially on Wed when the local market is on. Mon–Sat noon–2pm & 7–11pm, Sun 7–10pm.

Sale, Pepe, Rosmarino rue Berckmans 98 02 538 90 63; Métro Hôtel des Monnaies; map. Authentic, delicious Italian cuisine, where even the excellent pizzas are outdone by the frequently superb pastas and meat dishes, which change regularly according to the creative influence of owners Aurelio and Antonio. Main dishes around €12. Reservations essential. Mon–Fri noon–3pm & 7pm–midnight, Sat 7pm–midnight.

Samouraï Ramen rue Capitaine Crespel 1 02 503 05 50, samourairamen.be; Métro Louise; map. Just off ave de la Toison d’Or, this small, contemporary Japanese restaurant, with a pleasant outside terrace, offers good-value ramen and gyozas. Set menu €16.50. Mon–Fri noon–2.30pm & 6.30–9.30pm, Sat noon–9.30pm.

Volle Gas pl Fernand Cocq 21 02 502 89 17, restaurant-volle-gas-bruxelles.be; Métro Port de Namur; map. This traditional, wood-panelled bar-brasserie serves classic Belgian cuisine in a friendly, family atmosphere. The Brussels specialities on offer include the delicious carbonnades de boeuf à la Gueuze, waterzooi and lapin à la Kriek, but there are also pastas and salads. Main dishes €13–25. Mon–Sat 11am–midnight.

Le Waterloo chaussée de Waterloo 217 02 539 28 04, lewaterloo.be; Métro Horta; map. Quintessential small neighbourhood restaurant with wooden benches and exhibitions by local artists. The three-course lunch (Mon–Fri) is excellent value at €12. On the à la carte menu you’ll find traditional dishes such as meatballs (€11), ham hock in mustard sauce (€13) and croquettes (from €5.50). Mon & Wed–Fri noon–3pm & 5.45–10.45pm, Sat & Sun noon–10.45pm.

clockwise from top left Toone puppet theatre ; FLEA MARKET, PLACE DU JEU DE BALLE ; MUSEUM OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ; FRANK PÉ MURAl

Drinking

Drinking in Brussels, as in the rest of the country, is a joy. The city boasts an enormous variety of bars: sumptuous Art Nouveau establishments, traditional joints with ceilings stained brown by a century’s smoke, speciality beer bars with literally hundreds of different varieties of ale and, of course, more modern hangouts. Many of the more distinctive bars are handily located within a few minutes’ walk of the Grand-Place and also in Ixelles, but really you’ll be spoilt for choice. Belgians make little – or no – distinction between their bars and cafés: both serve alcohol, many stay open late (until 1am or even 2am), and most sell food as well. What you won’t find (thank goodness) are lots of the coffee-house chains that beleaguer so many big cities.

The LOWER TOWN

À la Bécasse rue de Tabora 11 02 511 00 06, alabecasse.com; Métro Bourse; map. Just northwest of the Grand-Place, this old-fashioned, wood-panelled bar has long wooden benches and ancient blue-and-white wall tiles. Authentic lambic and Gueuze beer is served in earthenware jugs. Lots of snacks to go with your drink too. Mon–Thurs & Sun 11am–midnight, Fri & Sat 11am–1am.

Au Bon Vieux Temps rue du Marché aux Herbes 12 0475 56 52 84; Métro Bourse; map. Ancient little place tucked away down an alley near the Grand-Place. The building has all sorts of ancient bric-a-brac, including a stained-glass window which was originally in the local parish church. Popular with British servicemen just after the end of World War II, the bar still has old-fashioned signs advertising Mackenzie’s port and Bass pale ale. Mon–Fri 11am–midnight, Sat & Sun 11am–2am.

Brussels Beer Project rue Antoine Dansaert 188 02 502 28 56, beerproject.be; Métro Ste-Catherine;  map. Opened in 2013 in Brussels’ fashion district, this crowd-funded micro-brewery run by two young men aims to mix Belgian beer-making know-how with international influences. For example, their Babeleir de Bretagne oyster stout, made with oysters from Brittany, was influenced by similar brews from Ireland and New Zealand. There are four regular beers on tap and around twenty “pop ups”. Thurs–Sat 2–10pm.

Café Central rue Borgwal 14 lecafecentral.com; Métro Bourse; map. Cool bar just off place St-Géry, with DJs, concerts and film screenings packing the agenda (see the website for details). You sometimes have to battle at the bar for a drink, but there’s a great atmosphere and clientele. Daily 3pm–4am.

Café Le Fontainas rue Marché au Charbon 91 02 503 31 12; Métro Anneessens; map. Popular bar with a retro feel and a low-key gay affiliation. It’s one of the nicest on this busy stretch, with Vedett on draught and lots of tables outside – but don’t sit around waiting for a waiter as service is at the bar, which makes English folk feel very at home. DJs on Sun 4–8pm. Daily 11am–1am.

Chaff pl du Jeu de Balle 21, Marolles 02 502 58 48; Métro Gare du Midi; map. There’s no better place to take in the hustle and bustle of the city’s biggest and best flea market than at this amenable café-bar. Weekday evenings see the place become a hub for live music (Mon) and chess (Thurs), and you can also get good bistro food here. Daily 8.30am–midnight.

La Fleur en Papier Doré rue des Alexiens 53 02 511 16 59, goudblommekeinpapier.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. A cosy bar recently reopened by a group of enthusiasts keen to preserve this slice of Brussels heritage, La Fleur was one of the preferred watering holes of René Magritte, while novelist Hugo Claus apparently held his wedding reception here. Idiosyncratic antique decor and a good choice of beers, excellent house wine and classic Belgian food. Tues–Sat 11am–midnight, Sun 11am–7pm.

Le Greenwich rue des Chartreux 7; 02 540 88 78, greenwich-cafe.be; Métro Bourse; map. A short walk west of the Bourse, this is the city’s traditional chess café, with a lovely old wood-panelled, mirrored interior and, in the men’s, a fabulous antique ceramic urinal. Lots of hearty, reasonably priced Belgian food too. Daily noon–midnight.

À l’Imaige de Nostre-Dame impasse des Cadeaux, rue du Marché aux Herbes 6; Métro Bourse; map. A welcoming, very quirky little bar, decorated like an old Dutch kitchen and situated at the end of a long, narrow alley. Good range of speciality beers – including seven on tap. Mon–Thurs & Sun noon–midnight, Fri & Sat until 1am.

Moeder Lambic Fontainas pl Fontainas 8 02 503 60 68, moederlambic.com; Métro Anneessens; map. Beer enthusiasts Jean Hummler and Nassim Dessicy have given a new lease of life to this small square off blvd Anspach, opening a sister-bar to the original behind the St Gilles town hall. Forty beers on tap and trained staff to give guidance and recommendations are enough temptation – particularly as these are not your run-of-the-mill beers, with small Belgian brewers such as Dupont, Val-Dieu and Cantillon from across the way in Anderlecht all on offer. Mon–Thurs & Sun 11am–1am, Fri & Sat 11am–2am.

Monk rue Ste-Catherine 42 02 511 75 11, monk.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Named after the jazz musician Thelonious Monk, this big Ste-Catherine bar is probably the nicest place to drink in the area, with a few tables outside, and a large airy interior that attracts a young and largely Flemish-speaking crowd. Service is at the bar, and they serve lots of nice, thoroughly Belgian snacks – cheese, sausage, meatballs – as well as spaghetti dishes in the dining room at the back. Regular dancing and live jazz too. Mon–Thurs 11am–1am, Fri & Sat 11am–3am, Sun 1pm–1am.

À la Mort Subite rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères 7 02 513 13 18, alamortsubite.com; Métro Gare Centrale; map. Notorious 1920s bar that loaned its name to a popular bottled beer, occupying a long, narrow room with nicotine-stained walls, long tables and lots of mirrors. On a good night it’s inhabited by a dissolute arty clientele, but on others by large groups of teenage tourists. Snacks are served, or just order a plate of cheese cubes to accompany your beer. Mon–Sat 11am–1am, Sun noon–midnight.

Au Soleil rue Marché au Charbon 86 02 512 34 30; Métro Anneessens; map. A short walk west from the Grand-Place, this popular bar, formerly a men’s clothing shop, quenches the thirst of a young and arty Brussels clientele. Inexpensive bar snacks are on offer and there’s a pavement terrace where you can while away the day over a coffee or something stronger. Generally laidback, but it’s often difficult to get a seat come nightfall. Mon–Thurs & Sun 10am–1am, Fri & Sat 10am–2am.

Toone impasse Schuddeveld 6 02 513 54 86, www.toone.be; map. The bar of the famous Toone puppet theatre, squeezed down a tight alley that most people walk straight by, and the perfect city-centre venue to enjoy a quiet beer and some good chat with a cat curled up next to you, overlooked by the puppets on the wall. Tues–Sun noon–midnight.

Upper Town and eu quarter

The Beer Factory pl du Luxembourg 6 02 513 38 56, brasserie-beer-factory.be; Métro Trône; map. A recent addition to the bevy of bars on this appealing square, metres from the European Parliament, and the chosen haunt of Eurocrats for after-work hobnobbing. Impressive building, with the centrepiece bar made out of an old beer vat and, as the name suggests, there’s a good range of beers alongside some pretty decent food – stoemp-saucisses, carbonades, burgers and the like for €10–19. Mon–Fri noon–midnight.

Le Perroquet rue Watteeu 31 02 512 99 22; Métro Gare Central; map. Busy, semicircular café-bar occupying attractive Art Nouveau premises on a pleasant street corner. Imaginative range of stuffed pittas, salads and other tasty snacks – though you’ll find it difficult to get a seat on Fri or Sat night. Excellent beer menu. Daily noon–midnight.

Piola Libri rue Franklin 66–68 02 736 93 91, www.piolalibri.be; Métro Trône; map. Popular with EU workers, in particular the Italians, this Italian bookshop and bar is perfect for an aperitivo, with a selection of the tasty antipasti on the counter to go with your glass of wine or prosecco. Mon–Fri noon–8pm, Sat noon–6pm.

The OUTER NEIGHBOURHOODS

Brasserie Verschueren parvis de St-Gilles 11–13 02 539 40 68; Métro Parvis de St-Gilles; map. Art Deco neighbourhood bar with a laidback atmosphere and football league results on the wall – essential in the days before television. A good range of Belgian beers, and food too (meatballs, spaghetti, croques, etc). Mon–Fri 8am–2am, Sat & Sun 9am–2am.

Café Belga pl Flagey 18 02 640 35 08; Métro Flagey; map. This is a bar for any time of day: coffee and croissants on the terrace after the market, buffet lunches or an evening nibble before a film or concert at the cultural centre next door, and boozing into the early hours with the mixed crowd who flock here from all over the city. Daily 8am–2am.

Café Maison du Peuple parvis de St-Gilles 39 02 850 09 08, cafemdp.be; Métro Parvis de St-Gilles; map. Built in 1907 for the education and entertainment of the workers, the “People’s House” of St-Gilles is nowadays a spacious café hosting DJs and concerts, exhibiting local artists and providing a perfect spot for breakfast or lunch while visiting the market. Worth checking the website for what’s on. Mon–Thurs & Sun 8.30am–1am, Fri & Sat 8.30am–3am.

Moeder Lambic rue de Savoie 68 02 544 16 99, moederlambic.com; Métro Albert; map. This small and very popular bar, just behind the Hôtel de Ville in St-Gilles, has over a thousand beers available, including 500 or so Belgian varieties, mostly bottled. For a wider selection on draught, check out its sister bar in the Lower Town. Daily 4pm–3am.

La Porteuse d’Eau ave Jean Volders 48a 02 537 66 46, laporteusedeau.be; Métro Porte de Hal; map. Refurbished Art Nouveau café on the corner of rue Vanderschrick, near the Porte de Hal. The food isn’t up to much, but the beer menu is excellent and the ornate interior is well worth the price of a glass. Mon–Thurs & Sun 11am–11pm, Fri & Sat until midnight.

L’Ultime Atome rue St-Boniface 14 02 513 48 84, ultimeatome.be; Métro Porte de Namur; map. The large selection of beers and wines, simple but tasty food and late opening hours make this hip café-bar a hit with the fashionable Ixelles crowd on weekdays and weekends alike. Its location, on the appealing place St-Boniface, also makes it a great place to sit outside with a newspaper in the summer. Mon–Thurs 8am–12.30am, Fri 8am–1am, Sat 9am–1am, Sun 10am–12.30am.

Festivals in Brussels

As with most European capitals, there’s always something going on in Brussels, and the city hosts a vast number of cultural and arts events throughout the year. The city’s Gay Pride festival (pride.be) takes place in May and has attracted more than 100,000 people in recent years. The Rainbow House plays a big part in organizing proceedings. The Vendôme cinema hosts the city’s annual gay and lesbian film festival in February. Other film festivals include the Flagey Cinema’s Brussels Film Festival, focusing on European cinema, in the first two weeks of June (brff.be) and the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (bifff.net), dedicated to horror and science fiction, in April. Music festivals include the internationally acclaimed Jazz Marathon Weekend held every May (brusselsjazzmarathon.be); the biannual Ars Musica festival of contemporary classical music held in November (next one in 2018; arsmusica.be); and May’s prestigious Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth violin competition (cmireb.be).

Nightlife

The city has a decent nightlife scene, including a number of established clubs, but most of the action revolves around nights with moveable locations – pick up flyers in bars and clubs for the latest and best events. Brussels is also a good place to catch live music, with a couple of central, well-established venues and festivals, plus a strong jazz scene.

Clubs

Le Bazaar rue des Capucins 63, Marolles 02 511 26 00, bazaarbrussels.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map.Formerly a restaurant with music, this is now primarily a club, with two spaces for live music, DJs and dancing. €10. Fri & Sat 11pm–6am.

Havana rue de l’Epée 4, Marolles 02 502 12 24; Métro Gare Centrale; map. Off rue Haute, in the Marolles, just by the public lift, this Cuban-themed club is popular with a thirty-something expat crowd, who dance till dawn to the Latino tunes. Quite full on and not always friendly. Free. Thurs 7pm–2am, Fri 7pm–5am, Sat 7pm–5am.

Madame Moustache quai aux Bruler 5–7 0489 73 99 12, madamemoustache.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. Centrally located bar and club that hosts live bands early on – indie, grunge, garage, that sort of thing – and has regular themed evenings, from rock’n’roll to funk and soul. Entry €5, €7 after midnight. Tues–Sat 8pm–4am.

The Fuse rue Blaes 208, Marolles 02 511 97 89, fuse.be; Métro Gare du Midi; map. Widely recognized as the finest techno club in Belgium, this pulsating venue has played host to some of Europe’s top DJs. Three floors of techno, house and occasional hip-hop, as well as the usual chill-out rooms and visuals. Tickets normally €10 – more if there’s a big-name DJ. Sat 11pm–7am.

You rue du Duquesnoy 18 0477 75 07 50, leyou.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. A short walk southeast of the Grand-Place, You is one of the city’s most notorious (snooty) clubs, with an interior designed by Miguel Câncio Martins (the man behind the Buddha Bar in Paris) and famously choosy doormen. Set over two levels, with comfy couches in the bar-lounge. DJs play everything from funk and disco to electro and house. There are gay tea dances on Sun, too. Admission €10, including a drink; more for some theme nights. Fri & Sat 11.30pm–6am, Sun 10.30pm–5am.

Live music

AB (Ancienne Belgique) blvd Anspach 110 02 548 24 84, abconcerts.be; Métro Bourse; map. The capital’s leading rock venue; international, underground artists perform either in the main auditorium or the smaller space on the first floor. There’s usually a gig every night. Closed July until the last week of Aug.

L’Archiduc rue Antoine Dansaert 6 02 512 06 52, archiduc.net; Métro Bourse; map. Art Deco jazz bar with live sets on Mon and at the weekend, including a free concert every Sat and Sun afternoon (from 5pm). Great cocktails, too. Daily 4pm–5am.

Beursschouwburg rue Auguste Orts 20–28 02 550 03 50, beursschouwburg.be; Métro Bourse;  map. Occupying a handsomely restored building from 1885, this is a fine-arts venue that makes the most of its different spaces, from the cellar to the stairs, the theatre to the café. Features DJs of all genres, plus an eclectic live music programme catering for a wide range of tastes.

Botanique rue Royale 236 02 218 37 32, botanique.be; Métro Botanique; map. The Francophone cultural centre hosts exhibitions and regular live music – look out especially for Les Nuits Botanique in May to hear lots of new bands in a festival atmosphere. Usually closed for concerts during July & Aug.

Cirque Royal rue de l’Enseignement 81 02 218 20 15, cirque-royal.org; Métro Madou; map. Formerly an indoor circus, the Upper Town’s Cirque Royal works with the Botanique down below. The larger venue of the two, it is a regular on the roster of big-name rock, pop and jazz tours.

Flagey pl Sainte-Croix, Ixelles 02 641 10 20, flagey.be; Métro Flagey; map. Place Flagey’s wonderful Art Deco cultural centre hosts a regular roster of eclectic live music from world to orchestral to jazz. Always something interesting.

Forest National ave Victor Rousseau 208 070 345 345, forestnational.be; tram #32 from the city centre, #82 from Gare du Midi or #97 from Louise; get off at stop Zaman. This large arena is Brussels’ main venue for big-name international concerts, with space for around 11,000 people.

Magasin 4 ave du Port 51 02 223 34 74, magasin4.be; Métro Yser; map. In an old warehouse off blvd d’Anvers, this is a favourite venue for up-and-coming Belgian indie bands, as well as a smattering of punk, rap and hip-hop. Entrance is around €10. Gigs usually 8pm–5am.

Sounds rue de la Tulipe 28, Ixelles 02 512 92 50, soundsjazzclub.be; Métro Porte de Namur; map. Off place Fernand Cocq, this atmospheric café has showcased both local and internationally acclaimed jazz acts for over twenty years. Live music every night (from around 9.30pm), but the biggies usually appear Sat. Mon–Sat 8pm–4am.

Entertainment

The websites bruzz.be and agenda.brussels have comprehensive listings of concerts and events. Tickets for most concerts are available at Fnac in the City 2 shopping complex on rue Neuve, or from the venue websites listed below; last-minute tickets are available at reduced prices at Arsène50, in the VisitBrussels office at rue Royale 2–4, or from arsene50.be.

Theatre and opera

BOZAR rue Ravenstein 23 02 507 82 00, bozar.be; Métro Gare Centrale; map. August venue that presents an innovative programme of events including theatre, world music and themed cultural nights in its 2000-seater Art Deco concert hall, as well as several smaller auditoria. Hosts the internationally renowned Orchestre National de Belgique (nob.be).

La Monnaie pl de la Monnaie 02 229 12 11, lamonnaie.be; Métro De Brouckère; map. Belgium’s premier opera house consistently earns glowing reviews and is much lauded for its adventurous repertoire. It nurtures promising singers rather than casting the more established stars, is home to Brussels’ main dance venue, hosts classical concerts and chamber music recitals, and overall has a reputation for contemporary interpretations of classic operas and an eclectic repertoire (Maurice Béjart’s old company regularly performs here). Book well in advance.

Théâtre Royal de Toone Impasse Schuddeveld 6 02 511 71 37, toone.be; Métro Bourse or Gare Centrale; map. Puppet theatre with a long and distinguished pedigree offering one performance on Thurs and Fri at 8.30pm, and two on Sat at 4pm and 8.30pm, mostly in French but sometimes in the traditional Bruxellois dialect known as Brusselse Sproek or Marollien – a colourful, ribald brand of Flemish which is in danger of dying out. Entry €12 (no cards).

Cinema

In Brussels, the vast majority of films are shown in the original language and subtitled in French and/or Flemish (coded “VO”, version originale). The main exception is in a few of the multiscreen cinemas, where some films, especially kids’ movies, are likely to be dubbed into French (look out for “VF”, version française). Brussels has an excellent range of small cinemas and these consistently undercut prices at the multiscreens, though you are expected to tip the usher who checks your ticket – 50 cents will do. The city’s annual film festivals are highly recommended. Cinemas usually change their programmes on Wed.

Actors’ Studio petite rue des Bouchers 16 02 512 16 96, actorsstudio.cinenews.be; Métro Bourse or Gare Centrale; map. This small cinema is a good place to catch art-house or independent films. It’s cheaper than its more commercial rivals and has the added advantage that you can buy a beer or a coffee from outside and take it in with you.

Flagey Cinema pl Sainte-Croix, Ixelles 02 641 10 20, flagey.be; Métro Flagey; map. Part of place Flagey’s Art Deco cultural centre, this studio cinema showcases an impressive range of films, usually focusing on a particular genre or director, and is main host to the Brussels Film Festival in June.

Vendôme chaussée de Wavre 18, Ixelles 02 502 37 00, www.cinema-vendome.be; Métro Porte de Namur; map. Five-screen cinema that’s well known for its wide selection of art films as well as more mainstream flicks. Also hosts a number of film festivals dedicated to short films, plus Latin American, Korean and films made by women. They offer a multiple ticket – six films for €33.30 – which is pretty good value.

Football in brussels

Brussels has several soccer teams, of which Royal Sporting Club (RSC) Anderlecht (02 529 40 67, rsca.be) is by far the best known. They play in the Jupiler Pro League and their stadium is the Stade Constant Vanden Stock, at ave Théo Verbeeck 2, within comfortable walking distance of Métro St-Guidon. It has a capacity of 21,000 and tickets for home games cost a very reasonable €25–35, if you can get one – games are frequently sold out. Your best bet is to try at the stadium box office (Mon–Fri 9am–5.30pm, Sat 10am–noon) – you’ll need your passport – or various online sites such as viagogo.com.

LGBT

The focus of the city’s scene is the Rainbow House at rue Marché au Charbon 42 (02 503 59 90, rainbowhouse.be; Mon–Fri 10am–6pm), in the heart of Brussels’ gay area, where you can pick up all sorts of up-to-date information. They also help to organize the city’s Gay Pride festival.

Le Belgica rue Marché au Charbon 32 lebelgica.be; Métro Bourse; map. Arguably the capital’s most popular gay bar and pick-up joint. It’s a tad run-down, with Formica tables and dilapidated chairs that have seen better days, but if you’re out for a lively, friendly atmosphere, you could do a lot worse. Come at the weekend when the place is heaving – all are welcome, whether male, female, gay or straight – and be sure to slam back a few of the house speciality lemon-vodka “Belgica” shots. Thurs & Sun 8pm–3am, Fri & Sat 9pm–3am.

Le Boys Boudoir rue Marché au Charbon 25 0497 69 11 66; Métro De Brouckère; map. Lively bar noted for its good-looking young men and great atmosphere. The downsides are that it’s not cheap, it gets packed at weekends, and the doormen can be a bit spiky. Tues–Sat 9am–2am.

Chez Maman rue des Grands Carmes 7 chezmaman.be; Métro Anneessens; map. Not a lesbian place per se, but this tiny bar has achieved cult-like status for the transvestite cabaret of the proprietor, Maman, with crowds flocking in from all corners of Brussels to see him and his protégés strut up and down. Jam-packed every weekend. Occasional lesbian nights Thurs, otherwise Fri & Sat 11.30pm till dawn.

La Démence at The Fuse rue Blaes 208, Marolles 02 538 99 31, lademence.com; Métro Gare du Midi;  map. The city’s most popular gay party night, held monthly on two floors in The Fuse and playing cutting-edge techno. Bus-loads of guys from Amsterdam, Cologne and Paris muster here, making the crowd a bit difficult to pigeonhole – expect to find a hybrid mix of muscle men, transsexuals and out-and-out ravers. Check website for dates. Usually a couple of nights over one weekend a month.

La Réserve petite rue au Beurre 2A 02 511 66 06; Métro De Brouckère; map. This traditional café is the oldest gay bar in town, with a good selection of beers. The clientele is a mix of locals and tourists, young and old(er). Occasional parties and theme nights. Daily 3pm–midnight.

Shopping

Brussels has a supreme selection of small, independent shops, a good range of open-air markets and a number of charming galleries: covered shopping “streets” dating back to the nineteenth century. The main downtown shopping street, rue Neuve, is dominated by chain stores; the Galeries St-Hubert, near the Grand-Place, are much more distinctive, accommodating a smattering of upmarket shops and stores, while the nearby Galerie Agora peddles bargain-basement leather jackets, incense, jewellery and ethnic goods. Behind the Bourse, rue Antoine Dansaert caters for the young and fashionable, housing the stores of upcoming designers, and nearby streets like rue des Riches Claires and rue du Marché au Charbon are good for streetwear. Avenue Louise and around is home to the big international designers. More than anything else, however, Brussels is famous for three things: comic strips, chocolate and beer, and there are shops all over the city centre selling all three – place du Grand Sablon alone has at least half a dozen chocolate shops.

Books and comics

La Boutique Tintin rue de la Colline 13 02 514 51 52, boutique.tintin.com; Métro Gare Centrale; map. Tintinarama, from comics to all sorts of branded goods – postcards, stationery, figurines, T-shirts and sweaters. Geared up for the tourist trade, it’s located just off the Grand-Place. Mon noon–6pm, Tues–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pm.

Brüsel blvd Anspach 100 02 511 08 09, brusel.com; Métro Bourse; map. This well-known comic shop stocks more than eight thousand new issues and specializes in French underground editions – Association, Amok and Bill, to name but three. You’ll also find the complete works of Belgian comic-book artist Schuiten, most popularly known for his controversial comic Brüsel, which depicts the architectural destruction of a city (guess which one) in the 1960s. Mega Tintin collection and small English section too. Mon–Sat 10.30am–6.30pm, Sun noon–6.30pm.

Passa Porta rue Antoine Dansaert 46 02 502 94 60, passaporta.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. The manager of this book-lover’s haven practises his theory that you wouldn’t buy clothes without first trying them on – and the same goes for books – hence the readings and regular events in all languages here, with guest authors and an increasingly popular biennial literary festival (next one 2019). About ten percent of the total stock is in English. Mon–Sat 11am–7pm, Sun noon–6pm.

Slumberland rue des Sables 20 02 219 19 80, slumberlandbd.com; Métro Botanique; map. Based in the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, and worth a visit whether or not you’re visiting the museum, with one of the city’s best selections of comics and graphic novels. Tues–Sun 10am–6pm.

Sterling Books rue du Fossé aux Loups 23 02 223 62 23, www.sterlingbooks.be; Métro De Brouckère; map. The largest independent English-language bookshop in Belgium, with more than 40,000 UK and US titles, including a decent selection of magazines. There’s a children’s corner with a small play area too. Mon–Sat 10am–6.30pm.

Chocolates

Frederic Blondeel Chocolatier quai aux Briques 24 02 512 77 12, frederic-blondeel.be; Métro Ste-Catherine; map. This café-cum-shop from the renowned Flanders chocolatier is simply paradise for chocolate connoisseurs. All the chocolate is made on site, beautifully displayed and reasonably priced, while the café’s Madagascan chocolate and Tahitian vanilla ice cream in a chocolate-filled cone is heaven on earth. Mon–Fri & Sun noon–6.45pm, Sat 10.30am–6.45pm.

Galler rue au Beurre 44 02 502 02 66, galler.com; Métro Bourse; map. Galler is the chocolatier to the king – and therefore the holder of the Royal Warrant – but is still less well known than many of its rivals, and rarely seen outside Belgium, so a good choice for a special present. Excellent dark chocolate – an 80g bar costs €3. Daily 10am–10pm.

Pierre Marcolini rue des Minimes 1 02 514 12 06, marcolini.be; Métro Louise; map. Grand Sablon flagship store of the chocolatier considered by many to be the best in the world. Pierre Marcolini is a true master of his art – try his spice- and tea-filled chocolates to get the point. Classy service, beautiful packaging and a mouthwatering choice of chocolate cakes. On a winter weekend you can have a glass of wonderful hot chocolate at the shop’s small bar. Mon–Thurs 10am–7pm, Fri & Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–7pm.

Wittamer pl du Grand Sablon 6 02 512 37 42, wittamer.com; Métro Louise; map. Brussels’ most famous patisserie and chocolate shop, established in 1910 and still run by the Wittamer family, who sell gorgeous (if expensive) light pastries, cakes, mousses and chocolates. They also serve speciality teas and coffees in their tearoom along the street at no. 12. Mon 9am–6pm, Tues–Sat 7am–7pm, Sun 7am–6pm.

Food and drink

Beer Mania chaussée de Wavre 174–176, Ixelles 02 512 17 88, beermania.be; Métro Trone; map. A drinker’s heaven, this shop stocks more than 400 different types of beer, and you can even buy the correct glass to match your favourite. It’s one of the few places where you can get hold of the elusive Trappist beer from Westvleteren (€12 per bottle), usually only for sale at the abbey gates, and there’s a small bar, where you can taste before you buy. The owner’s own brew, Mea Culpa, includes ten different herbs and is served in an impressive Bohemian glass. Mon–Sat 11am–9pm.

Dandoy rue au Beurre 31 02 540 27 02, maisondandoy.com; Métro Bourse; map. Biscuits have been made at this famous shop just off the Grand-Place since 1858, so it’s no surprise they have it down to a fine art. The main speciality is known locally as “speculoos”, a kind of hard gingerbread which comes in every size and shape imaginable – the largest are the size of a small child and cost as much as €50. Mon–Sat 9.30am–10pm, Sun 10.30am–10pm.

La Maison du Miel rue du Midi 121 02 512 32 50, lamaisondumiel.be; Métro Bourse; map. As the name suggests, this tiny, family-run shop is stacked high with jar upon jar of honey and its multifarious by-products, from soap to candles, plus a number of curious honeypots and receptacles. Mon–Sat 9.30am–6pm.

La Maison du Thé Plattesteen 11 02 512 32 26; Métro Bourse; map. A shop dedicated to the good old cuppa, but a far cry from the average English brew. Floor-to-ceiling tins harbour a vast range of teas to smell, taste and buy. Lots of tea-related paraphernalia too. Tues–Sat 11am–7pm.

Markets

Ateliers des Tanneurs rue de Tanneurs 60, Marolles; Métro Gare du Midi; map. Indoor organic food market in a good-looking Art Nouveau building on the west side of the Marolles quarter. Good prices for high-quality products, mostly from local producers, plus a café that serves an excellent brunch buffet on Sun (11am–3pm). Tues–Fri 11.30am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm.

Gare du Midi Métro Gare du Midi; map. One of Brussels’ largest and most colourful food markets is held here outside the main station every Sun, with traders crammed under the railway bridge and spilling out into the surrounding streets. Among the vegetables and cheap clothes, numerous stands sell pitta, olives, North African raï music cassettes, spices and herbs. There’s a first-rate flower and plant section too. Sun 8am–2pm.

Place du Grand Sablon Métro Louise; map. The swankiest antiques and collectables market in town, and plenty of pricey antique shops in the surrounding streets too. Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9am–2pm.

Place du Jeu de Balle Marolles; Métro Gare du Midi;  map. This sprawling flea market opens up every morning, but it’s at its biggest and best on the weekend, when an eccentric muddle of colonial spoils, quirky odds and ends, and domestic and ecclesiastical bric-a-brac give an impression of a century’s fads and fashions. Daily 7am–2pm.