Belgium Travel Guide:

Best Places to Visit in Brussels

     Best Places to Visit                            

• The shopping is out of this world.  You will find a fantastic selection of high quality, stylish clothes - waiting to go home with you.

• The museum are of good quality.  Most are locally oriented, but with some pleasant surprises.

• Travel writers generally hope not to reveal too much of their own interests in their articles, but we must confess a love of chocolate and Brussels is a paradise for chocolate lovers.  We cover the best "chocolatiers" in town in the article that follows. And if you would like  to prove us wrong, well, you will just have to sample each shop to make sure - isn't that a wonderful way to argue?

Use our map to find the locations of our recommended Best Places to Visit in Brussels.  At the end of the list of attractions on the map, we show you the locations of the city's best chocolate shops and Brussels' three, main train stations.

 

If you have decided to travel to Belgium, read the information you need to know about driving, health care, and more in our section: Belgium Travel Information

If you are interested in finding out more about Belgium, its people, history, economy and geography,  visit our section:     Belgium Country Facts

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The tourist center of Brussels is the Grand Place (Grote Markt), one of the most beautiful town squares in Europe. 

• Ornate buildings of incredible beauty surround the Grand Place, a  large square  in the center of Brussels. The impressive Hotel de Ville (1) is crowned with a statue of St. Michael.  Although attractive during the day time, the Hotel de Ville is simply stunning when illuminated (starts at dusk).

• Across the square from the City Hall is the equally impressive Maison du Roi (2)  or King's House as it is called, although it was never occupied by a king.  Locally, the building is known as the Broodhuis or Bread House.  In the past, a building once located here  was used by bakers to sell their goods.  Today the Maison du Roi houses a museum  focused on the history of Brussels. The rest of the square is composed of well preserved, ostentatiously decorated, guild houses (3) (4).

• Other than taking a quick look at the buildings, and touring the museum (overpriced and underwhelming), there is little else to see at the Grand Place but it is a good place for a drink and, perhaps, a snack.  Also, this square is "the" meeting place in Brussels, so it is busy day and night.. 

• The  avenues that lead to the Grand Place are  filled with touristy shops offering chocolate (5), lace, ceramics, antiques, and high quality, unique Christmas decorations .

  • It is fairly hard to navigate directly towards or away from the square, as your traveling partners will likely zig-zag from one shop to the next.  Take your time, these narrow lanes are made for wandering (and shopping).

• If your schedule is flexible, try to revisit the Grand Place at night to see the buildings illuminated.  If you thought the square was beautiful during the day, you will astounded by the magnificence of  its appearance at night.

  A couple of blocks to the south of the Grand Place is the famous statue Manneken-Pis (6), a small, black marble statue of a young boy, who can  best be described as "... taking a pee".  

• The Manneken-Pis is world-famous and an enduring icon of Brussels.  The small statue stands in a modest grotto on the corner of an otherwise unremarkable street. Perhaps the attraction is that the statue is said to represent the mischievous side of the citizens of Brussels. 

  • During holidays and on special occasions, the statue is  dressed in seasonal garb - yes, from time to time the  Manneken-Pis wears clothes! In fact the Manneken-Pis has hundreds of outfits, many contributed by cities around the world, whose citizens hope that their outfit will be chosen to be modeled during one of the city's many festivals.

  • The statue has been stolen several times, once by French soldiers, but always has made it back home . 

  • Although there is much lore about the statue, you can hear most visitors ask, “Why is this statue so popular?”

To the east of the Grand Place are the Galleries Saint-Hubert, a  historic, indoor shopping arcade that spans two blocks filled with upscale shops with attractive merchandise. 

• If you enter this arcade, you will probably drop some change as the goods are a cut above and very enticing. You may find the chocolate shop irresistible.

• Next to the Galleries Saint Hubert, you will find the Rue des Bouchers filled with restaurants of every imaginable type (although seafood abounds) at prices only tourists would pay.

• Across from Saint Hubert is the Place Agora Plein that features a crafts market on weekends.  The market is not large, but it is filled with a number of treasures that will surely appeal to the folks back home.

Following the Rue de Madeline towards the Royal Palace, you will encounter the Place de Albertine /Place de Musee/ Mont des Arts areas. 

• Keep walking until your reach the  wonderful sculpture garden that often features interesting exhibitions (7).

• On the east side of Mont des Arts you will find a whimsical clock (8) built into a portion of a building spanning the adjacent street.

  • The clock is beautiful and the figures in its alcoves slowly animate.  Its chimes have a great sound (even though the bells do not move)!.

  Heading up the steps to the Museum Plein you will soon find yourself at the Musèe des Instruments de Musique, the Musèe Royaux des Beaux Arts-de Beligique, the Musée Magritte Museum, the Palais des Beaux-Arts,  and, then, the Royal Palace and Royal Square. 

• The museums contain interesting collections and deserve brief explorations.   If you are interested in music, then the Music Museum is a must-see.  Also, there is a great view of the city from the top floor of the building. 
  • In addition, as of 2009, the Museum Plein now includes a museum dedicated to the work of the surrealist artist Magritte.  If you admire Magritte's, the Musée Magritte is the richest collection of his works in the world.
• At Konigsstraat 2-4 rue Royale, you will find BIP (Brussels Info Place) that is the official visitor centre of the Brussels Capital Region. Complete with an information desk, you can also: book tickets for concerts or shows in Brussels, purchase books, maps and post cards about brussels, and see an interactive exhibition on Brussels and the Capital Region.  See the BIP website  for more details.
• The Palace and the Palace Square (Koningsplein) are interesting but not compelling.

• To the left you will find the Parc de Bruxelles (lots of greenery and quiet, but not much to see).

• Follow the Rue de la Régence to Rue Boden and proceed down the hill to  the Grand Sablon and its collection of interesting shops and signature restaurants.

  • The Grand Sablon is full of antique shops and high-end art galleries.  The square has an interesting flea market for antiques on most weekends. The Grand Sablon is delight and a great place to spend an hour or two eating and browsing.

  • If you like desserts, stop at the first Wittamer's you encounter, or if you like chocolates (well, expensive chocolates) follow down the street to the Wittamer chocolate shop.  Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier, on the opposite side of the street is also well worth a visit.

  • Notre Dame du Sablon, a beautiful church, stands next to the square.  Tour to see its stained glass windows and interesting interior.

• Follow on down the hill to see one of Brussels older churches (Eglise de la Chapelle).

 More Chocolate in Brussels

• The topic of chocolate and "the best chocolate" is a common one in Brussels.   Wittamer, Marcolini (mentioned above) and Mary's are three of the well-established  Belgian chocolate specialists. You cannot go wrong buying chocolates at any of these shops and we think you will find their products superior to other shops in Brussels and, perhaps, anywhere! 

  • Their locations are as follows:

    • Wittamer's  -6/12/13 Place du Grand Sablon

    • Marcolini's - Rue des Minimes 1 (at  the Grand Sablon)

    • Mary's - Rue Royal 73

   

• A new chocolatier in Brussels has attracted critical acclaim for the quality of its chocolates.  Passion Chocolat (www.passionchocolat.be) can be found at Rue Père E. Devroye, 197 (1150 Bruxelles), an out of the way, residential area. It is worth the hunt!  The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to six  In addition, Passion has opened a new shop on the Grand Sablon (located in the NH Hotel).  The shop is open from Monday through Friday from 10 to 6 and an hour later on Saturday.
• Finally, if you are not satisfied with eating chocolate and want to know more about its history, consider visiting the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate, a three story townhouse devoted to describing everything there is to know about chocolate.
  •  It is located on Rue de lat Tête d'Or, near the southwest corner of the Grand Place.  Visit its web site for more information.  

If you need information about another travel destination, try our Destination Guide Index or Googling the web.

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