Why go à BRUXELLES - BRUSSEL?
The good reasons to go à BRUXELLES - BRUSSEL
Brussels, close to home
Brussels is the closest capital to Paris. And yet not at all French!
Numerous quality museums
Fine arts, natural sciences or dedicated to Magritte: museums of international interest!
Brussels, the European
Capital of over 450 million Europeans and seat of its institutions: 186 nationalities.
Capital of the comic strip
Tintin lived in Brussels. Routes and a museum set Belgian comics to music.
Art Nouveau around every corner
An artistic movement close to nature, Art Nouveau exploded between 1890 and 1910.
Shopping at reasonable prices
Ideal for varied and original shopping, vintage or designer clothes and decoration.
Beers, chocolates, speculoos
2,500 beers and over 755 chocolatiers in the Plat Pays. We've also added speculoos.
Europe's largest pedestrian mall
Spanning 50 hectares, Brussels boasts the largest pedestrian area in Europe.
China paradise
Flea market, antiques: from the Sablon to the Marolles. The old market is a Sunday must.
The greenest city in Europe
With more than 8,000 hectares of forests, woods, parks and gardens, it's a great place to go green!
Good to know when visiting BRUXELLES - BRUSSEL
Timetable
Museums close early in Brussels, at 6pm at the latest for the most important ones. The same applies to most tourist attractions and sites. If there is one, the weekly closing day is usually Monday, as in France.
To be booked
Reservations are not required for all museums, but are strongly recommended. Reservations are often required for visits to Art Nouveau mansions (Musée Horta, Maison Hanon...), and for some visits to European institutions (such as the Parliament Hemicycle), you'll need to bring your ID. Find out more beforehand.
Budget & Tips
Museums are quite expensive in Belgium, on a par with French prices. Public museums are free and open on the first Sunday of the month, as in France. For more information: https: //www.visit.brussels/fr/visiteurs/que-faire/bruxelles-a-petit-budget/musees-bruxellois-gratuits-les-1ers-dimanches-du-mois
Main events
There are plenty of not-to-be-missed events in Brussels, especially from spring onwards; but if we had to pick just a few, we'd mention Bright Brussels in mid-February, with its trail of dozens of light installations; Banad, an Art Nouveau-Art Deco festival that lasts all March and opens the doors of exceptional places that are usually closed; the Fête de l'Iris (Brussels-Capital Region festival) and the Fête de l'Europe in May; the Ommegang, a show recreating Charles V's "joyful entry" into Brussels (June-July); the iconic Tapis de fleurs with its thousands of begonias laid out on the Grand-Place (every even-numbered year in August); the Week-end de la bière, again on the Grand-Place, in September; also in September, the Comic Book Festival; in October, Museum Night Fever to rediscover museums in a festive atmosphere; and the year comes to a close with Winter Pleasures, much more than a Christmas market, which lights up the long evenings of December.
Guided tours
Visit Brussels offers paid guided tours on various themes. Most museums also offer a guided alternative, usually for groups. Brussels has a network of greeters who are willing to take you around the city at your leisure. Info on https://www.visit.brussels/fr/visitors
Smokers
Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas (museums, restaurants, cafes...). Some closed places (like the airport) may have a dedicated smoking area.
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Discover BRUXELLES - BRUSSEL
The capital of Belgium, but also of Europe, is inevitably cosmopolitan and polyglot. A city that's always lively and welcoming. It's a patchwork of cultures that coexist in all their diversity, with French and Flemish speakers in almost equal measure, and English spoken in its offices. The city is also the capital of the zwanze, a relentless, unpretentious sense of humor that is uniquely its own. The extent of its former suburbs, born with the 19th century, has created urban cores outside the historic center, which we detail in dedicated chapters in this guide. With over 125 museums and monuments to visit, the city abounds in cultural and historical attractions, restaurants, bars and cafés. But Brussels is also a truly green capital, with numerous parks. What's more, it organizes a host of festivals that are well worth discovering.
