Discover Brussels

Places to visit in Brussels

Discover local landmarks and their stories. Open a place guide to plan your visit, or explore the city with a self-guided quest.

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Brussels

Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis is a tiny bronze statue of a naked boy urinating into a fountain basin, and it is, improbably, one of the most famous landmarks in Belgium. Standing just 55.5 centimetres tall at the corner of Rue de l'Etuve…

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Brussels

Tintin Mural

The Tintin Mural is one of the most famous pieces of street art in Brussels and part of the city's celebrated Comic Book Route, a trail of over 80 painted murals scattered across 19 districts. The mural features Tintin,…

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Brussels

Théâtre Royal des Galeries

The Theatre Royal des Galeries opened in 1847 inside the newly built Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries, designed by the same architect, Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar. King Leopold I attended the inauguration, setting the tone for a …

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Brussels

Zinneke Pis

Brussels loves its peeing statues. First came Manneken Pis in 1619, then Jeanneke Pis in 1987, and finally, in 1999, artist Tom Frantzen completed the irreverent trio with Zinneke Pis: a bronze dog relieving himself agai…

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Brussels

Grand-Place

The Grand-Place is one of the most magnificent squares in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Measuring 68 by 110 meters, it is surrounded by opulent Baroque guildhalls, the soaring Gothic Town Hall, and …

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Brussels

Belgian Brewers Museum

Sitting right on the Grand-Place, the Belgian Brewers Museum occupies a spectacular Baroque building that was rebuilt after the 1695 French bombardment. For centuries, this was the actual headquarters of the Guild of Bre…

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Brussels

Carillon of the Mont des Arts

Hidden in an arcade on the Mont des Arts, the Brussels carillon is a delightful piece of musical engineering that most tourists walk right past. Created for the 1958 World Expo (Expo 58), it features 24 bells produced by…

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Brussels

Black Tower

The Black Tower is one of the best-preserved remnants of Brussels' first fortifications, built in the early 13th century as part of a four-kilometer defensive wall that once encircled the growing city. It served as a gua…

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Brussels

Saint Catherine Church

Saint Catherine Church has had a turbulent life, nearly disappearing entirely on more than one occasion. The original 15th-century church served Brussels' fish market, providing spiritual refuge for the merchants and fis…

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Brussels

Coudenberg

Beneath the elegant Place Royale lies one of Brussels' best-kept secrets: the ruins of the Palace of Coudenberg, a royal residence that served counts, dukes, archdukes, kings, emperors, and governors from the 12th to the…

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Brussels

Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon

The Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon is one of just three surviving Gothic churches in central Brussels, and its origins trace back to a crossbow. In 1304, the Guild of the Crossbowmen built a modest chapel …

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Brussels

Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert

The Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries are Europe's first glazed shopping arcade, predating Milan's famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II by two decades. Designed by Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar and opened between 1846 and 1847, the …

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Brussels

Maison du Roi

Despite its name, no king has ever lived in the Maison du Roi (King's House). The building's Dutch name, Broodhuis (Bread House), is more honest, referring to its 13th-century origins as a bread market on the Grand-Place…

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Brussels

Hôtel de Ville

The Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) is the only surviving medieval building on the Grand-Place and one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic civil architecture in Europe. Construction began in 1401, with the east wing p…

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Brussels

Saint Nicholas Church

Saint Nicholas Church has been hiding in plain sight since around 1125, making it one of Brussels' first four churches. Named after the patron saint of traders (the market was right next door), it was a natural spiritual…

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