Brussels City Guide

Brussels Sights

Glowing with history, all of Brussels is a Grand Place.

Get lost in a dense circuit of cobblestone alleys before emerging suddenly into the magnificence of the Grand Place with its baroque guildhalls, splendid Gothic town hall and ringside gaggle of pavement cafes and intimate restaurants. Then see what else the backstreets of Brussels have to offer.

Brussels Nightlife

Monastic brews are the honey in the rock.

Low ceilings, crackling fires and a glass of golden homebrew will help you settle in for a long, cosy evening. Sumptuous Art Nouveau grand cafes are generously stylish, while chic bistros in Ste Catherine are where the beautiful people come to smoke and gossip on their way to the after-midnight clubs.

Shopping Brussels

Hallowed arcades of designer chocolates and gourmet fashion.

There's no shortage of places to buy local goods. Designer clothing by a Belgian label makes a luxurious souvenir. Comics - Tintin, anyone? - are popular throughout Brussels and the city has several shops specialising in comic books and prints.

Hôtel de Ville

Significant house, Architectural highlight

The splendid Gothic-style Hôtel de Ville was the only building on Grand Place to escape the 1695 French bombardment - ironic, considering it was the target. It's a superb structure, with a creamy façade covered with stone reliefs of nobility and gargoyles, and an intricate 96m-high tower topped by a gilded statue of St Michel, the city's patron saint.

Musée d'Art Ancien

Art gallery

To view the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts chronologically, start with the Musée d'Art Ancien. Begin with the Flemish Primitives, including works by Rogier Van der Weyden, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling and Gerard David. Move onto Quinten Matsijs, whose paintings demonstrate a turning point in Flemish art as traditional realistic scenes were superseded by the more flamboyant Renaissance style imported from Italy.

Musée Royale de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire

Museum, War-related

One for military buffs, this museum houses an extensive array of weaponry, uniforms, vehicles, warships and documentation dating from the Middle Ages through to Belgian independence and the mid-20th century. There's a panoramic view of the park's triumphal arch (built in 1880), the Arcade du Cinquantenaire, from the top floor.