Brussels (Bruxelles in French, Brussel in Dutch — the bilingual capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union) is one of the most misunderstood cities in Europe: its reputation as the boring bureaucratic center of European institutions obscures a city of extraordinary richness — the Grand-Place (the main square, voted the most beautiful square in Europe consistently — Victor Hugo called it "the most beautiful theatre in the world"), Art Nouveau architecture (Brussels is the birthplace of Art Nouveau: Victor Horta designed the first Art Nouveau building in the world (the Hôtel Tassel, 1893) in Brussels, and the city contains the most Art Nouveau buildings in the world), Belgian chocolatiers (Neuhaus (invented the praline in 1912), Leonidas, Godiva and Pierre Marcolini — Belgium produces the most technically sophisticated chocolate in the world), Belgian beer (Belgium has more distinct beer styles than any country in the world: Trappist ales (brewed by monks in seven monasteries), Lambic (the spontaneously fermented wheat beer of the Payottenland west of Brussels, aged in oak barrels), Gueuze (the blend of young and old Lambic), and Witbier (the unfiltered Belgian wheat beer)), and Belgian frites (the deep-fried potato strips, invented in Belgium in the 17th century, served in a paper cone (cornet) with mayonnaise (not ketchup) and sold from the friture (the frites van) at street corners).
The Grand-Place (the central square of Brussels — the most magnificent Gothic and Baroque square in Europe: the Hotel de Ville (City Hall, 1402–1455 — the Gothic spire 96m high, slightly off-center because the left wing was added after the right, preserving the earlier building below the belfry) flanked by the Maison du Roi (the King's House, 1873 reconstruction, now the Museum of the City of Brussels) and the guild houses (the trade guilds' headquarters built in Baroque style after French forces under Louis XIV bombarded the square in 1695 (the two-day bombardment of August 13–14, 1695 was one of the first deliberate terrorist bombings of a civilian city in history), burning 4,000 houses. The guilds rebuilt their headquarters in Baroque stone in the four years after the bombardment, giving the square its current extraordinary appearance.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePierre Marcolini (the Grand Sablon quarter — the finest Belgian chocolatier, the only major Belgian chocolatier who sources and roasts his own cacao beans (the "bean-to-bar" approach in Belgium): the flagship shop on the Place du Grand Sablon. The Belgian praline (invented by Neuhaus in 1912: a hard chocolate shell with a soft or creamy center — the technical term for what is commonly called a "Belgian chocolate"). The Brussels chocolate experience: the fresh ganache truffle (not rolled in cocoa powder — a fresh ganache formed into a dome and dipped in tempered dark chocolate), the Marcolini single-origin bars (Madagascar, Venezuela, São Tomé), and the signature heart-shaped écorces.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideChez Léon (18 Rue des Bouchers — the most famous moules-frites restaurant in Brussels, opened 1893 by Léon Vanlancker: the Belgian national dish (moules-frites: steamed mussels in a pot with white wine, shallots, celery, butter and parsley (the "marinière" preparation — the simplest and most classic), accompanied by Belgian frites (the double-fried potato strips: blanched first at 160°C, then fried at 180°C to create the distinctive crisp exterior and soft center, served in a cornet with the authentic Belgian dip — mayonnaise, never ketchup)). Chez Léon uses exclusively Zeeland mussels (the Dutch province whose cold tidal waters produce the finest mussels in the world, available September–March).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMusée Magritte (Place Royale — the museum dedicated to René Magritte (1898–1967), the Belgian Surrealist painter: the largest collection of his work in the world (230 paintings, drawings, sculptures, paintings on glass, film footage and personal archive). The paintings: "The Son of Man" (the man with the bowler hat and the apple covering his face — the most widely reproduced Surrealist image), "The Treachery of Images" ("Ceci n'est pas une pipe" — this is not a pipe: the painting of a pipe captioned to say it is not a pipe, the most famous statement in modern philosophy of representation), "The Menaced Assassin," and the entire series of bowler-hatted men (the hommes en chapeau melon that became Magritte's signature figure).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideDelirium Café (Impasse de la Fidélité, off the Rue des Bouchers — the Guinness World Record holder for the most beers available in a single establishment (3,000+ beers from 60+ countries): the bar is specifically Belgian in its focus, with the full range of Belgian styles — the six authentic Trappist ales (Westvleteren 12 — the rarest beer in Belgium, brewed by the monks of Sint-Sixtusabdij in West Flanders in limited quantities and officially "not for sale" but available here by the glass), the spontaneously fermented Lambic beers (Cantillon Gueuze — the Brussels-brewed sour wheat beer that is the most distinctive Belgian style), the Witbier (Hoegaarden) and the strong Belgian ales (Duvel, Chimay Blue).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMusée Horta (Rue Américaine 25, Saint-Gilles — the home and studio of Victor Horta (1861–1947), the Brussels architect who designed the first Art Nouveau building in the world (the Hôtel Tassel, 1893) and the Horta House (his own home, 1898–1901: the definitive statement of Art Nouveau, where the architectural structure itself becomes the ornament — the exposed iron columns in the stairwell that curve into decorative branches (the "whiplash curve" — the characteristic S-curve of Art Nouveau derived from the natural forms of plant tendrils, seaweed and vines), the stained glass skylights, the mosaic floors and the gilded brass door handles all designed as a unified whole). UNESCO World Heritage.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Atomium (Laeken, 8km north of the city center — the 102m structure representing an iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times (the nine spheres represent the atoms of the body-centered cubic crystal unit cell of iron), built for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58): the six connected spheres (one is the observation sphere at 92m, with the finest panoramic view of Brussels), the exhibition inside each sphere, and the design of the tubes connecting the spheres (which contain escalators and stairs). The most recognizable and bizarre monument in Belgium — originally intended to be demolished after the World's Fair like the Eiffel Tower, retained due to public affection.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMini-Europe (Bruparck, beside the Atomium — the outdoor scale model park featuring 350 monuments and buildings from all EU member states at 1:25 scale (Big Ben 3m tall, the Eiffel Tower 13m, the Acropolis reconstructed in its 5th-century BC form): the park opened in 1989 and was specifically designed to reinforce the idea of European unity at the height of the European Community integration. A kitschy but strangely moving experience — the Vesuivus model actually erupts, the channel tunnel train runs, and the Brandenburg Gate stands at the center.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideWaterzooi (the Flemish stew from Ghent — originally a fish stew (the original "waterzooi de poisson" used the fish from the rivers of Ghent), later adapted to chicken (waterzooi de poulet: the chicken braised in a cream-enriched vegetable broth (the broth of carrot, celery, leek, onion and potato), finished with cream and egg yolk to a velvety consistency, one of the great expressions of Flemish comfort cooking). In Brussels, the best waterzooi is served at the Ixelles restaurants. With a Belgian frites (always served separately on the side, in their own receptacle) and a glass of the Flemish brown ale.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBelgian Comic Strip Centre (Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée — Rue des Sables 20: the museum of the Belgian comic strip (bande dessinée) tradition housed in the Waucquez department store (Victor Horta, 1906 — an Art Nouveau building converted into a comic strip museum): Belgium is disproportionately significant in the history of the comic strip — Hergé (Georges Remi) created Tintin (1929, the adventurous Belgian reporter and his dog Snowy, 24 albums translated into 70 languages), Peyo created The Smurfs (1958 — the blue mushroom-house dwellers), and Edgar P. Jacobs created Blake and Mortimer. The museum traces the full history of the Belgian bande dessinée tradition.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePlace du Grand Sablon (the antique market (weekends 9am–6pm) on the square that is the center of Brussels's antique and art dealer district (50+ antique shops in the streets surrounding the Sablon): the best place in Belgium to find Art Nouveau objects (the Horta-era furniture, the Tiffany-style glass, the WMF silver-plate tableware), old Belgian cinema posters, vintage Tintin albums and original comic strip art (original Hergé strips sell for €50,000–500,000 at the Brussels auction houses). The Notre-Dame du Sablon church (1430–1550) is the finest Gothic church interior in Brussels.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMaison Dandoy (Rue au Beurre 31, near the Grand-Place — the oldest waffle shop in Brussels, founded 1829: the Brussels waffle (gaufre de Bruxelles — NOT the Liège waffle (the smaller, richer, pearl-sugar-studded waffle eaten warm without toppings): the Brussels waffle is the large, rectangular, light waffle made with a yeast-leavened batter (eggs separated, whites beaten to stiff peaks), deep-pocketed for holding toppings, served plain, with powdered sugar, with fresh Belgian strawberries (in season) or with whipped cream. The distinction between the two Belgian waffles is a matter of strong regional pride.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideManneken Pis (the bronze statuette of a small boy urinating into the fountain basin, installed in the 15th century (the current statue is a copy of the 1619 original by Jérôme Duquesnoy): the most famous and most surprising landmark in Brussels — the statue is genuinely tiny (61cm, about the height of a 5-year-old) and hundreds of tourists photograph it daily, usually surprised by how small it is. The statue has an official wardrobe of 960 costumes donated by world leaders and celebrities (the wardrobe is kept in the Museum of the City of Brussels in the Grand-Place). Manneken Pis is dressed in a new costume on approximately 100 days per year.
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