Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union. Its region, bilingual in French and Dutch, has 19 municipalities and more than 1.2 million inhabitants. It grew from a small settlement on the river Senne into a centre of international politics that hosts principal EU institutions and the headquarters of NATO.
For visitors the city mixes the grand and the everyday: the Grand-Place, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, the Manneken Pis and the Atomium, Art Nouveau houses by Victor Horta, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Magritte Museum, comic-strip murals, and a food culture built on waffles, chocolate, fries, mussels and beer. Apartments in the historic centre suit short city breaks, while Ixelles, Saint-Gilles and Etterbeek offer larger flats in lively residential neighbourhoods for longer stays and families. Frequent trains make Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven easy day trips, so Brussels works well as a base for seeing much of Belgium.
The historic centre, around the Grand-Place and the old streets of the Îlot Sacré, Saint-Géry and Sainte-Catherine, puts the main sights, cafés and Central Station on your doorstep, and the area around the Rue Antoine Dansaert has become a focus for fashion and design. Uphill, the Sablon is an elegant district of antique dealers, galleries and chocolate shops around two adjoining squares, close to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Mont des Arts. Below it, the Marolles is known for its old market on the Place du Jeu de Balle.
South-east of the centre, Ixelles is lively and international, with university campuses, the Place Flagey and many Art Nouveau buildings; the Avenue Louise runs through it towards the Bois de la Cambre. Saint-Gilles, also rich in Art Nouveau, lies close to Brussels-South station, handy for Eurostar arrivals. Etterbeek and the European Quarter, near the Parc du Cinquantenaire, are practical for business trips and quieter evenings.
The Grand-Place, the city's central square, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Its guild houses and town hall make it the first stop for most visitors, and the square had to be rebuilt after French troops bombarded Brussels in 1695, destroying it along with about 4,000 buildings, a third of the city. A short walk away, the Manneken Pis, a small bronze fountain figure of a urinating boy, has become a symbol of Brussels. In the upper town, the Royal Palace, where the King exercises his role as head of state, faces the Palace of the Nation, seat of the federal parliament, across Brussels Park.
North of the centre, on the Heysel Plateau, the Atomium, a 102-metre modernist structure built for the 1958 World's Fair, stands beside the Mini-Europe miniature park. Brussels was a major centre of Art Nouveau in the 1890s and early 1900s, and four town houses by Victor Horta, including the Horta Museum, have been on the UNESCO list since 2000.
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts hold works by Flemish masters such as Bruegel, Rogier van der Weyden, Rubens and Jordaens, and the Magritte Museum is devoted to the surrealist painter René Magritte, who studied and lived in the city. The Parc du Cinquantenaire, with its memorial arcade and museums, and the Museums of Art and History add to a rich cultural offer. Belgian comics are a source of pride: Tintin, the Smurfs, Lucky Luke and Spirou are among the characters, and murals painted on walls across the city form the Comic Book Route.
Food is a big part of any visit. Brussels is known for its waffles, chocolate, fries and many kinds of beer, and mussels served with fries, moules-frites, are a classic dish. Markets complete the picture, from the old market of the Marolles to the Midi Market around Brussels-South station. With a kitchen in a rented flat, you can shop the markets and cook like a local between restaurant meals.
The founding of Brussels is usually dated to around 979, when Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, moved the relics of Saint Gudula to a chapel on the Senne. As the town grew, it spread up the slopes towards the Coudenberg and the Sablon, where the risk of floods was lower, and the Coudenberg Palace became a seat of power: Charles V was declared of age there in 1515 and abdicated there in 1555. In 1830 the Belgian Revolution began in Brussels after a performance of the opera La Muette de Portici at La Monnaie theatre.
The Industrial Revolution and the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, opened in 1832, brought prosperity, and the population of the city and its surroundings grew from about 80,000 to more than 625,000 during the 19th century. From the early 1960s Brussels became the de facto capital of what is now the European Union. Since its creation in 1989, the Brussels-Capital Region has been officially bilingual, though French is the majority language.
Belgium is compact and well served by trains, so several historic cities make easy day trips. Bruges, capital of West Flanders, has a historic centre listed by UNESCO since 2000 and a belfry that belongs to the separate listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France. Ghent, a port and university city, has beguinages, a belfry and a cloth hall recognised by UNESCO and is famously friendly to cyclists, with hundreds of kilometres of cycle paths.
Antwerp, about 40 kilometres north of Brussels, is known as a hub of the world's diamond trade and for its cathedral, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts and the MAS museum of maritime history. Leuven, about 25 kilometres east, has been a university city since 1425; the tower of its Saint Peter's Church is one of UNESCO's listed belfries. Closer to home, the Sonian Forest covers the south-eastern edge of the region and stretches into Flanders and Wallonia, a green escape for walks.
Brussels Airport (BRU), in Zaventem about 12 kilometres north-east of the city, is Belgium's main international airport, with frequent trains to the city's main stations. Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), about 46 kilometres south of the city, is used by several low-cost airlines and is linked to Brussels by coach. Brussels-South, also called Brussels-Midi, is the main international rail hub, with Eurostar trains to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne and ICE trains to Germany.
Within the region, the STIB/MIVB runs the metro, trams and buses. The metro dates from 1976 and now has four metro lines and three premetro tram lines that run partly underground, while national trains link the city's main stations. The historic centre is compact and walkable, although reaching the upper town and the Sablon involves some climbs. A car is not needed for a city stay or for day trips, which are easiest by train.
Brussels has an oceanic climate with warm summers and cool winters, shaped by marine air from the Atlantic. Rain is spread through the year, with around 135 days of rain on average, so an umbrella is useful in every season; snow falls on about 17 days a year, and summer can bring violent thunderstorms.
Late spring and early autumn, roughly May to June and September to October, are usually the most comfortable times for walking and day trips. Summer is lively, with the Couleur Café festival of world and urban music around the end of June or early July, the Brussels Summer Festival in August and the Midi Fair, the city's main annual fair, which lasts more than a month in July and August. Winter is cool and often grey, but museums, cafés and the comic-strip murals make Brussels a good city break all year, and shorter days are offset by indoor attractions.
For a first visit, the historic centre around the Grand-Place and Sainte-Catherine keeps the sights and Central Station within walking distance. The Sablon is elegant and close to the museums, Ixelles and Saint-Gilles are lively residential areas with Art Nouveau streets, and the European Quarter suits business trips.
May to June and September to October usually bring the most comfortable weather for walking and day trips. Summer is busy with festivals such as Couleur Café and the Brussels Summer Festival. Rain falls on around 135 days a year, so pack an umbrella whatever the season.
Brussels Airport (BRU) in Zaventem is about 12 kilometres north-east of the city, with frequent trains to the city's main stations. Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), used by several low-cost airlines, is about 46 kilometres south and linked to the city by coach.
Two or three days cover the Grand-Place, the Manneken Pis, the Sablon, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the Magritte Museum, a Horta house and the Atomium. With four or five days you can add day trips to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp or Leuven.
No. The metro, trams and buses of the STIB/MIVB cover the region, the historic centre is walkable, and frequent trains link Brussels with Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven. A car is more of a burden than a help for a city stay.
The Brussels-Capital Region has been officially bilingual in French and Dutch since its creation in 1989, so street names and signs appear in both. French is the majority language and the common language of daily life, and many residents come from other countries.
Yes. Anyone letting a room, flat or house to tourists in the Brussels-Capital Region for stays of one to 90 consecutive nights must register it with Brussels Economy and Employment before renting it out and receives a registration number. Planning and fire-safety certificates are required, and a regional tax applies per night. Check the current rules.
Brussels is known for the Grand-Place, the Manneken Pis and the Atomium, its Art Nouveau architecture, comic strips such as Tintin, its waffles, chocolate, fries and beer, and its role as the de facto capital of the European Union and home of NATO's headquarters.
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