Brussels

Brussels: The heart of Europe

John:”Brussels is such a big city, what should we visit first?”

If there’s one city  in Belgium each tourist has to visit it’s Brussels!  With its more than 1000 years of history the city offers many fascinating sights to visit. It boasts the most beautiful historic market square and the highest concentration of restaurants in the world.

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the second international city in the world, because of the large number of headquarters of international organizations: for example the NATO is situated in Brussels. 

Things to see:

Petite rue des bouchers:

The “Petite Rue des Bouchers” or “street of the butchers” is a very narrow street in the medieval center of Brussels.  This street is famous for the fact that every house in the street is a restaurant.  Because there are no cars allowed in this part of Brussels, walking and, in the summer, eating outside while gazing at all the beautiful houses can be very entertaining!

Grand’ Place

The Grand’ Place, the central market square of Brussels, is said to be the most beautiful in the world… The square is dominated by the magnificent 15th century Town Hall, with its hundred of little statues!

Manneken Pis

In the Stoofstraat behind the city hall, you will find the statue of ‘manneken Pis’, who has been pissing there since 1691. This little men is by far the most known Belgian!  This little statue that you can find in the medieval center of Brussels is not very impressive compared to the Michelangelo, but he’s quite funny. 

The Atomium

This enormous steel construction, which represents an iron atom, is situated in the park of Heysel (this park can be reached directly by metro).  In this park you can also find Bruparck. This amusement park offers among other things Mini-Europe, an outdoor exhibition of small scale precision-made replicas of Europe’s most famous architectural sights, such as the Eiffel Tower, The Big Ben, the Greek Parthenon, …

  Mini-Europa

Museums:

The Museum of the City of Brussels is housed in the Broodhuis. You can admire early paintings by Breugel, as well as the entire wardrobe of Manneken Pis, Brussels’ most famous citizen.

 http://www.trabel.com/brussel/brussels-museums-city.htm   Nearby, in the Zandstraat, you will find the National Comic Strip Center, better known as the Strip Museum. In this typical Art Nouveau house, you can see the work of over a hundred Belgian cartoon strip artists.

More info about other museums:

*http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUrl-g188644-r418302-e_2F_Atractions_2D_Activities_2D_Brussels_2E_html-Brussels.html  *http://www.netevents.be/Yellow.cfm?Type=MUSEUM

 

Parks:

Situated right next to the center of Brussels, the Sonian Forest is stretching out over a surface of over 4,000 hectares, and its fauna and flora are among the richest and most diversified of Belgium.

Link: http://www.zonienwoud.be/

 

Another beautiful garden is Le Botanique. This graceful 19th-century palace is no longer the Botanical Gardens of Brussels, but it still merits a visit. There’s still a fine ornamental garden outside. Nowadays Le Botanique functions as a cultural center in which theater, music and dance performances, and visiting art exhibitions are held.

Link: http://www.botanique.be/

 

 

 

 

 

These are just a few beautiful places in Brussels, for more information about our capital you can visit these sites:

* http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/En/Homeen.htm (the official site of Brussels)

* http://www.bruparck.com/ (Bruparck)

* http://www.brussels-online.be/ (information about hotels and restaurants in Brussels)

* http://www.a-zoftourism.com/atozof-Tourism-in-Brussels.htm (information about everything there is to visit in Brussels)

* http://www.brussels.org/ (virtual tour of Brussels)

*http://www.trabel.com/brussels.htm (tourist and travel information about Brussels)

*http://www.trabel.com/brussels-mapslist.htm (city maps of Brussels)

*http://www.visitbelgium.com/bxbrus01.htm (the official tourist site of Belgium)

*http://www.studentholidays.com/belgium/brussel.htm

http://portail.irisnet.be/en/tourismeloisirs/tourisme_et_loisirs/loger_a_bruxelles.shtml (accomodation in Brussels)