23 must do’s in Brussels | Belgium

I’ve studied 6 years in Brussels and whenever my friends and I had a break, we would explore Brussels.

The first route you can take in Brussels is the one below. This route will include almost every highlight that you’ll want to see when visiting Brussels. The second route will take you to the Royal Castle of Laeken, the Atomium and the Church of Our Lady of Laeken

Side note: Some terms will be written down in Dutch or French. Belgium has officially 3 languages (Dutch, French, and German), therefore our capital wields both languages.

Brussels ~ Centre

1) Botanical Garden of Brussels

We start our route with the Botanical Garden of Brussels. The Botanical Garden used to be the main orangery of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium but is now a cultural complex and music venue due to the fact that the National Botanic Garden moved to the Plantentuin Meise.

Warning: The park is split in 2 by a road, so be careful when crossing the street!

Fun Fact: You can see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart from the Botanic Garden if the wheater allows it. The Basilica is inspired by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris.

Hotel Tip: You can sleep in the Hotel NH Brussels Bloom. It’s a 2-minute walk away from the Botanical Garden. The hotel is modern and has an excellent breakfast buffet and restaurant. It also has a fitness, parking, meeting rooms, a football table, and a ping pong table.

2) Congress Column & Monument to the Unknown Soldier

The Congress Column commemorates the creation of the Constitution by the National Congress of 1830. On top of the column is a statue of King Leopold I (our first King). The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies at the bottom of the column as a memorial to the Belgian victims of WW I and later on also WW II. The tomb has an eternal flame.

3) Europa building

The Europa building is the seat of the European Council and Council of the European Union. The building consists of a large glass-cubed atrium that surrounds a lantern-shaped structure that contains meeting rooms.

Eco Fact: The building has solar panels and a recycling system for rainwater.

4) Cinquantenaire Park

Leopold II came up with the idea of the Cinquantenaire Park. The park has a triumphal arch to commemorate the 50th birthday of our Nation. It also houses 3 museums: Autoworld, the Royal Military Museum, and the Cinquantenaire Museum.

5) Brussels Park & Royal Palace of Brussels

The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the King and Queen of Belgium. However, this palace is not the royal residence. The royal residence is the Royal Palace of Laeken. This palace is only used for formalities.

6) Palace of Justice & Avenue Louise

The Palace of Justice is the most important court building in Belgium. It is located near the Avenue Louise: one of the most prestigious and expensive streets in Brussels. There are also some clubs in the Avenue Louise like the Bloody Louis.

Fun Fact: The Palace of Justice in Lima in Peru is based upon our Palace of Justice.

7) Sablon / Zavel

If you wander around in Sablon/Zavel, you’ll come across many chocolate shops. Make sure to check out the facade of the Pierre Marcolini chocolatier building. It’s always decorated with ornaments. Don’t forget to take a look inside and order some chocolates!

8) Mountain of Arts

The Mountain of Arts is another legacy of Leopold II. He wanted to have a great sight on a beautiful slope-garden from his palace (Royal Palace of Brussels). The slope-garden is also surrounded by numerous museums: RMFA, MIM, and Magritte Museum.

Photo Tip: Make sure to have a look on top of the slope! I lost my photo collection of it when my phone died, but here’s a photo that I recovered that is taken from below the slope.

Bar tip: Go have a drink in Goupil Le Fol. The place used to be a brothel but is turned into a lovely bar.

9) Manneken pis, Jeanneke pis and het Zinneke

Go check out the family Pis: Manneken and Jeanneke Piss (brother and sister) and of course the dog het Zinneke. Manneken Pis is near the Grand Place, Jeanneke is in the Rue des Bouchers, Zenneke can be found further away in de Oude Graanmarkt. Only Manneken and Jeanneke Pis are actually peeing.

Fun Fact: They dress Manneken Pis for several occasions! He has over 1000 costumes already of which 100 are exhibited in a museum 5 minutes away from the statue (Garderobe Manneken Pis).

10) Eat a Belgian waffle

When in Brussels you have to eat some Belgian waffles or wafels (how we call them in dutch). If you’re walking towards Manneken Pis you’ll come across many waffle stands. Those stands will sell Luikse wafels (Gaufre de Liège in French) with strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, bananas, etc (photo below). Sounds delicious but we don’t eat our waffles like that AT ALL! Those are just for the tourists. My advice? Just order a Luikse wafel without toppings like a real Belgian! The Brusselse wafel can be eaten at restaurants (make sure to look for it because not every restaurant has them) and sometimes at the same waffle stand of the Luikse wafels

Fun Fact: The Brusselse Wafel is rectangular, the Luikse Wafel is oval. The Brusselse wafel is lighter than the Luikse wafel, and the Luikse wafel has already sugar crystals in the dough.

11) Grand Place

The Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels. This square is on top of every “must see in Brussels” list and is also considered as one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. The square is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

If you face the Town Hall (bottom right 2 photos), you’ll find the guildhalls on your right (2nd & 3rd photo), the King’s House or Breadhouse in your back and the Maison Grand Place on your left (1st photo). The King’s House or Breadhouse contains the Museum of the City of Brussels. The Maison Grand Place is a place where venues can take place and the guildhalls used to be places where guilds would meet.

Fun Fact 1: There is a statue of Everard t’Serclaes (saved Brussels from the Flemish people) next to the Town Hall on Karel Bulsstraat. It is said that when you touch the arm of the statue it will grant you 1 wish and bring you luck. You’d even return to Brussels because of it. Warning: there can be a queue sometimes.

Fun Fact 2: Every 2 years the Grand Place is covered with a flower carpet of 1 million begonias. The last edition was themed in Mexico (2018).

12) Saint-Hubert Royal Galleries

The Saint-Hubert Royal Galleries are an ensemble of glazed shopping arcades from 1847. This gallery is older than the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan (1867) and The Passage (1848) in Sint Petersburg. One of the Galleries will lead you to the Rue des Bouchers, a medieval street complex characterized by old ornaments, old doors from the 17th-century and many restaurants.

Food Tip: Go eat in the Rue des Bouchers. Make sure to check Tripadvisor because some restaurants aren’t that great. If you get the chance, eat some Moules Frites at Chez Léon.

Drink Tip: Go have a drink at the À la Mort Subite (meaning: a sudden death). When you enter the cafe, you’re thrown back to the 1910s. Drink a Mort Subite or another Belgian beer and enjoy it!
P.S. A scene from the Danish Girl was shot in this cafe with Alicia Vikander and Matthias Schoenaerts (who is a Belgian actor).

13) St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral

This cathedral is used for royal weddings, coronations, funerals and Christmas carol concerts.

14) Royal Theatre of the Mint

When you leave the Cathedral behind you and you are heading toward the shopping street of Brussels, you’ll pass the Opera house of Brussels: the Royal Theatre of the Mint.

15) Rue Neuve / Nieuwstraat

When you take a right on the Royal Theatre of the Mint, you’ll end up on the shopping street. There are also 2 waffle stands in the shopping street as well as a food corner in the City 2 shopping mall. Make sure to visit the Martyrs’ Square a perfect place to sit on a bench and take a break from all that shopping.

16) Brussels Stock Exchange

When you go back to the Grand Place and you walk into another street, you’ll end up at the back of the Brussels Stock Exchange. The Brussels Stock exchange is surrounded by bars, dance bars, and restaurants and is located near the Brouckère Square. The Brussels Stock Exchange square is after the Grand Place the second most important square in Brussels.

Food tip: Go eat some fries at Fritland next to the Brussels Stock Exchange! They are delicious! There may be a long queue but the wait is worth it!

17) Sint-Katelijneplein

Sint-Katelijneplein is a good food spot. There are bars, coffee shops, and restaurants around this square. During the Christmas holidays, you can find the Brussels Christmas Market on this square. You can drink jenever, glühwein, and eat pancakes and hotdogs in tiny wooden stands. You can also buy some gifts at those stalls like hats, scarfs, candles, etc.

Food Tip: Go eat spaghetti in Bavet, a hamburger at Ellis Gourmet Burger, a lobster at Rugbyman, or eat spare ribs à volenté in Amadeo!

Drink Tip: Go have a drink at the Bar Des Amis or the ViaVia Café Brussels where there are also board games available to entertain your table!

18) Discover the comic book history of Belgium

Belgium has contributed a lot to the legacy of comic books: the Smurfs, Tintin, Lucky Luke, Marsupilami, and many others. Those characters are also painted throughout the city as part of the Comic Book Route. Rent a bike and go find them all! Here’s a photo of the statue of Guust Flater (Dutch) or Gaston Lagaffe (French).

Brussels ~ Laeken

Take the metro line 3 or 6 from Rogier in Brussels and go to the Atomium where your second route of Brussels will begin.

19) Atomium

The Atomium is another landmark in Brussels. This monument was constructed in Expo 58 and stands in front of the Expo. The Atomium has the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal and is 103 meters tall and 18 meters wide. 5 spheres have an exhibition, while the top sphere gives you a panoramic view of Brussels and the opportunity to eat something.

Fun Fact 1: The Atomium has one of the longest escalators in Europe with the largest in the Atomium being 35 meters long.

Fun Fact 2: The Atomium was supposed to be broken down after the expo but it eventually became a landmark of Belgium.

20) Royal Palace of Laeken

When you cross the Park of Laeken, you’ll end up at the Castle of Laeken. The Castle of Laeken is the official royal residence of the King and Queen. It lies 5 km from the city center in a park (Royal Domain of Laeken) which is not accessible for the public.

21) Royal Greenhouses of Laeken

So once a year the King and Queen open up their greenhouses for the public. During this time you can see a small part of the Royal Domain of Laeken, the Royal Greenhouses and a part of the castle. Balat, an apprentice of Victor Horta, designed the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. He first practiced his skills by building a greenhouse for the National Botanic Garden which can be seen in the Plantentuin Meise. His greenhouses are made from metal and glass that preserves thousands of exotic plants and trees.

Fun Fact: The main greenhouse has a crown on top.

22) Chinese & Japanese Tower

The Japanese Tower, the Chinese Pavilion and the Museum of Japanese Art form the Museums of the Far East in Brussels. The three buildings highlight the importance of the economic and cultural relations between Europe and the Far East.

Fun Fact: The Japanese Tower is located on the Royal Domain of Laeken and can be seen when visiting the Royal Greenhouses.

Sad Fact: Whenever the tower opens up to the public, only the ground floor is accessible due to stability problems.

23) The Church of Our Lady of Laeken

Our last stop will be at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken. This church was built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, wife of King Leopold I. The crypt holds the tombs of the Belgian royal family, including those of all the former Belgian kings. My mom always told me you can easily spot the tombs from the outside: the rear end of the church has several crosses. Each cross is a royal crypt.

Fun Fact: The architect, Joseph Poelaert, also constructed the Palace of Justice.

So those were my 23 must do’s when in Brussels!
I hope these will help you on your trip.
Don’t hesitate to contact me for more information!

Life of a Passion