Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is head of the European Union and the home of Tintin. It is also a fantastic place to visit if you are vacationing in Europe and are a chocolate aficionado as Belgium produces 172,000 tons of chocolate each year and has 2,000 chocolate shops.
Brussels, Belgium is over one thousand years old and was founded in 979. The official languages spoken are French and Dutch, and any street names that you encounter will always be in these two languages, which is helpful for those of us who can’t understand Dutch.
There are plenty of things to see and do while in Brussels. Some ideas of places to visit include:
The Grand Place – Grote Markt
Between the months of April and September, the buildings in The Grand Place are lit up at night and classical music is played.
The Grand Place in Brussels was one of the first places that I accidentally ended up at, and this was a pleasant surprise as it’s the most beautiful place in the city in my humble opinion. The Archduchess Isabella of Spain wrote in 1599 of The Grand Place: “Never have I seen something so beautiful and exquisite as the town square of the city where the town hall rises up into the sky. The decoration of the houses is remarkable.”
When Charles Baudelaire visited Brussels towards the end of his life, this was one area of town that he was particularly keen on. Victor Hugo also fancied The Grand Place as well.
There were once tiny wooden houses situated around The Grand Place during the Middle Ages, but from the 14th century onwards, very rich families took building their large stone mansions here. Eventually The Grand Place became the commercial and administrative center of Brussels with the town hall being erected in 1455.
The King’s House
This is now the City Museum of Brussels and is featured prominently right in the center of The Grand Place. In the 13th century, bread was sold at this site. Then in 1405 a building made of stone was placed in the location of the old bread seller’s site. The bakers decided that traveling with their wares door to door was a more effective way of selling bread, and the stone building began to be used by the Duke of Brabant for administrative tasks. In 1536, a new Gothic style building was finished and put in the place of the old stone building.
After the French bombarded Brussels in 1695 the building had to be restored. Still, it was in bad enough shape that in 1860 the city bought the old building and completely renovated it in Neo-Gothic style. It became the City Museum of Brussels in 1887.
St. Hubert Gallery
I loved walking through the St. Hubert Gallery, and my fiance was particularly taken by all of the chocolate shops there! The St. Hubert Gallery is a covered shopping gallery that was built between 1820 and 1880. The idea of galleries such as these came about in Paris in 1786, but thankfully Brussels sat up and took note and decided to build their own shopping galleries. In 1847, the St. Hubert Gallery was officially opened.
The Belgian Centre of Comic Book Art
Fans of comic books will thoroughly enjoy this museum in Belgium. The building inside is decorated in the Art Nouveau style and there are plenty of comic strip exhibits, including those by the creator of Tintin, Belgian artist Herge.
Museum Autoworld
For those people who enjoy old cars, the Autoworld Museum is the place for you. There are more than 400 cars here, and there is an exhibit feature that thoroughly chronicles the history of cars from the year 1886 up until the 1970s. Amongst the exhibit are many Belgian vehicles which no longer exist, such as the Minerva, the Nagant and the Vivinus. There are also some rare Bentleys from 1928, Cords from 1930 and Bugattis from 1930.
Museum of Natural Sciences
Children will definitely love visiting the Museum of Natural Sciences. Dinosaur skeletons that were found in Bernissart, just south of Belgium in the 19th century, are on display at this museum. There are also 18 skeletons of whales, a termite mount featured in the insect world section, a display of 80 of the 107 different mammal families, and a feature on the evolution of mankind.
Museum of Ancient Art
I adore ancient art, and anyone else who enjoys it also should definitely visit this museum. Situated next to the Museum of Modern Art, there is a wonderful collection of paintings here, including some by one of my favorite painters — Hieronymus Bosch.
Saint Nicholas Church
This is very close to the Market Place and one of the oldest churches to be found in Brussels. The entrance to this church was built in the 12th century, with the side chapel completed in 1486.
Sources:
www.trabel.com/brussels.htm
www.timeout.com/travel/brussels, wikipedia
