Beauties of Brussels - Take the Quiz!

Grand Place, Town Hall, Night View, Brussels, Belgium Photographic Print
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The Grand Place (Grote Markt for Flemish and Dutch-speakers) is the most beautiful place in the world (excuse me, I'm Belgian). The Town Hall was built in the early 1420. It's tower is 300+ feet high and its top features the Angel Michael, patron Saint of Brussels killing a dragon.

The Town Hall is located exactly in the center of Brussels and you can admire a pentagon in the center of its yard. This pentagon is the very center of Brussels Town. My mother got married in this splendid building.

At the time Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor restored Brussels as capital of Burgundy, he placed the first stone on the Grand Place's pavement. Even though Charles V left Belgium to live in Spain and reign on his gigantic empire from the Spanish capital, he was born in Ghent, Belgium and loved his home country very much.

The King's House hosts the 600 costumes of our Little Brussels' Guy named Manneken Pis. Round the corner of the Town Hall, you will find a statue of which the arm is supposed to bring you happiness and luck after having caressed it.

The Grand Place also hosts a wonderful flower carpet every two years.

Manneken Pis, Brussels, Belgium Photographic Print
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Manneken Pis (Menneke Pis) is a fountain featuring a little boy doing a bodily need. The fountain was made in the early 1600s. During festivities, the water of the fountain is replaced by beer, one of our specialities (we produce more than 680 different beers). If you go to Brussels you will find the statue at the corner of Rue de l'Étuve and Rue du Chêne, just behind the Grand Place.

For more fun, I recommend to pay the King's House (Maison du Roi, located on the Great Place, right in front of the Town Hall) a visit. In this absolutely beautiful building, you will discover Manneken Pis' 600 different costumes.

The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium Photographic Print
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The Atomium was built for the Brussels' World Fair 1958. Six out of the nine balls are open to the public and one of them is a restaurant. The central tube is the elevator and the other tubes contain escalators. The Atomium is horrible but it is a symbol of Brussels and no one would want it to be destructed. The Atomium was restored at the beginning of 2000's.

The Triumphal Arch of the Palais du Cinquantenaire, Brussels, 1906 Giclee Print
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I spent a big part of my childhood in this park, playing in the sand, in the museum, on planes and other pieces of artillery (decorations) or around the Horta Pavillion (which my friends and I have never managed to open the doors), the monument of the Belgian pioneers in Congo...

The Cinquantenaire Park shelters the Royal Museum of the Army, the Museum of Automobile, the Royal Museums of Art and History.

The building of the magnificent Cinquantenaire Arches that dominate the park started in the early 1800s and ended at the beginning of the 1900s to commemorate the fifty years of independence of my country.

You'll see a wonderful panorama of Brussels from the top of the Arches.

Brussels is a small town but has a lot of beauties to see. Here are a few additional ones:


• The Saint Michael and Gudula Cathedral is a wonderful Gothic cathedral that looks a bit like Notre Dame of Paris. The original church was built in the early 1000s but it has been moved and rebuilt in the early 1400s.


• The Sablon Church and Square (remember to have a visit to Wittamer pastry)


• Basilic of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, a church of the 20th century. It's one of the biggest churches in the world.


• Notre Dame Church of Laeken (Royal crypt). Our kings and queens are buried in this church.


• The Royal Park - in front of the Royal Palace (King's office - yeah, he works). It was the first Royal Residence but King Leopold III decided to move to the Palace of Laeken after Queen Astrid's death in 1935.


• The Royal Residence in Laeken (where the King is supposed to live but Albert II lives in the Belvedere, a "smaller" house. Near the Royal Residence, you will discover a wonderful Chinese Pavillion and a splendid Japanese Tower.


• Saint Hubert, King and Queen's Galleries. Those galleries are covered shopping galleries built during the 19th century and were inspired by the French "Royal Galleries".


• The Palace of Justice. This gigantic building, is the Belgian Supreme Court of Law Buiding. The Palace of Justice is currently - and since many years - under restoration. Restoration doesn't mean closed and it's still open and in function.


• The Colonne du Congres is home to the Unknown Soldier; a flame is perpetually burning to pay homage to our heroes.


• The Bois de la Cambre; which is our in-house Central Park. There are lakes, a restaurant, a theatre and even playgrounds for kids. Be careful: during the week, cars are authorized in the park! However, during the weekends, cars can't enter the park and families with kids can safely have fun in this magnificent natural park.