Holiday Destination: Brussels

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union. It is also the largest urban area in Belgium, comprising 19 municipalities, including the municipality of the City of Brussels, which is the de jure capital of Belgium, in addition to the seat of the French Community of Belgium and of the Flemish Community. Brussels has grown from a 10th century fortress town founded by a descendant of Charlemagne into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants. Although historically Dutch speaking, Brussels became increasingly French speaking over the 19th and 20th centuries. Today a majority of inhabitants are French speakers, including a significant population of immigrants with French as second language, and both languages have official status. Linguistic tensions remain, and the language laws of the municipalities surrounding Brussels are an issue of considerable controversy in Belgium. Brussels is also becoming known as a mecca of style, art, and design. While attracting more and more big names in international fashion to its growing shopping districts, home grown Belgian designers are rapidly gaining global notoriety.

Climate

Summer 23.0 °C (73.4 °F), Winter 0.7 °C (33.3 °F)

Tourist Season

March and May and September and October is the best for visiting Brussels.

Accommodation

Hotels and Apartments.

General Information Of Brussels

• Land Area: 62.2 sq mi (161.38 km2)
• Population: 11 Lakh.
• Capital City: Brussels.
• Language: English, French and Dutch.

Tourist Attraction in or Near by Brussels

Manneken Pis

The famous Manneken Pis remains the emblem of the rebellious spirit of the City of Brussels. His wardrobe counts more than 800 suits. The Museum of the City of Brussels presents one hundred of these suits. A multimedia database allows the visitors to consult the whole wardrobe of the famous KETJE. Manneken Pis in costume Manneken Pi was at first a fountain that played an essential role in the former distribution of drinking water since the 15th century. The system was well known in all of Europe.

Abbaye de la Cambre

The former abbey of La Cambre, was a noble monastery of Cistercian nuns, founded in 1201 to the source of Maelbeek which flows into the Senne in Brussels. Once out of town, it is now located in the territory of the commune of Ixelles. The abbey is a remarkable testimony to the religious life of Cistercian architecture remaining in the Brussels region.It consists of two cores, the cloister with the church, refectory and chapter house wing of which are of medieval architecture and monastic. The neighborhood of the abbess of a more civil with its courtyard, the abbot's palace, the presbytery, stables and other outbuildings. It is an architecture of the eighteenth century.

Grand Place

The Grand Place or Grote Markt About this sound listen pronounced is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guildhalls, the city's Town Hall, and the Breadhouse. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres. This medieval square, with its 15th century gothic Town Hall, is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful in Europe and has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1998. Enjoy a beer or meal in the square as you soak in the atmosphere.

The Atomium

The Atomium is a monument in Brussels, originally built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it stands 102 mt tall. It has nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre. They enclose escalators connecting the spheres containing exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. Each sphere is 18 metres in diameter. Four spheres are currently closed to visitors others can be reached easily by escalators. The vertical vertex contains a lift which was very fast and advanced at the time of building.

Palace of Justice

The Palace of Justice is the Supreme Court of Law for Belgium. Commissioned by King Leopold II it was built between 1866 and 1883 by architect Joseph Poelaert in a neo classical eclectic design. The Palace covers a surface area of 26,000 m² bigger then St Peter’s in Rome and was the largest secular building to be constructed in 19th century Europe. Topped by a massive copper dome the building is 105 m high. It contains 27 large court rooms and 245 smaller court rooms. Sitting on top of Galgenberg hill, where criminals were executed in the middle ages, space was created for the mammoth structure by destroying most of the houses in the Marollen quarter the city’s poorest area. As a result of the forced evictions the word ‘architect’ is still considered an insult in this part of the city.

Cathedral of St Michael & St Gudule

The St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church at the Treurenberg hill in Brussels, Belgium. In French, it is called Cathédrale Saints Michel et Gudule and in Dutch Sint Michiels en Sint Goedelekathedraal, usually shortened to Sint Goedele. In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Leuven founded a chapter in this church and organized the transportation of the relics of Saint Gudula, housed before then in Saint Gaugericus Church on Saint Géry Island. The patron saints of the church, archangel St. Michael and the martyr St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels. In the thirteenth century, the cathedral was renovated in the Gothic style. The choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276. The façade was completed in the mid fifteenth century.

Bourse

The Bourse was built 1868 to 1873 by Architect Léon Suys, and is one of the city's most elegant 19th century buildings. The stock exchange does not contain the usual chaotic activities of stock brokers and traders, as all trading is now computerized. The Front of the building has a pediment supported by six Doric columns. The pediment is decorated by a female relief representing the City of Brussels, with two figures on either side of her symbolising trade and industry a proud 19th century proclamation by the city authorities of Brussels economic power. Beneath the pediment are two winged statues representing Good and Evil, created by the sculptor De Haen.

European Parliament & Quarter

Belgium is often called the capital of Europe as it is the political centre of the European Union. Most of the EU’s administrative buildings are located around the Schuman and Rue de la Loi, and this part of Brussels is now referred to as the European quarter. The area is full of life on weekdays, but is quiet in the evenings and practically deserted at the weekends. The most striking European Union building is the European Parliament seating over 700 elected MEPs which is housed in the International Congress Building in Leopold Park. This huge glass structure is one of three homes of the European Parliament the others are located in Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Coeur

Seated on top of a gently sloping hill in the district of Koekelberg, the twin towers and 80m high copper dome of the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart Basilique National Du is a Brussels landmark. The Basilica’s dome is open to the public which offers views of the city. King Leopold II was inspired to build a basilica to mark the 75th anniversary of Belgium independence after a trip to the Basilique du Sacré Coeur of Paris in 1902. Work on the building began in 1905 with Leopold himself laying the first foundation stone for what was originally to be a neo gothic church. Two World Wars and the fact that the building was being paid for completely by donations by the faithful, meant work on the building was slow, and Architect Albert van Huffel was commissioned in the 1920’s to come up with a less expensive structure.

Palais de la Nation

Palais de la Nation is the home of Belgium's Parliament and lies at one end of Parc de Bruxelles, directly opposite the Royal Palace, which lies at the other. Belgium is a constitutional monarchy and this is symbolised by these two palace's which face each other. Palais de la Nation was built in 1779, when Maria Theresia of Austria acceded to the throne, to a Neo Classical design by the French architect Barnabé Guimard. It has been the home of the Belgium Parliament since 1830. The Palace contains two chambers the red chamber is for the Senate and the green chamber is for the Representatives. It is possible to enter the building during sessions in either chamber.

Halle Gate

The Porte de Hal or Hallepoort is a medieval fortified city gate of the second walls of Brussels. Built in 1381, Halle Gate is a 14th century city gate from the second set of defensive walls that enclosed Brussels. The gate was named for the city of Halle in Flemish Brabant which it faces. The original gate included a portcullis and drawbridge over a moat. The structures that housed these are still visible. While the other six gateways and the defensive walls were demolished, the Halle Gate survived as it was used as a prison. It was at other times used as a customs house, for grain storage, and a Lutheran church.

Accessibility

Bus Terminal in or Near by

Parking 58

Brussels, Belgium

Brussel De Brouckère

Brussel De Brouckère
Brussels, Belgium

Brussel Martelaars

Brussel Martelaars
Brussels, Belgium

Bus stop 60 direction Ambriorix

Place Georges Brugmann 30
Brussels, Belgium

Airport

Brussels Airport: For International and Domestic flights.

Brussels South Charleroi Airport: For International and Domestic flights.

Railway Stations

Eurostar

Boulevard du Midi
Brussels, Belgium

Gare centrale

City of Brussels
Brussels, Belgium

Gare de Bruxelles-Chapelle

City of Brussels
Brussels, Belgium