Brussels. Lonely Planet 62 BRUSSELS

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1 Lonely Planet 2 Brussels The fascinating capital of Belgium and Europe sums up all the contradictions of both. It s simultaneously historic yet hip, bureaucratic yet bizarre, self confident yet un-shoy and multicultural to its roots. The city s contrasts and tensions are multilayered yet someho consistent in their very incoherence Francophone versus Flemish, Bruxellois versus Belgian versus Eurocrat versus immigrant. And all this plays out on a cityscape that sings block by block from majestic to quirky to grimily rundon and back again. It s a complex patchork of overlapping yet distinctive neighbourhoods that takes time to understand. Organic art nouveau facades face off against 190s concrete disgraces. Regal 19th-century mansions contrast ith the brutal glass of the EU s real-life Gotham City. World-class museums lie hidden in suburban parks and a glorious beech forest extends extraordinarily deep into the city s southern flank. This hole maelstrom sirls forth from Brussels medieval core, here the truly grand Grand Place is surely one of the orld s most beautiful squares. Constant among all these disparate images is the enviable quality of everyday life great shopping, consistently excellent dining at all price ranges, sublime chocolate shops and a café scene that could keep you drunk for years. But Brussels doesn t go out of its ay to impress. Its citizens have a lo-key approach to everything. And their quietly humorous, deadpan outlook on life is often just as surreal as the classic Brussels-painted canvases of Magritte. HIGHLIGHTS Europe s most beautiful square? Ponder the question over a fe beers on the gorgeous Grand Place ( p7 ) Big balls Nine of them arranged like a school chemistry set form the amazing Atomium ( p90 ) Drinkers delight Cafés ancient and modern, including an inspiring selection of classics scattered around the Bourse ( p103 ) Art history Old masters and surrealists at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts ( p82 ), ith its shiny ne Magritte Museum annex Art nouveau The onderful Old England Building ( p82 ) one of many art nouveau masterpieces ( p82 ) Dino discovery Palaeontology comes to life at the magnificent Musée des Sciences Naturelles ( p85 ) Forgotten treasure Extraordinary riches lurk in the vast Musées Royaux d Art et d Histoire ( p87 ) Atomium Old England Classic Cafés Building Grand Place Musées Royaux d'art et d'histoire Musée des Musées Sciences Naturelles Royaux des Beaux-Arts Tervuren POPULATION: 1,081,000 LANGUAGES : FRENCH & DUTCH

2 lonelyplanet.com History 3 IN One Day Gape in onder at the Grand Place ( p7 ), Brussels gorgeous central square. Discover that the Manneken Pis ( p77 ) is much smaller than you d imagined then stroll through the Galeries St- Hubert en route to finding his squatting sister, the Jeanneke Pis. Admire the colourful scene that is the Rue des Bouchers ( p78 ), then move on for a seafood lunch in the convivial Ste- Catherine area ( p104 ). Windo shop up Rue Antoine Dansaert, exploring the compact, quirky Fashion District ( p79 ) then grab a drink in the Cirio ( p103 ) or one of the other fabulous classic cafés around the Bourse ( p78 ). Admire the cityscape as ell as the musical instruments at the majestic Old England Building ( p82 ), nip across the road to the ne Magritte Museum, then have a drink in the eccentric La Fleur en Papier Doré, here Magritte himself used to booze. Admire the bulky Palais de Justice and preen a little as you stroll past the antique shops and pretty people on the Sablon. Have an exotic pita snack in the art nouveau café Perroquet ( p100 ) or head straight to lively Délirium Café ( p104 ) to sample a range of fine Belgian beers. Quickly realise that you should have stayed a eek. One Week Buy a 72-hour Brusselscard ( p7 ) for three intense pre-paid days of brilliant museums, but remember to start it on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday otherise you ll aste a day. With the card in hand don t miss the Musée des Sciences Naturelles ( p85 ), Cinquantenaire museums ( p87 ), Africa Museum ( p92 ), Chinese Pagoda ( p90 ) or your free beer at L Arbre d Or ( p77 ) on the Grand Place. Once the card has expired discover lambic beers at the Musée Bruxellois de la Gueuze ( p91 ), visit the unique Atomium ( p90 ), peruse the comic-strip murals ( p81 ), discover the restaurants, cultural complexities and art nouveau houses of Ixelles ( p88 ), bus out to the Waterloo Battlefield ( p217 ), and meet up ith a Tof person (see the boxed text, p87 ). And all the hile, never stop drinking your ay through our list of inspirational cafés ( p102 ). Santé! HISTORY According to legend, St-Géry built a chapel on a sampy Senne (Zenne) River island back in AD 95. A settlement that gre around it had become knon as Bruocsella (from bruoc, marsh, and sella, delling) by 979 hen Charles, Duke of Lorraine moved here from Cambrai. He built a fort on St-Géry island amid floering irises, hich have since become the city s symbol. By 1100 Bruocsella as a alled settlement and capital of the Duchy of Brabant. In 1229 Brabant s Duke Henri I published the first Brussels charter guaranteeing protection for (and expectations of) the ton s citizens. In 1355 the Count of Flanders, then Brabant s neighbourhood enemy, invaded and seized Brussels. Hoever, a year later, Brussels citizens, led by Everard t Serclaes, ejected the Flemish to considerable jubilation. t Serclaes ent on to become a prominent local leader fighting for ever more civic privileges, a stance hich finally sa him assassinated in This caused a furore in Brussels, hose tonsfolk blamed the lord of Gaasbeek and took revenge by burning don his castle ( p113 ). Today, an anachronistic statue of t Serclaes corpse (Grand Place 8, p77 ) is still considered a potent source of luck. Meanhile, the cloth trade as booming. By the 15th century, prosperous markets filled the streets around the Grand Place selling products for hich some are still named: Rue au Beurre (Butter St), Rue des Bouchers (Butchers St) etc. The city s increasingly ealthy merchant guilds established their headquarters on the Grand Place, here medieval tournaments and public executions took place in the shado of a toering Hôtel de Ville. From 1519 Brussels came to international prominence as capital of Charles Quint s vast Hapsburg Empire (see p27 ). In 1549 Charles future-successor, Philip II of Spain, as elcomed to the city in an incredibly lavish pageant that today forms the basis of the Ommegang ( p17 ). But fanatically Catholic Philip as unimpressed ith the lolanders breing Protestantism. His

3 4 Orientation lonelyplanet.com Spanish Inquisition resulted in thousands of executions including those of anti-spanish Counts Egmont and Hoorn in front of the Maison du Roi. In 195, Louis XIV s French army under Marshal De Villeroy bombarded Brussels for 3 hours, hoping to divert Dutch attention from its attempts to regain Namur (Namur being temporarily occupied by France at this stage). The damage as truly catastrophic. Around 4000 houses ere destroyed, around a third of the city as reduced to rubble and contemporary estimates calculated damages at 50 million florins (equivalent to some 5 billion in today s terms). The Grand Place as virtually obliterated though miraculously the Hôtel de Ville survived relatively intact. And ithin five years most of the square s guildhalls ere rebuilt, making them even more impressive than they d been before. Austrian rule in the 18th century fostered urban development, ith the construction of grand squares such as Place Royale and completion of the royal palace at Laeken (1784). Many of the Upper Ton s architectural gems ere built during this time and in the brief eras of French and Dutch rule that folloed. In 1830 Brussels proved the unlikely starting point of the curious 1830 operatic revolt (see boxed text, p107 ) that led Belgium to entirely unexpected independence. At this stage Brussels as home to around 100,000 people. Hoever, the city gre enormously in both population and stature during the next century, greatly funded by Wallonia s industrial revolution along ith King Léopold II s plunder of the Congo. While millions of Congolese died, Brussels lavished itself ith some of Europe s finest belle époque and art nouveau buildings. Unlike much of the country, Brussels survived both orld ars comparatively unscathed. The city underlined a ne era of postar optimism by hosting the 1958 World s Fair in the shado of one of the era s most extraordinary constructions, the Atomium ( p90. Brussels groth as further boosted hen it became the headquarters of NATO and EEC (later EU). Hoever, in the city s drive for progress and modernism, much of the capital s once-fine architecture as torn don to make ay for mediocre concrete office buildings, a form of architectural vandalism that s no idely knon as Brusselization. A stint as Cultural Capital of Europe in 2000 finally gave the city the push it needed to start properly protecting heritage buildings and sprucing up neglected neighbourhoods. Nonetheless, brutal steel-and-glass redevelopment has continued apace in the EU and Bruxelles-Midi areas hile plenty of grimy urban areas still aait attention. ORIENTATION Most of Brussels is surrounded by the Ring ( R0 ), a far-from-ring-shaped motoray that gets blocked almost solid ith rush-hour traffic from September to June. Lengthy connectors involving long tunnel sections (and thus invisible on many maps) link to a much smaller inner ring that traces a rough pentagon along lines that ere once the city alls. The central Senne River is effectively invisible, having been covered over in the late 19thcentury for health reasons (cholera outbreaks and the like). Best explored on foot, Central Brussels historic core includes the Loer Ton (Map p70 ) around the imposing Grand Place, the partly gentrified orking-class Marolles (Map pp72 3 ) and the much grander Upper Ton (Map pp8 9 ) ith its royal buildings, museums and snooty Sablon. Southeast of the inner ring, the vibrantly multicultural area of Matonge ( p89 ) is home to the capital s African community hile further east, beteen Etterbeek and the monumental arch of the Cinquantenaire, lies the EU quarter ( p85 ). Built by Léopold II to access his ne forest park at La Cambre, the patchily grand, upmarket Ave Louise runs south through vibrant Ixelles (Elsene in Dutch; Map pp72 3 ), hich is liberally dotted ith art nouveau architecture, as is somehat don-at-heel St-Gilles (Map pp72 3 ) to its direct est. Just north of the inner ring lie the rundon, if once grand, immigrant neighbourhoods of Schaerbeek (Map pp 7 ) and St-Josse (Map pp8 9 ) and the Gare du Nord. Directly southeast of the station is a pink-indoed red-light district, yet to its north lies a shiny ne toer-block business district resembling a miniature Manhattan. Post-industrial Molenbeek (Map pp 7 ) is the city s modernday port on the Charleroi Anterp canal. Further north, Laeken is here the Belgium s royal family lives and in Heysel you ll find that intriguing space-age leftover from the 1958 World s Fair, the Atomium.

4 lonelyplanet.com Information 5 BILINGUAL The 19 communes of the Brussels Capital Region (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Geest in Dutch, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale in French) comprise the only area in Belgium that s officially bilingual. For simplicity in this book e have only used one version of each name (the French) but in fact on buildings, train stations, road signs, you name it, there are to versions. That explains hy certain Brussels street names look so flabbergastingly long. In fact they re saying the same thing tice. For example, in Rue de l Ecuyer Schildknaapstraat, both Rue de l Ecuyer (French) and Schildknaapstraat (Dutch) mean Squire Street. Handily, the grammatical form of the to languages means that the French terms rue/avenue (street/avenue) alays come first hile in Dutch straat/laan are tacked on to the end. This allos for a space-saving trick hen the core name doesn t need translating, ie a sign might end up reading something like Ave Maxlaan (ie literally Ave Max Avenue). In the Marolles, street names even add a third version in Bruxellois (the city s traditional dialect). Brussels is surrounded by Flanders, here all signs are in Dutch. So for places like Tervuren, Zaventem (the airport) and Grimbergen covered in this chapter but beyond Brussels official regional boundary, the street names are given in Dutch. If you ant to see normally placid Belgians get inexplicably heated, ask them hat they think about the six Faciliteitengemeente/ Communes à Facilité on the edge of Brussels (here people should speak Dutch but in reality the majority speak French). Brussels has numerous train stations. Major international services invariably arrive at Bruxelles-Midi, hose don-at-heel surroundings are gradually being punctuated by stark contemporary toer buildings. Generally you re advised to hop straight on any connecting train (four minutes) to subterranean Bruxelles-Central, hich is handiest for the historic centre. Use Bruxelles-Luxembourg or Bruxelles-Schuman for the EU Area. INFORMATION Bookshops Anticyclone des Açores (Map p70 ; % ; Rue du Fossé aux Loups 34) Travel specialist. FNAC (Map pp8-9 ; % ;.fnac.be; City 2 shopping centre, Rue Neuve; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, to 8pm Fri) Book department-store ith events ticketing agency. Sterling Books (Map p70 ; % ;.ster lingbooks.be; Rue du Fossé aux Loups 38; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-.30pm Sun) English-language bookshop ith comfy sofas and a kids play area. Waterstones (Map p70 ; % ; Blvd Adolphe Max 71-75; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-pm Sun) Large English-language bookshop ith numerous international magazines. Internet Access There s free i-fi at Flanders Info ( p7 ), the Cercle des Voyageurs ( p104 ), Zabar ( p105 ) and many other cafés. Matonge has numerous phone-internet shops. Other central options: Belgium Internet (Map p70 ; Rue du Marché au Charbon; per hr 2; h24hr) Three terminals oddly plonked in a central all-night grocery store. Touistrading (Map p70 ; % ; Rue de Flandre 118; per hr 1; h11am-11.30pm) Typical phone shop. Laundry Aquatic Wash Laundry (Map pp72-3 ; Rue Montserrat 9; per load 3.20; h5.30am-11pm) Self-service laundrette. Salon Lavoir de la Chapelle (Map p70 ; Rue Haute 7; per 5kg load.50; h8am-pm Mon-Fri) Old-fashioned, full-service laundrette. Left Luggage Bruxelles -Midi Station Luggage office (per article per day 2.50; ham-9pm); Luggage lockers (per 24hr small/large 3/4) Maximum 72 hours for lockers. Medical Services Community Help Service (% ;.chsbelgium.org; h24hr) English-speaking crisis helpline. Can also help find English-speaking doctors, dentists and other health professionals. Dr Van Breusegem Clinic (Map p70 ; % ; Rue L Lepage 12; h9am-10am & 5pm-pm Mon-Fri) Central location. Consultations ithout appointment 23. Hôpital St-Pierre (Map pp72-3 ; % ;.stpierre-bru.be; Rue Haute ; hemergency 24hr, consultation 8am-5pm) Central hospital offering emergency assistance. (Continued on page 7)

5 D Greater Brussels lonelyplanet.com GREATER 0Ņ8 21 Erasme Ave de Ave Jean Baptiste Depaire Gaasbeek To (5.5km) Dreve Olympique rève Olympique Rte de Lennik I'Impératrice Charlotte Ave Houba de Strooper Stuyvenbergh 0Ŗ0 0Ŗ0 1 1 Eddy 1 Merckx Blvd Maurice Carème 0Ņ 0Ŗ20 0Ņ9 Ceria Ave de Meysse Ave de Madrid Ave du Gros Tilleul Ave des Trembles Laeken St Guidon 31 À" 37 La Roue 0Ņ Anderlecht Veeeyde Bizet To Beersel (km); Nivelles (28km); Charleroi (52km) Ganshoren Ave Charles-Quint Ave des Croix du Feu Ave du Parc Ro yal Molenbeek < " Chaussée de Gand Chaussée de Ninove Jacques Brel 0Ŗ0 R d'aumale ;" 9 Koekelberg Beekkant Gare De L'Ouest Ossegem 1 Simonis Jacques Brel Delacroix Aumale R de Stalle 28 Blvd Léopold II Chaussée de Mons AveHouba de Strooper Jette r" 1 Jette 2 S" AveWielemans Ceuppens Blvd Van Haelen Forest S" Bockstael 15 Belgica Pannenhuis Ribaucourt Etangs Noirs Comte de Flandre Porte de Hal 1 1 1< " 1 See Central Brussels Map (pp8 9) r" Forest- Sud Uccler" Stalle r" Forest- Est À" 33 Uccle- Calevoet r" Gare du Midi r" Ave Van Volxem Rue de Mérode 0Ņ21 Ave du Parc Chaussee d'alsemberg Blvd du Jubilé 23 r" Nord Yser Rogier See 00 Loer Ton Map (p70) Madou Gare Centrale Bruxelles r" Arts-Loi Central Porte de Namur Horta RueMarie Christine Ave du Port R de la Victoire R de Savoie Ave des Villas Ave Brugmann Ave Wolvendael Ave de la Reine Koningimnen Chaussée de Charleroi S" 14 Ixelles Ave Winston Churchill Ave de Fré Ave Louise Royal Uccle Observatory Dieeg Louise See Marolles, Sablon & Ixelles Map (pp72 3) line to Train Waterloo, Charleroi Ave de Fré Botanique Berchem- Ste Agathe To Nationale A B 0Ŗ0 C Plantentuin D Van België (3.5km) To Grimbergen (3km) Enlargement 18 Heysel km See Enlargement Pl de 0 A miles Heysel Belgique Heysel 0 A12 Roi% O Heysel Baudoin 8 À" 3 À" "= Bruparck e" 24 Houba- ;" 25 Brugmann ;" Q" 22 Laeken Domaine Royal Houba- ;" 11 Stuyvenbergh Brugmann Domaine Royal Bruxelles- r" Brussels- Luxembourg Ave de S" 13 Chaussée de Waterloo St-Job r" Train line to Beersel, Halle l' 4 7 Bois de la Cambre 0Ņ5 O bservatoire

6 lonelyplanet.com Greater Brussels 7 34 À" Canal de Willebroek r" Schaarbeek Ave de la Couronne Ave de Vilvorde Chaussée de Haecht Schaerbeek Meiser r" Chaussée de Louvain Schuman Blvd de la Plaine Etterbeek r" Chaussée de Boondael Ave Adolphe Buyl See EU Area Map (p8) ULB (University) Avedes Phalènes Ave de L'Orée Ave F Roosevelt Forêt de Soignes 29 E F G H C haussée de Vilvorde Blvd Auguste Reyers " f Blvd de Triomphe Thieffry Petillon " f 38 Hankar Delta r" Watermael r" Boondael Ave Léopold III Chaussée de la Hulpe Evere To Liège (93km) r" Boitsfort R du Duc 17 Watermael- Boitsfort Tomberg Gribaumont 1 Josephine- A Charlotte Mérode 32 Montgoméry Beaulieu 2 A Demey Herrmann- Debroux Ave Delleur Alma Kraainem Roodebeek 0Ņ22 Vandervelde Parc de Wolué Chaussée de Wavre Blv d du Souverain Chaussée de Louvain Auderghem Forêt de Soignes 0Ŗ0 Wolué-St Pierre R au Bois Ave de Tervurenlaan Chaussée de Tervuren!0 Brussels Airport "1 40 r" H 3 Tour Japonaise B1 0 A201 Villa Belvédère B1 Wiels... 2 C5 Stockel 30 Ave Orban Centre Sportif de la Wolué 0 2 km 0 1 mile INFORMATION Canadian Embassy... 1 E4 Dutch Embassy... 2 F5 Espace Wallonie-Bruxelles...3 H1 SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Barbizon H Abbaye de la Cambre... 4 D5 Bruneau C3 Atomium...5 A1 Chalet de la Forêt E Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur... B3 Chez François G4 Bois de la Cambre... 7 D5 René B4 Bruparck...8 A1 Château Royal de Laeken...9 B2 DRINKING? 0 A201 Jean Massart Experimental Garden G5 La Terasse E4 Léopold I Statue B2 Mini Europe... NATO 12 A1 ENTERTAINMENT 0Ŗ0 À Headquarters Musée Constantin Meunier D5 Forest National C 1 Musée 1 1David 1 et Alice 1 van Buuren D Jazz Station E3 1 1 Musée 1 Magritte C2 Kinepolis A1 1 Notre-Dame de Laeken D2 Stade Roi Baudouin... 0 A3 3 A1 1 1 Palais 1 du 1Centenaire (see 18) Van den Stock Stadium (Anderlecht) B4 1 Palais 1 1Stocklet F4 1 1 Parc 1 des 1Expositions A1 SHOPPING f Pavillon Chinois B1 Mary Chocolate Workshop E5 Rouge Cloître G5 Nine City E3 Royal Amicale Golf Club A5 Royal Greenhouses 0 A3 (Serres Royales) B1 TRANSPORT Kraainem Tour & Taxis C3 Brussels Airport H1 Tervurenlaan Forêt de Soignes 0Ŗ0 0Ŗ0 Wezembeeklaan Wezembeek- Oppem 0 A4 27 0Ŗ0 0Ņ22 Jezus-Eik To Africa Museum (2.5km); Turvuren Museum(2.5km) 5 Tervurenlaan

7 R R 8 Central Brussels lonelyplanet.com CENTRAL Thurn & Taxis A B C D INFORMATION Amazone...1 H3 Australian Embassy... 2 H5 BIP (Tourist Info)... 3 F 1 FNAC... 4 F3 French Embassy... 5 G5 Post Office... F3 Salon Lavoir de la Chapelle...7 E USA Embassy...8 G5 Ribaucourt Barge D" Tours SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES À" 38 Atelier Christophe Coppens... 9 C4 Bibliothèque Royale E Cantillon Breery (Musée Bruxellois Pl À" 37 de la Gueuze) B Sainctelette Cathédrale des Sts Michel & Gudule F5 Square Yser Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée F4 Sainctelette 2 Colonne du Congrès G4 Coudenburg... (see 22) De Ultieme Hallucinatie G2 Église Ste-Marie... 1 G2 Halles de Schaerbeek... Etangs 17 H1 Le Botanique... Noirs 18 G3 Magritte Gallery F Maison Autrique H1 Money Museum F4 Musée BELvue F Comte de Flandre 30 "i Musée des Instruments de Musique F Pl Communale Musée du Jouet G4 Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts F Marché Old England Building... (see 23) aux 3 Palais Royal... 2 F Porcs Statue of Godefroid de Bouillon F Square des PortedeFlandre Blindés Pl du SLEEPING i Béguinage Centre Vincent van Gogh G3 HI Hostel Jacques Brel G3 Ste-Catherine Hooy Kaye Lodge D3 Sleep Well F3 Ste- Ste- Catherine & Catherine St-Géry Pl du Nouveau Pl du 0000 Galerie Ravenstein F5 Marché Marché aux Samedi Poissons p In 't Spinnekopke C4 aux Grains "V Le Bier Circus G4 9 Pl Ste Catherine ENTERTAINMENT À BoZar F To La Raffinerie (400m) Cinematek... (see 35) Square A Cirque Royal... 3 G4 Smets FNAC...(see 4) 33 Bourse Kaaitheater D2 s" Pl du Jardin aux Fleurs K-Nal D2 Pl St-Géry Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouburg E3 LibertineSupersport... (see 38) St- 5 Anderlecht Clémenceau Canal de Willebroek Mirano Continental H4 Musée du Cinéma F Théâtre National E3 SHOPPING f Mary G4 TRANSPORT Eurolines F2 Touring Club de Belgique H5 Chaussée de Mons R Gheude R Otlet "S 11 Blvd Léopold II Pl A Lemmens 000 Square R Péqueur R du Jardinier R Piers R St Joseph R Bonnevie R Fin R Jennart R du Comte de Flandre R du Prado R de F Brunfa ut R Mommaerts Blvd de I'Abattoir Blvd Poincare R Brogniez Blvd du Midi R Ste Marie R Vandermaelen Q de Hainaut RdeRibaucourt R dei'avenir Bd Barthélémy R Cuerens R d'anderlecht 000 Square de I'Aviation R des Fabriques R de la Senne R Camusel R de l'intendant R du Adolphe Lavallée R du Van Denbranden R't Kint R Antoine Dansaert de la Buanderie R de Cureghem R des Foulons R du Ruisseau R Notre-Dame du Sommeil R de I'Abattoir R du Vautour R du Courtois Q des Charbonnages R d'artois Houblon R du Gr Serment R de la Verdure R de la Caserne R des Ateliers Marolles Blvd Maurice Lèmonnier R Ulens R du Boulet Rue le Lorrain Rue Van Meyel R Locquenghien R de Flandre R Rempart des Moines R Bodeghem Canal decharleroi R L Lepage R de la Braie Géry 0000 Pl Fontainas 0000 Pl Anneessens s" Anneessens Pl Rouppe Tunnel C Rue Bouvier Blvd d'ypres Rue Picard Ave du Port Blvd de Dixmude Q aux Barques R des Chartreux R Pletinckx R des Jetons Q aux Briques R des Riches Claires Ave de Stalingrad R Van Artevelde Blvd Anspach Q des Matériaux Q des Péniches R du Chien Marin R R de Soignies R R du Midi Bassin Beco R du Poinçon Q de Willebroek Blvdd'Anvers Q aux Pierres de Taille St-Géry R Terre-Neueve RduCanal R du Grand-Hospice R du Rouleau Borgval Q au Foin R du Peuplier R Melsens Ste-Catherine R des Moineaux BlvdAnspach R des Alexiens R d'accolay R des Ursulines R des Brigittinnes R des Halles R du Chêne

8 lonelyplanet.com Central Brussels 9 RdeLaeken Ave de I'Héliport R du Frontispice 39 À" Porte d'anvers Pl des Martyrs Pl de Brouckère De Brouckère Pl de la Monnaie V" V" Bruxelles Blvd Simon Bolivard RdeI'Angle R des Augustins R Simons R des Commerçants RduCirque R Van der Elst Rdes Hirondelles R de I'Evêque R Grêtry Chaussée d'anvers Rogier < " 12 Ilôt Sacré A 5 Grand Gare V" Place Pl Centrale d'espagne Parc Arts-Loi r" 45 Bruxelles- Central 000 Pl St Jean A Pl de 2 Pl de la I'Albertine Parc de A Vieille Halle 35 À" À" Bruxelles aux Blés Square Frère- Orban Pl de la Justice 23 3 S" H Pl de S" Dinant S" 22 Q" Pl Royale 7 Sablon 25S" 2S" Pl de la Chapelle Pl du Grand Trône Sablon V" Pl du Square Trône de Meeus Bruxelles- Nord r" Pl du Nord V" V" Porte de Schaerbeek Botanique À" Blvd Adolphe Max Pl Madou 34 Porte de Louvain 3 À" Madou Pl Surlet de Chokier R au Beurre R du M arché aux Herbes R Charles Buls R des Chapeliers R de Dinant R Nicolay R du Faubourg R de RdeI'Épargne R aux Fleurs Blvd Émile Jacqmain R de la Francée Blvd de I'Empereur R St Pierre R du Fossé aux R de I'Écuyer R du Peuple R St Michel R Léopold R des Bouchers la Colline R Duquesnoy R de I'Hôpital R de Ro lebeek R St-Jean R Lebeau R de la Bienfaisance Blvd Émile Jacqmain Loups R d Argent Blvd de I'Impératrice R du Marché R Neuve Rdu R des Boiteux R Montagne aux Herbes Potagéres Mont des Arts i" 31 R du Progrès "7 44 City 2 Shopping Centre " f 4 ` R de la Blanchisserie Rdu Damier Persil R de Loxum RVilla Hermosa R de la Régence 21 S" St-Josse & Schaerbeek R des Sables R du Marais Blvd de Berlaimont R R des Cendres du Bois Sauvage R Ravenstein R Baron Horta I Blvd St Lazare Jardin Botanique Blvd Pachéco Pl Ste Gudule Pl de Louvain R de Brabant Rdes Plantes Ave Victoria Regina R du Meiboom R de Ligne R Linné R d'aerschot R Verte Pl du Congrès 14Q" R Royale " f R du Congrès R de la Loi R des Palais 15 1 < " i" 28 RueBrialmont RRoyale R Royale Pl des Palais R Verte R Dupont R dessecours R de I'Ascension R St-François R de la Sablonnière R de I'Association RdelaPoste RGodefroid de Bouillon R du Gouv Provisoire R de la Croix de Fer R de I'Enseignement R de R Ducale Ave Galileè Théâtre La Montagne Magique À" 29 i" V" S" S" Louvain m miles E F G H R du Nord Ave des Arts R Rogier Blvd du Régent Blvd Bisschoffsheim Rue Lefrancq R de la Constitution R D ucale 17 1 R de I'Union RGuimard RduCommerce Chaussee dehaecht R Gillon R Traversière R de la Limite RJoseph II RdeI'Industrie R Montoyer!0 R Philomène R Potagère R de Bériot R Scailquin À" 40 R Hamer RdelaScience 20 Rue de l'est Rue Vifquin Rue de Robiano R de la Loi R Belliard Rde Lalaing R d'arlon

9 !0!0 70 Loer Ton lonelyplanet.com m LOWER TOWN miles i" A B C D i" 73 1 i" Q"! Marché 17 Q" 91 aux Porcs 8 i" À" < " I " f18 < " Pl du 114 Ste- Béguinage Catherine 79 Marché aux Poissons i" 70 G Ste Pl de Catherine À" Pl des Martyrs 2 Brouckère i" 150 À" De Brouckère 85 Pl du 92 Samedi 9 ` p ;" 42 3 < " 17 " f Pl Ste Catherine V" " f V" " f V" i" 4 Pl de la À" @ " " f Monnaie i" R L Lepage R Antoine Dansaert R de la Braie À 52 " Ilôt Q" " f À" Sacré " À" À Q" " " " " " " À 147? 8 8? Pl St-Géry " f " f 152 À" 173 Au Lion d'or " f À" St-Géry " f S" < " À" i" i" V" Pl d'espagne R des Chartreux 4 5 R Pletinckx R St-Christophe R d Moucherons Q aux Barques Pl Fontainas 57 i" 135? " Pl Anneessens s" Anneessens i" 59 Pl Rouppe Blvd Maurice Lèmonnier 82 la Houille Qà R du Pays de Liège R des Riches Claires R des Jetons R de Flandre R de Soignies R du Chien Marin R Van Artevelde Blvd Anspach Marolles R du Canal Q au Bois à Brûler Q aux Briques île R de la Grande R Van Helmont R St-Géry R des Bogards Rue du Marcq R du Grand-Hospice R des Poissoniers R Auguste Orts À" 14 R du Midi R Terre-Neueve R de l'gouttiere R du Béguinage R du Rouleau R du Peuplier R Melsens R du Vieux Marché aux Grains RJardin d'olives R Ste-Catherine R J Van Praet Borgval R Plattesteen R des Teinturiers RdeBon Secours R du Marché au Charbon R J Plateau R de la Vierge Noire R Paul Devaux s" Bourse 25 < " i" " f Pl de la Bourse " " f " f " f " f H 131? " À" S" Grand i" Place H " f " i" I 3 9 R des Grands Carmes R des Moineaux R du Poinçon 8" 11 i" 71 R de I'Infirmerie R du Cyprès i" < " r" Bruxelles- Central " f Brussels Region Pl St- Parliament Jean Pl de 38 I'Albertine S" Pl de la Vieille Halle aux Blés Pl de la Justice Pl de Dinant X" 11 i" " f 50 Q" R du Marronnier R de la Bourse RHenri Maus R des Pierres R d'accolay Pl du Samedi R des Halles R du Midi Blvd Anspach RueduMarché aucharbon R de I'Étuve Rdu Chêne R des Alexiens Pl de la Chapelle R des Ursulines R de Laeken R des Augustins Rdela Têted'Or 1 i" R Van der Elst R Grêtry R de Tabora R Charles Buls R du Lombard R du Cirque R des Hirondelles R de I'Evêque Passage St-Honoré R au Beurre 2 4 S" R Haute S" R des C hapeliers R de Dinant R BlvdEmileJacqmain PetiteR des Bouchers i" 7 i" R de I'Escalier aux R de la Fleurs Fourch e Pélican R du R des Harengs Pont-Neuf R St Michel R du Marché aux Fromages R de la Francée R des Princes R de la Reine R de I'Hôpital R de R de la Colline Rdes 15 " f 74 i" Blvd de I'Empereur R de Rollebeek R des Bouchers Galerie de la Reine R des Éperonniers R Duquesnoy R St Pierre R du Finistère I'Écuyer Dominicains R St-Jean R de la Madeleine R Léopold Galerie duroi Blvd Adolphe Max R d Argent R du Fossé aux Loups Galerie des Princes 5 R Lebeau R Neuve R aux Choux R des Boiteux R d'arenberg R de la Montagne Blvd de I'Impératrice R d Argent R du Persil Carr de I'Europe

10 lonelyplanet.com Loer Ton 71 INFORMATION Hôtel à la Grande Cloche...59 A Imanza A4 Accessible Travel Info Point... (see 8) Hotel Alma...0 C5 Kafka...12 B3 Airstop... 1 C1 Hôtel Amigo...1 C4 La Fleur en Papier Dorè C Anticyclone des Açores... 2 D3 Hotel Aris...2 D4 Le Belgica B4 Belgium Internet... 3 B4 Hôtel Arlequin...3 C4 Le Cercueil...(see 54) Brussels International... 4 C4 Hotel Café Pacific...4 A3 Le Cirio B3 Connections... 5 B4 Hôtel Le Dixseptième...5 D5 Le Greenich A3 Dr Van Breusegem Clinic... A2 Hôtel Métropole... C2 Le Roy d'espagne C4 Eurogold... 7 C4 Hotel Mozart...7 C5 Les Postiers C2 Flanders Info... 8 C4 Hôtel Noga...8 B1 L'Homo Erectus B4 Post Office... 9 C2 Hôtel Saint-Michel...9 C4 Los Romanticos B2 Rainbo House...10 B4 Hôtel Welcome B2 Métropole Café...(see ) Salon Lavoir de la Chapelle...11 C La Vieille Lanterne...71 B5 Moeder Lambic Sterling Books...12 D3 Le Plaza...72 D1 Fontainas A5 Tels Quels...13 B5 Maison Noble...73 B1 Mokafé...13 D4 Touistrading...14 A1 Royal Windsor Hotel...74 D5 Monk B3 Use-It...15 C3 Poechenellekelder B5 Waterstones...1 D1 Toone...(see 152) A l'ombra...75 C4 Zebra B4 SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES AD Delhaize...7 B3 Anspach Fountain...17 A1 Ajiyoshi...77 B2 ENTERTAINMENT À ARAU...18 D1 Belga Queen Brussels...78 D3 Ancienne Belgique B4 Au Lion d'or...19 A4 Bij den Boer A2 Arenburg Cinema D4 Beursschouburg... (see 142) Brasserie de la Roue d'or...80 C5 Arsene50...(see 141) Bourse...20 B4 Brasserie Royal...(see 100) Beursschouburg B3 Breery Museum...21 C4 Chez Léon...81 D4 Bizon B3 Broussaille Mural...22 B4 Comme Chez Soi...82 A Bronks Youth Theatre A1 Brussels City Tours...23 C4 Comocomo...83 B3 Caroline Music C3 Brussels on Stage...24 D4 Den Teepot...84 A3 Chez Maman...14 B5 Bruxella B4 Domaine de Lintillac...85 A2 Cinema Nova D3 Corpse-statue of Everard 't Fin de Siècle...8 A3 Club des Halles...(see 35) Serclaes...2 C4 Fritland...87 B4 Dr Vinyl...(see 90) Église Notre Dame du GB Express...88 A1 La Monnaie/De Munt D3 Finistère...27 D1 Kokob...89 B5 L'Archiduc B3 Église Notre-Dame des La Maison du Cygne...90 C4 Maison de la Bellone A2 Riches Claires...28 A4 La Marie-Joseph...91 A1 Music Village C4 Église Ste-Catherine...29 B2 La Villette...92 B2 Théâtre du Vaudeville...(see 24) Église St-Jean-Baptiste au Le Pain Quotidien/Het Théâtre Royal de Toone C4 Béguinage...30 B1 Dagelijks Brood...93 A3 UGC De Brouckère Église St-Nicolas...31 C4 Leonidas...94 C4 Cinema C2 Espace Bizzare...32 A3 L'Ogenblik...95 D4 Galeries St-Hubert...33 D4 Lotus Bleu...9 B5 SHOPPING f Grand Place...34 C4 Mer du Nord...97 B3 Annemie Verbeke A3 Halles St-Géry...35 A4 Mystical...98 C5 Brüsel B4 Hoet...3 A2 Panos...99 D4 Corné Port Royal...15 D5 Hôtel de Ville...37 C4 Picnik A1 Dandoy C4 Jacques Brel Foundation...38 C5 Pita Places C5 Darakan B4 Jeanneke Pis...39 D3 Rêve d'asie B4 De Biertempel C4 Kartell...40 B3 Ricotta & Parmesan D3 Delvaux...(see 19) KBC Bank Building...41 A3 Sea Grill D3 Gabrielle...10 A3 Linders...42 A2 Si Bemol C1 Galeries St-Hubert...(see 33) Maison du Roi (Brussels City Vismet B2 Galler...11 C4 Museum)...43 C4 Vistro B2 Grand Place Floer Manneken Pis...44 B5 Viva M'Boma A2 Market...12 C4 Mannekin Pis Displaced Idiz Bogam...13 A3 Mural...45 A1 DRINKING?8 Jean-Philippe Darcis...14 C4 Musée du Costume et de la À la Bécasse C4 Kaat Tilley...15 D4 Dentelle...4 C5 À la Mort Subite D3 La Maison de la BD...1 D5 Néron Mural...47 A4 AL'ImagedeNostre-Dame C3 Leonidas...(see 94) Pigeon Soldat Memorial...48 A1 Au Bon Vieux Temps C3 Manufacture Belge de Tibet & Duchateau Mural...49 B5 Au Daringman A2 Dentelles...17 D4 Tintin Mural...50 B5 Au Laboureur A2 Martin Margiela...18 A1 Tour Noire...51 B2 Beursschouburg Café...(see 142) Neuhaus...19 D4 Zinneke...52 A3 Booze'n'Blues A4 Nicolas Woit A2 Cercle des Voyageurs B5 Olivier Strelli A3 SLEEPING i Chaloupe d'or C4 Planète Chocolat B5 2Go D1 Coffee Company B4 Stijl...(see 13) 2Go4 Grand Place Rooms...54 C4 Délirium Café C3 Chambres d'hotes du Falstaff B4 TRANSPORT Vaudevillle...55 D4 Floreo A4 Eurobus Ticket Office D4 Dominican...5 D3 Fontainas Bar B5 FietsPunt/PointVelo D5 Donton-BXL...57 A5 Gecko A4 Hainan Airlines D4 HI Hostel JH Breugel...58 C Goupil le Fol C5 STIB/MIVB Office...17 C2

11 72 Marolles, Sablon & Ixelles lonelyplanet.com MAROLLES, SABLON & IXELLES A B C D See Loer Ton Map (p70) Clémenceau < " 13 1 Pl de la Square R 8" Chapelle Péqueur Square de I'Aviation 57 RCHanssens Lemonnier s" Église de À St Jean et St 81 " Pl Étienne aux Minimes Bara 12 " < " 70 "N Pl 94 Gare Breugel t" du Midi i" 40 2!0 Pl Poelaert Pl du Jeude-Balle 1 "f " H 4 r" ` 1 Bruxelles- Marolles Midi 2 G 73 À" Pl J 7" Jacobs Marolles Porte 3 de Hal O% Pl des Hotel des ;" Héros Monnaies Pl J Dillens R de I'Instruction R de France R Gheude See Central Brussels Map (pp8 9) 4 5 R Otlet R de Danemark R de R Brogniez RJoseph Claes R Contraets I'Autonomie Blvd Jamar Rde I'Argonne 0000 Pl de Bethléhem Ave Fonsny Blvd Poincare Rde Suede Blvd du Midi R derussie RdeMérode R Emile Feron St-Gilles R d'artois R de I'Argonne R de la Caserne R des Foulons Petite Ceinture Blvd Maurice Lèmonnier Ave de la Porte de Hal "[ 27 Blvd du Midi Chaussée de Forest R Vanderschrick Ave du Parc R Terre-Neuve R Théodore Verhaegen R de la Perche Ave des Villas Ave de Stalingrad R des Ménages Blvd du Midi Ave Jean Volders R de I'Église StGiles O% Albert R du Lavoir R des Tanneurs R de I'Hectolitre 000 Chaussée de Waterloo Barrière de St-Gilles Horta Chausée d'alsemberg 9? " R Arthur Diderich "V St- Gilles Ave ademeur R delarasière R de la Victoire R de I'Hôtel-des-Monnaies R de Savoie R du Miroir R StChislain R Haute Pl 0000 Antoine Delporte 3 R du Poinçon R des Brigittinnes R des Capucins R des Renards Blvd de Waterloo Metro Parvais de St-Gilles RdeI'Abricotier R Antoine Bréart St-Gilles Prison R Blaes R des Prêtres Chaussée de Waterloo RdeLonbardie R des Ursulines R de la Prévoyance R de la Victoire R d'albanie Ave Ducpétiaux R Notre Seigneur RHWafelaerts Av de la Jonction R du Temple R des Minimes R Ernest Allard Ave de la Toison d'or R B osquet R d'ecosse R Jourdan R Berckmans R de la Source R de Bordeaux 17

12 lonelyplanet.com Marolles, Sablon & Ixelles E F G H f" f" Pl du 5 Grand 89 Sablon f" 82 V" < " 14 R Watteeu 55 f" 83 Pl du Petit Sablon 28 À" Pl Louise Louise RdeSuisse Pl Loix RMoris 8 R Lebeau 7 R Van Moer Brugmann R du Grand-Cerf R aux Laines RDeJoncker RJeanStas R Capouillet RStBernard S" S " Jardin d'egmont Ave de la Toisond'Or Royal Quarter & Sablon 000 Pl Stéphanie 000 Chaussée de Charleroi Chaussée de Waterloo R de la Régence R Veydt 33 R Defacqz f" Ave Louise R Blanche RFaider R Amazone R Cap Crespel < " Église des Augustins Pl du Châtelain " V R Africaine 51@ " R du Page 54@ " R de Namur Blvd de Waterloo R des Drapiers RdesChevaliers R de Livourne Ixelles R dei'aqueduc Porte de Namur Porte de Namur R de Stassart R Keyenveld R du Prince Royal 15 Pl Ste- Croix Trône Pl du Trône 3 A Square i" 42 de Meeus Pl du Pl du Luxembourg Champ de Mars EU Quarter Square du & Etterbeek Bastion i" Pl de r" f" Bruxelles- Londres f" 1 8 8" 71 8" 5 3 f" " " À" Pl Raymond Pl Fernand Blyckaerts 50@ " Cocq See EU Area Map (p8) i" 41 R de la Concorde R Américaine 53@ " Palais Royal 52@ " R Paul-Émile Janson R du Bailli R du Mail RBréderode R du Berger R de la Longue Haie Galeriedela Porte de Namur R du Président R Jean d'ardenne f" 8 f" R du Chatelain R de Edimbourg R St-Boniface Chaussée d'ixelles R du Beau Site R Washington R de I'Arbre Bénit 2 8" 75 43i" Pl Albert Leemans R E Solvay R de la Paix R Souverains R de la Croix R de Tenbosch R du Trône R du Champ de Mars 18 Londres R de Chaussée de Wavre R Longue Vie R Mercelis R de R de Dublin la Tulipe Rue des Champs Elysées R Lesbroussart R Dautzenberg R Sans-Souci R Hennin R du Commerce 4 RCans RdeI'Industrie Rue Caroly R de Venice Chaussée d'ixelles R Gachard R Belliard R ducollège R van Eleyck Chaussée de Vleurgat RVilain XIV R de lascience RGoffart R Van Aa To Fin de Siècle (200m) m miles RduViaduc Pl H Conscience R du Trône R Van Volsem 00 Pl Flagey Étangs d'ixelles Square de Biarritz R du Lac Ave Louise Vallée R de la R d'arlon R Marie de Bourgogne R Godecharle Rd'Idalie 9 Ave des 20 Jardin du Roi R Maes R Malibran Ave Général de Gaulle < " R de Trèves Éperons d'or RduManastère R d'arlon RMontoyer R du Viaduc Square du Souvenir 38 R Wiertz Etterbeek R de la Brasserie 7 To Les Foudres R du Nid R du Belvédère Luxembourg Ave de Witte Étangs d'ixelles R Kerc kx R Lanfray R Vautier R Gray

13 74 Marolles, Sablon & Ixelles lonelyplanet.com MAROLLES, SABLON & IXELLES INFORMATION RuedeSavoie(Art DRINKING?8 Aquatic Wash Laundry... 1 D2 Nouveau House)...32 C5 Blomqvists Espresso Hôpital St Pierre... 2 D3 Rue Defacqz 71 Bar... 8 F2 Ne Zealand Embassy... 3 G1 (Hanker's Art Nouveau Brasseriedela Tourist Information Booth... 4 B2 House)...33 E5 Renaissance... 9 C5 Rue du Lac...34 G5 Brasserie Ploegmans D2 SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES Rue Faider 83 (Art Café Belga...(see 15) Africamäli... 5 G2 Nouveau House)...35 F5 Comptoir Florian F2 Audrey Hepburn's Childhood St-Gilles Prison...3 D Kuumba G2 Home... F3 St-Gilles Ton Hall...37 C5 L'Inattendu D3 Ave Brugmann 30 (Art Deco WWI Memorial...38 H5 Moeder Lambic C5 Toer)... 7 E Natural Caffè F5 Ave Ducpatiaux (Art SLEEPING i Nexx... 7 H4 Nouveau Houses)... 8 E Chambres en Ville...39 G2 Zabar D1 Ave Général de Gaulle H5 Hôtel Galia...40 C2 Ave Paul Dejaer C5 Hôtel Rembrandt...41 F3 ENTERTAINMENT À Ave Paul Dejaer 9 (Art Hôtel Stanhope...42 G1 Arsene50...(see 15) Nouveau House)...11 C5 thehitehotel...43 F5 Conservatoire Royal de Breugel House...12 D2 Musique E2 Église Notre-Dame de la Fuse C3 Chapelle...13 D1 Au Bon Coeur B3 La Démence...(see 79) Église Notre-Dame du Sablon...14 E1 Au Stekerlapatte...45 D3 Sounds Jazz Club G3 Flagey Building...15 H5 Chez Oki...4 G5 Thèâtre Les Tanneurs C2 Galerie d'ixelles...1 F2 Cinabre de Garance...47 D2 Hôtel Hannon...17 D Dolma...48 G4 SHOPPING f Hôtel Solvay (Art Nouveau Easy Tempo...49 D2 Antique Market E1 Building)...18 G5 Imagin' Air...50 G3 Au Cherche-Midi E1 Hôtel Tassel (Horta's 'first' Art La Quincaillerie...51 E Beermania G2 Nouveau House)...19 F4 La Tsampa...52 F5 Daily Flea Market C2 Ixelles Ponds...20 H5 Le Framboisier F5 L'Ecuyer... 8 F5 Jardin d'enfants Le Hasard des Choses...54 E5 Les Enfants d'édouard F4 (Horta-Designed Le Perroquet E2 Olivier Strelli E3 Schoolhouse)...21 D2 Les Brassins...5 F3 Pierre Marcolini E1 Le Chat Mural...22 C2 Les Petits Oignons...57 D1 Wittamer E1 Musée d'art Fantastique...23 E5 L'Ultime Atome F2 Musée Horta...24 E5 Midi Station...59 A2 TRANSPORT Palais de Justice...25 D2 Quim's...0 D2 Avis F Peeping Policeman Mural...2 D2 Restobières...1 D2 Budget E4 Piscine Victor Boin...27 C5 Rouge Tomate...2 F4 Bus to Charleroi Place du Petit Sablon...28 E2 Saint Boniface...3 F2 Airport A3 Porte de Hal...29 C3 Tartine Zaline...4 F2 Elevator D2 Recyclart...30 D1 Tour D'y Voir...5 E1 Maison des Cyclistes G2 Rue Africaine 92 (Art Nouveau Wittamer... E1 STIB Branch Kiosk...(see 4) House)...31 E5 Yamayu Sanatsu...7 F3 TEC Bus W... 9 B2

14 lonelyplanet.com Transport Map 75

15 7 Sights lonelyplanet.com (Continued from page 5) Money ATMs and exchange facilities are found near the Bourse, at Bruxelles-Midi station and Brussels Airport. Eurogold (Map p70 ; Rue de la Bourse 32; h9am- 5.30pm Mon-Thu, 9am-pm Fri) offers comparatively good exchange rates ithout commission. Post Post office Main (Map p70 ; Blvd Anspach 1; h8am- pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-4.30pm Sat); Gare du Midi (Map pp72-3 ; Ave Fonsny 1e; h7am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat); City 2 shopping centre (Map pp8-9 ; Rue Neuve; h9.30am-.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat) Tourist Information BIP (Map pp8-9 ; % ;.biponline.be; Rue Royale 2-4; h10am-pm) Official Brussels region tourist office. More spacious and much less croded than Brussels International (see above ). Hotel bookings and information are available but no financial transactions. Brussels International (Map p70 ; % ;.brusselsinternational.be; Grand Place; h9am-pm Mon-Sat, Mon-Sun in summer) The main city tourist office, located inside the ton hall. Often crammed full, it sells discount booklets and the Brusselscard (see boxed text, right ). Booth at Bruxelles-Midi train station. Espace Wallonie-Bruxelles (Map pp-7 ; % , ;.belgique-tourisme.net; arrivals hall, Brussels Airport; h8am-9pm) Information on Brussels and Wallonia, not Flanders. Flanders Info (Map p70 ; % ;.visit flanders.com; Rue du Marché aux Herbes 3; h9am-pm Apr-June & Sep, 9am-7pm Jul-Aug, 9am-5pm Oct-Mar, to 4pm Sun Oct-Mar, closed 1-2pm eekends) For Flanders information, obviously. Free i-fi. Use-It (Map p70 ; % ;.use-it.be; Rue de l Écuyer; h9am-12.30pm & 1-pm Tue-Fri & 1pm- 5pm Sat). Their superb free guide-maps are full of spot-on local tips and irreverent humour. Copies are available from a door dispenser even hen the office is closed, and also from hostels or by donload. Travel Agencies Airstop (Map p70 ; %high toll ;.airstop.be; Blvd Emile Jacqmain 7; h10am-pm Mon- Fri, 10am-5pm Sat) Connections (Map p70 ; %high toll , ;.connections.be; Rue du Midi 19; h9.30am-.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat) DISCOUNTS & FREEBIES On the first Wednesday afternoon of each month, most of Brussels major museums are free to enter. At other times the cheapest ay to see a bunch of top sites is ith the Brusselscard (.brusselscard.be; 24/48/72 hours 20/28/33). The card gets you into 30 major museums and provides free city transport plus discounts for other attractions, some shops and restaurants. It s available through Brussels International ( left ), six STIB agencies and four of the bigger museums. Pre-paying online saves 1. When picking your dates don t forget that most museums close Mondays. And hen collecting the pass, ensure that its magnetic stripe has been properly validated. SIGHTS The medieval grandeur of the Grand Place has an immediate o factor that rarely fails to impress. And further afield are numerous excellent museums. But much of the fun in Brussels is found simply andering the streets, enjoying the bizarre mismatch of architectural styles, spotting the quirky little details and dropping regularly into the fabulous cafés en route. Grand Place Brussels magnificent Grand Place (Map p70 ) is one of the orld s most unforgettable urban ensembles. Oddly hidden, the enclosed cobblestone square is only revealed as you enter on foot from one of six narro side alleys: Rue des Harengs is the best first approach. The focal point is the magnificently spired 15th-century city hall but each of the fabulous antique guildhalls (mostly ) has a charm of its on. Most are unashamed exhibitionists adorned ith fine baroque gables, gilded statues and elaborate guild symbols. Alive ith classic cafés, the square takes on different auras at different times. Try to visit more than once and don t miss looking again at night hen the scene is magically (and tastefully) illuminated. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings there s a floer market and at various other times the square might host anything from Christmas fairs to rock concerts to the extraordinary biennial floer carpet (see p18 ). HÔTEL DE VILLE (CITY HALL) Laboriously built beteen 1444 and 1480, the splendid, slightly asymmetric Hôtel de Ville (City Hall; Map p70 ; %visitors office ) as almost

16 lonelyplanet.com Sights 77 the only building on the Grand Place to escape the 195 French bombardment ironic considering it as their primary target. The creamy stone facade is lavished ith Gothic gargoyles and reliefs of nobility. Its intricate toer soars 9m, topped by a gilded statue of St-Michel, Brussels patron saint. For 45-minute guided tours ( 3; h3.15pm Tue & Wed year-round, 12.15pm Sun from Apr-Sep), turn up at Brussels International ( opposite ) 40 minutes before scheduled departure times to buy tickets. MAISON DU ROI This fanciful feast of neogothic arches, verdigris statues and mini-spires is bigger, darker and nearly 200 years younger than the surrounding guildhouses. Once a medieval bread-market, the current masterpiece dates from an 1873 rebuild and noadays houses the Brussels City Museum (% ;.bru city.be; adult/concession/brusselscard 3/2.50/free; h10am- 5pm Tue-Sun) hose old maps, architectural relics and paintings give a historical overvie of the city. Don t miss Pieter Breugel the Elder s 157 Cortège de Noces (Wedding Procession). HOUSES & GUILDHALLS The Grand Place s gorgeous buildings and guildhouses are listed here according to their street number and traditional name, along ith their original guild here appropriate: 1: Maison des Boulangers Bakers No the cafe Le Roy d Espagne. The gilded bronze bust above the door is Bakers patron, St-Aubert. 2: La Brouette ( The Wheelbarro) Greasemakers Notice the faint gold heelbarros above the door. The statue of St-Gilles as added in : Le Sac ( The Bag) Cabinet-makers Incredibly ornate. 5: La Louve ( The She-Wolf ) Archers The golden phoenix rising from the ashes signifies the rebirth of the Grand Place after the 195 bombardment. : Le Cornet ( The Horn) Boatmen Stern-shaped gable. 7: Le Renard ( The Fox) Haberdashers 8: L Étoile ( The Star) The square s smallest building, here city hero Everard t Serclaes ( p3 ) died in A fairly contemporary tradition claims you ll garner good luck by rubbing a 1902 brass statue of Everard s reclining corpse. Holes have been orn into Everard s forearm from all the rubbing. The statue adorns the house s arcaded north all in Rue Charles Buls, the road separating the house from the Hôtel de Ville. Also notice the lovely 1899 gilded art nouveau plaque dedicated to the city by its appreciative artists. 9: Le Cygne ( The San) Butchers In 1847 this lovely house hosted Karl Marx. Ironically it s no home to the square s finest upmarket restaurant. 10: L Arbre d Or ( The Golden Tree) Breers Notice the hop plants climbing columns here. Still the Belgian breers headquarters, to atmospheric but small basement rooms no house a cursory Breery Museum (% ;.beerparadise.be; adult/brusselscard /free, h10am-5pm daily Easter- Nov, noon-5pm Sat & Sun Dec-Easter). Entry includes a beer supped amid barrels and delightfully antiquated ooden breers tools. Tickets seem overpriced if you re paying but ith the Brusselscard it s a great opportunity for a free drink : Dukes of Brabant Mansion Six 198 houses behind a single palatial facade reorked in Had the imperial governor had his ay after 195, the hole square ould have looked rather like this : La Chaloupe d Or ( The Golden Boat) Dressmakers No a particularly splendid grand café hose upper storey rooms (hen open) offer fine vies across the square. 2-27: Le Pigeon Artists Victor Hugo lived here during his exile from France in South of Grand Place MANNEKEN PIS Don t be surprised to meet Van Gogh posing on Rue Charles Buls, Brussels most unashamedly tourist-oriented shopping street, hose chocolate and trinket shops lead the cameratoting hoards three blocks to the Manneken Pis (Map p70 ; cnr Rue de l Étuve & Rue du Chêne). This fountain-statue of a little boy cheerfully taking a leak is comically tiny and a perversely perfect national symbol for surreal Belgium. More often than not the tiny statue s nakedness is largely hidden beneath a costume relevant to an anniversary, national day or local event. The costume diary is posted on -manneken-pis.blogspot.com (in French). His ever-groing ardrobe is partly displayed at the Maison du Roi ( opposite ). The present-day bronze Manneken Pis design as sculpted by Jerôme Duquesnoy in 119, but it s not the original. A stone version named Little Julian stood here from the mid-14th century. CHANSON & LACE The excellent Musée du Costume et de la Dentelle (Map p70 ; Costume & Lace Museum; % ; Rue de la Violette 12; adult/brusselscard 3/free; h10am-12.30pm & pm Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 2-5pm Sat & Sun) has a fine collection. At the time of research, hoever,