Places to visit in Brussels

Brussels became the first leg of our European Tour. The wheels of our plane met with the runway of Amsterdam Schipol Airport and our air travel was completed. We quickly finished our customs and baggage procedures and got on our tour bus waiting for us outside and moved towards Brussels, Belgium.

In this blog post, we tried to present the contents of our trip to Brussels City Center. Our second stop in Belgium, the legendary city Brugge (Bruges), can be read in our next article, “Places to Visit in Belgium Bruges (Bruges)”. Now little by little “Where is Brussels?” “Where is Belgium?” “Places to Visit in Brussels“; Let’s move on to find answers to questions like. Brussels Tour begins.

Panoramic City Tour of Brussels

We arrived from Amsterdam to Brussels in about 2.5 hours (200 km). The distance between Istanbul and Brussels is about 2600 km. You can reach around 26 hours by car, but between 2 and 2.5 hours by plane. We started the first panoramic city tour in Brussels. We made a nice entrance to Brussels with the A27 highway passing through the Schelde river and its tributaries. Brussels is a fascinating city with both historical and modern buildings built on many rivers and water channels just like the Netherlands.

First, we visited Heysel (Heizel) Stadium, City Park and the famous Atomium monument associated with Brussels. Right after the Atomium monument, you will see the 9-domed mausoleum belonging to the most powerful king of Belgium, Leopold I, designed in Neo-Gothic style.

You will see some relief symbols on historical monuments in Belgium, Paris and Luxembourg. These symbols give us information about the royal period of that work. Namely

• Single “L” Symbol – Artifacts with a single letter “L” indicate that it was built during the reign of King Leopold-I.
• Double “L” Symbol – If you see the letter “LL” printed back to back on the historical monument, it is understood that it was made during the reign of King Leopold-II.
• Symbol “N” – The letter “N” on bridges and buildings usually found in Paris indicates that the work was made during the reign of Emperor Napoleon.

Brussels City Center

The mainland of Brussels, just like the Netherlands, emerged a few centuries ago with the draining of swamps and the reclamation of rivers and water beds. Anyway, Brussels means “city in the middle of the swamp” in word. However, the ground is much stronger than the Netherlands. For this reason, the number of historical stone buildings is higher than the Netherlands. Naturally, this situation radically affects the type of material used in the buildings and the architecture.

Established on the Schelde and Rupel rivers and their tributaries, Brussels has a population of approximately 1 million and is governed by 19 sub-municipalities. To list the most popular places to visit in Brussels;

Brussels Attractions List

1. Grand Place (Grote Markt)

The market square is a closed square surrounded by the Town Hall, Museums, Cathedral, Chocolate and Beer shops and restaurants. It is one of the landmark places of Brussels. When it comes to places to visit in Brussels, the top of the list will undoubtedly be the Grand Place, the Market Square. We recommend that you spend at least 1-2 hours here.

The historic buildings surrounding the square, including the Town Hall, Brussels City Museum, the Le Quinze Hotel, the Hard Rock Cafe and the Beer Museum, are built in a fascinating gothic style that will take you on a time travel centuries ago.

The Flower Festival, which is held every two years in August and attracts tourists, is also held in the Market Square. It is unfortunate that although we were in Brussels in August, we could not see the Flower Festival this year as the festival was held the previous year.

El Yapımı Belçika Çikolatası Nerede Bulunur?

Before leaving the Grand Place Square, don’t forget to taste the world famous Handmade Belgian Chocolate and eat the Waffles and Belgian Macarons. If you are asking where to eat Belgian Chocolate, do not think, because the address where you can find handmade chocolates will be the chocolate shops on the streets leading to the Brussels Grand Palace Square.

It is worth reminding that Handmade Belgium Chocolate is a bit salty in price (the price of 250gr bar chocolate is about 25 €) so you should definitely try it for tasting, but Fabricated Belgium Chocolate is more affordable. You will even find the cheapest chocolate in Europe in Brussels. Finally, if you have a night time, we recommend you to visit the Market Square, which is illuminated by colorful lighting.

2. Belgian Royal Palace

Belgium’s regime is Kingdom + Democracy, “Monarchy Management”. However, the Kingdom is completely symbolic. So much so that although the King has the power to veto the laws enacted by the Belgian Senate, he cannot / cannot use this power.

If it is to use this authority to explain to what extent the work can reach; The deputies, who prepared the bill vetoed by the king and voted for the bill to become law, write their resignation letters and walk through the Brussels National Park to the Royal Palace, where they confront the King and present their resignation to the King himself. Such a thing is not a common occurrence, but there are examples in history.

Belgium State Management Form

The Royal Palace, whose construction began in the 18th century, is one of the works identified with Brussels. It is very close to the parliament building in terms of distance. Especially the labyrinth garden and wide boulevard in front of the palace bring the Belgium Royal Palace to the fore. It is open to visitors only at certain times of the day.

3. St. Michael & St. Gudula Church – Notre Dame Chapel

One of the most magnificent buildings that can be visited in Brussels is St. Michael’s Cathedral. It is located right next to the Belgium National Central Bank building. M.S. This work, which was started in the 800’s and was designed and built by Victor Hugo in the Gothic style, was converted into a cathedral at the beginning of the 11th century, although it originally served as a chapel.

Among the places to visit in Brussels, it entered the category of religious works from the top rank. In addition to this cathedral, there is the Notre Dame Chapel near the Atomium Monument, which also attracts attention with its gothic architecture.

You will see the Chinese and Japanese Pavilions when you pass the Festival Area where the Atomium is located. These works, built with Far Eastern architecture, have been preserved as solid and eye-catching as they were on the first day of their construction.

Heizel Stadium, Atomium Monument, Schelde river, City Museum, Leopold Tomb, Water Channels, Market Square, Royal Palace of Belgium, Chinese and Japanese Pavilions, Belgian Chocolate and Waffles.

4. Everard ‘T Serclaes and Mannaken Pis (Peeing Child Sculpture)

When you enter the “Charles Buls” street in the market square, you will see the Everard ‘T Serclaes Statue on your left. It is believed that those who touch this woman statue will come back to Brussels later. Japanese and Indian tourists are apparently a little too caught up in this belief. I could hardly get a single shot.

After getting full of history and gothic architecture in the Market Square, you can see the child sculpture named “Mannaken Pis” at the end of the “Rue de I’Etuve” street, one of the narrow streets of Brussels. According to the legend, the French donated this statue to Belgium in the 17th century for a bit of humor and a little humiliation.

The reason is unknown, but inversely proportional to its size, it is one of the most curious and most visited landmark places in Brussels. It is also known that the famous Belgian beer was poured from the statue on national days. While you’re in Brussels, be sure to visit and take a few photos.

5. Atomium Monument

The Atomium Statue is one of the landmarks of Brussels and even Belgium. It symbolizes Science, Industrial Production and the power of Iron and Steel. It is one of the famous works of Andre WATERKEY, which was designed for the Brussels Fair in 1958 and modeled the Iron atom with 165 billion magnification. Whatever the Eiffel Tower means for France, the Atomium Monument has a similar meaning for Belgium. The reasons for making both works are similar. It has an international reputation. For this reason, it is visited by millions of tourists every year.

You can reach the top of the Atomium Monument, which consists of 9 giant spheres, by means of an elevator and see the impressive Brussels view. This service is subject to a fee, and you can purchase tickets online if you wish. You can choose for a single Atomium visit or the Mini-Europe + Atomium Ticket, which costs around € 25.

Where to Visit in the Fairground?

To see the huge iconic atomic monument made of steel up close, you need to go to the Brussels Festival Grounds. Around the festival area in the center of the city

• Fun fair
• Festival Area
• Mini-Europe Miniature Park
• Planetarium Science Center
• Victor Boin Stadium
• Roi Baudouin Stadium (Heysel Stadium) and Sports Complex
• Brussels Design Museum
• Famous Thinker and Former Belgian King Adolphe Max Memorial Statue
• and EXPO Brussels Belgium Fairgrounds.

It also includes the cathedral, church, historical high school buildings, historical buildings belonging to the Royal and Parliament and a large green area.