🇧🇪 Brussels, Belgium
Gardens, parks, riverside segments, and green routes. Explore 5 curated stops in Brussels, including Parc du Cinquantenaire-Jubelpark, Royal Museums of Fine Arts, and Brussels Park (Parc de Bruxelles). Highlights include Parc du Cinquantenaire-Jubelpark, rated 4.6/5 by 7,600 visitors.
5 places in this collection
5 places in this collection
Definitely check out the Arc de Triomphe-Triomfboog on the east side of town. It's in the Parc du Cinquantenaire-Jubelpark. It is possible to go up to the terrasse above the arch, from where you'll have a good view of the city. Entry is through the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History and is included in the museum entrance fee.
In 1845, it was decided, by Royal Decree, that a museum was to be founded with works of art of deceased and living Belgian artists. A national commission was established to select important works of art. Features both historical art and modern art in the one building. In a vast museum of several buildings, this complex combines the Musée d'Art Ancien-Museum voor Oude Kunst and the Musée d'Art Moderne-Museum voor Moderne Kunst under one roof (connected by a passage). The collection shows off works, most of them Belgian, from the 14th to the 20th century, starting in the historical section, with Hans Memling's portraits from the late 15th century, which are marked by sharp lifelike details, works by Hiëronymus Bosch, and Lucas Cranach's Adam and Eve. You should particularly seek out the subsequent rooms featuring Pieter Brueghel, including his Adoration of the Magi. Don't miss his unusual Fall of the Rebel Angels, with grotesque faces and beasts. But don't fear, many of Brueghel's paintings, like those depicting Flemish village life, are of a less fiery nature. Later artists represented include Rubens, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt. Next door, in a circular building connected to the main entrance, the modern art section has an emphasis on underground works - if only because the museum's eight floors are all below ground level. The collection includes works by van Gogh, Matisse, Dalí, Tanguy, Ernst, Chagall, Miró, and local boys Magritte, Delvaux, De Braekeleer and Permeke. Don't miss David's famous 'Death of Marat'
The Parc de Bruxelles (French; 'Brussels' Park') or Warandepark (Dutch), is the largest urban public park in the centre of Brussels, Belgium. The area of the rectangular park is 13.1 ha (32 acres). An avenue leads to the main pond, from which three other avenues offer views of three important places in Brussels: the Palace of Justice, the Royal Palace and the Place du Trône/Troonplein.
The Brussels Stock Exchange was founded in 1801 by decree of Napoleon. As part of the covering of the river Senne for health and aesthetic reasons in the 1860s and 1870s, a massive programme of beautification of the city centre was undertaken. It was to be located on the former butter market, (itself situated on the ruins of the former Recollets Franciscan convent) on the newly created Anspach Boulevard (then called 'Central Boulevard'). The building was erected from 1868 to 1873, and housed the Brussels Stock Exchange until 1996. The building does not have a distinct name, though it is usually called simply the Bourse/Beurs. It is located on Boulevard Anspach, and is the namesake of the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein, which is, after the Grand Place, the second most important square in Brussels. The building combines elements of the Neo-Renaissance and Second Empire architectural styles. It has an abundance of ornaments and sculptures, created by famous artists, including the brothers Jacques and Joseph Jacquet, Guillaume de Groot, French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and his then-assistant Auguste Rodin.
The Brussels Parliament building is a neoclassical building located on Rue de Lombardstraat and houses the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region. It largely dates back to the early twentieth century, although it has had some wings date back to the seventeenth century and certain later renovations. The hemicycle is on the top floor of the building, with the roof being of modern zinc and glass design. The chamber is encircled by a long curved wooden wall and there is an overhanging press and public gallery. Committee rooms have likewise been updated with modern technology but much of the building remains neoclassical. There is also a cafeteria and reading room for deputies. The four rear wings have administrative functions, including housing the Presidents offices. There is also 400 square metres of hanging gardens extending to heights of up to 27 metres. Not to be confused with the European Parliament building in Brussels.
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