Best Spots in Brussels for The Culture Explorers
Home · Brussels · The Culture Explorer
For culture and history lovers
From the classic Grand Place and Oldmasters Museum, to lesser-known spots worth adding to your trip.
★ 4.7 · 178,158 reviews
Begin your Brussels trip at the Grand Place, the ornate square at the city's historic core. Slowly turn on the cobbles to take in the guild houses, the Gothic Town Hall and the gilded rooflines.
★ 4.6 · 646 reviews
Walk into the Oldmasters Museum and meet Flemish painting at its source. Move through rooms of Bruegel the Elder, Rubens and their contemporaries, then catch the changing exhibitions that sit alongside the permanent collection.
★ 4.7 · 1,943 reviews
Take in Brussels Town Hall, the Gothic jewel of the Grand Place. Study its carved facade and tower, then go inside to see the tapestries and the mirrored concert hall.
★ 4.7 · 131 reviews
Remember the First World War where it happened on this Flanders Fields day trip from Brussels. Visit memorials, cemeteries and trench sites, explore the In Flanders Fields Museum and experience Ypres' remembrance traditions.
★ 4.4 · 3,956 reviews
Tour Musée Horta, the home and studio of art nouveau architect Victor Horta. Admire stained glass, mosaics and furnishings in rooms designed to feel lived in.
★ 4.3 · 8,849 reviews
Step into the Magritte Museum in central Brussels and follow the surrealist's career decade by decade. Move down three floors of paintings and personal artifacts, from early cubist experiments to his best-known images.
★ 4.7 · 24,892 reviews
Step inside Belgium's national church, the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula. Walk the Gothic nave, admire the stained glass, and see where the country's royal ceremonies take place.
★ 4.6 · 72 reviews
Leave Brussels on a Saturday morning for a full-day journey into the Ardennes with the Battle of the Bulge Remembrance Tour. Walk the Mardasson Memorial, an American cemetery and Bastogne's wartime sites, then explore the War Museum with your guide.
★ 4.6 · 41,231 reviews
Explore Parc du Cinquantenaire, the grand park crowned by Brussels' triumphal arch. Stroll past fountains and flower beds, admire the colonnaded buildings, and drop into one of the museums on site.
★ 4.6 · 14 reviews
Seek out Hôtel Tassel, the townhouse often credited as the birthplace of Art Nouveau architecture. Study its curved ironwork and sinuous facade from the street, and see where a new style began.
★ 4.0 · 343 reviews
Meet at the Grand Place for a guided look at Brussels' Art Nouveau heritage. Ride the tram to the Bailli district and study Victor Horta's buildings of iron, glass, wood and stone up close.
★ 4.5 · 16,557 reviews
Stand before the Brussels Royal Palace, seat of the Belgian monarchy. Admire its neoclassical front from the square and, in summer, walk through the throne room and the Hall of Mirrors.
Best season
★ 4.5 · 14,865 reviews
Discover the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, where dinosaurs, minerals and animal specimens fill a former-station-style building. Walk the dinosaur gallery and try the hands-on exhibits that explain evolution and biodiversity.
★ 4.5 · 5,664 reviews
Explore the House of European History, set in a park behind the European Parliament. Walk through the permanent exhibition on Europe's story, then browse a temporary show or stop at the cafe.
★ 4.5 · 6,512 reviews
Step into the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, a vast free museum in Brussels. Wander among tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and medieval armour, following military storylines from the 19th century onward.
★ 4.4 · 3,306 reviews
Explore the Art & History Museum, a sprawling Brussels collection spanning thousands of years. Wander from Belgian prehistory and Merovingian finds to Egyptian and Iranian artifacts, letting the museum's scale set your own route.
★ 4.4 · 6,411 reviews
Explore the Musical Instruments Museum, set in an art nouveau building. Put on the headphones and listen to instruments from around the world as you move through the galleries.
★ 4.4 · 22,101 reviews
Walk into Parc de Bruxelles, the formal royal park facing the Royal Palace. Follow its straight avenues past statues and the central fountain, then rest on a bench or stop at one of the cafés.
★ 4.5 · 46,333 reviews
Discover the Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert, a glass-roofed arcade that has welcomed shoppers since 1847. Stroll beneath its arched roof past boutiques, cafés and theatres, admiring the elegant historic architecture at any hour.
★ 4.6 · 5,988 reviews
Step inside Notre-Dame des Victoires au Sablon, one of Brussels' finest Gothic churches. Walk the nave beneath tall stained glass, peek into the baroque chapels, and follow the QR codes to learn how the church came to be.
★ 4.5 · 8,588 reviews
Step inside BOZAR, Victor Horta's celebrated arts centre a short walk from Brussels Central Station. Catch a classical concert, wander through a current exhibition, and take in the building's distinctive architectural detailing.
★ 4.7 · 680 reviews
Duck into Toone, Brussels' beloved traditional puppet theatre. Watch a marionette performance in an intimate old hall, then linger over a beer in the bar among visitors from around the world.
★ 4.5 · 2,349 reviews
Visit Villa Empain, an art deco mansion turned modern art museum. Admire the pool area and architecture, then move through changing exhibitions and the lower-level art deco objects.
★ 4.6 · 1,958 reviews
Discover Cantillon, a working lambic brewery and museum in Anderlecht. Wander the old cellars and brewing rooms with a guide booklet, then finish with a tasting of sour traditional beer.
★ 4.5 · 248 reviews
Catch the morning train from Brussels to Bruges for a day in its medieval center. Follow a guide along canals and past the Beguinage, then spend free time on lunch or a canal cruise.
★ 4.5 · 1,943 reviews
Step into the Church of Our Lady of the Chapel, one of Brussels' oldest places of worship. Admire the Gothic interior, the column statues and the tomb of Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
★ 4.4 · 550 reviews
Visit Maison Autrique, an 1893 art nouveau townhouse in Schaerbeek. Tour the period rooms to see an early Horta design and how upper-class Brussels households lived.
★ 4.2 · 109 reviews
Start at the Grand Place and ride the rails to two medieval Flemish cities. A local guide shows you the historic centers of Bruges and Ghent, which are both easy to explore on foot.
★ 4.6 · 6,657 reviews
Climb aboard Train World, set inside the historic Schaerbeek station. Walk among more than 20 locomotives and follow Belgian railway history from the first steam trains to the modern network.
★ 4.5 · 338 reviews
Visit Cauchie House, an art nouveau gem built in 1905 by architect Paul Cauchie. Join a guided tour to study the sgraffito facade and step inside the richly decorated rooms where the couple lived and entertained.
Brussels · 🏛️ Landmark
Grand Place
30 min
Brussels · 🎨 Museum
Oldmasters Museum
45 min
Brussels Town Hall
20 min
Brussels · 🧭 Tours
Flanders Fields Remembrance Full-Day Trip
10h
Musée Horta
1h
Magritte Museum
1h30
St Michael & St Gudula Cathedral
The Battle of the Bulge Remembrance Tour
Brussels · 🌳 Nature
Parc du Cinquantenaire
Hôtel Tassel
15 min
Brussels 3-Hour Guided Art Nouveau Tour
3h
Brussels Royal Palace
Royal Belgian institute of Natural Sciences
House of European History
1h15
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
Art & History Museum
Musical Instruments Museum
Parc de Bruxelles
Brussels · 🛍️ Shopping
Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert
Église Notre-Dame des Victoires au Sablon
Brussels · 🎭 Entertainment
BOZAR
Toone
Villa Empain
Brussels · 🍸 Drinks
Cantillon Brewery & Museum
Bruges Full-Day Trip by Train
Kerk van Onze Lieve Vrouwe Ter Kapelle
Maison Autrique
Bruges and Ghent Full-Day Trip by Train
Train World
Cauchie House
