Best Museums in Brussels
Home · Brussels · Museums
From the classic Atomium and Magritte Museum, to lesser-known spots worth adding to your trip.
★ 4.4 · 114,262 reviews
Ride into the Atomium, Brussels' unmistakable steel atom rising above the Heysel plateau. Ascend through its linked spheres by escalator, browse the exhibitions and look out over the city from 92 metres.
★ 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.
★ 4.3 · 12,539 reviews
Wander through Mini-Europe, the miniature park beside the Atomium. Stroll past 1:25-scale models of landmarks from Big Ben to the Eiffel Tower and spot the small details that make each one special.
★ 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.
★ 3.9 · 4,076 reviews
Enter the Comics Art Museum, set in Victor Horta's art nouveau warehouse. Browse original artwork, follow the history of the medium, and explore the floors devoted to Belgian comics.
★ 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.
★ 4.4 · 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.
★ 4.6 · 12,836 reviews
Walk into Autoworld, Brussels' spacious museum devoted to the automobile. Move from vintage carriages through Ferraris, Aston Martins and presidential limousines, following the evolution of car design decade by decade.
★ 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.
★ 4.4 · 2,444 reviews
Climb into the Brussels City Museum, housed in the neo-Gothic Maison du Roi on the Grand Place. See the Manneken Pis costume collection and trace the city's history through its prized artworks and interactive screens.
★ 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 · 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 · 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.
★ 4.5 · 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.
★ 4.6 · 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.
★ 4.4 · 10,447 reviews
Follow the story of cocoa at Choco-Story Brussels, a small museum with plenty of flavour. Browse historic objects, watch a master chocolatier at work, and taste chocolate along the way.
★ 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.
★ 4.5 · 8,681 reviews
Explore the Parlamentarium and see how the European Union took shape. Follow the interactive timeline with a free audio guide, tracing political and social events that defined the continent.
★ 4.4 · 1,112 reviews
Step into the BELvue Museum to understand how modern Belgium came to be. Follow the country's story through films, photos and music, and explore the democracy centre set above the ruined palace of Charles V.
★ 4.6 · 791 reviews
Discover The World of Banksy in a former textile building in Brussels. Walk among recreated murals and over 130 works that show the artist's style and social commentary.
★ 4.4 · 408 reviews
Step inside the Musée René Magritte Museum, the quiet Jette house where the Surrealist actually lived and worked. Browse his paintings, photographs and film works, plus the personal objects and drawings that shaped his world.
★ 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.
★ 4.3 · 3,946 reviews
Climb through Halle Gate, the last medieval gate of Brussels. Follow the city's history floor by floor up the stone spiral staircase, then take in the views from the battlements.
★ 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.
★ 4.7 · 210 reviews
Discover the Museum of Belgian Fries, a quirky Brussels stop dedicated to the humble potato. Browse historical objects, films and interactive games, then finish with a cone of fries and sauce.
★ 3.6 · 5,131 reviews
Pop into Design Museum Brussels, beside the Atomium. Browse its collection of plastic objects and Belgian design, from iconic chairs to furniture, and see what rotating exhibition is on show.
★ 4.6 · 351 reviews
Discover the KBR museum, where the royal library's collection comes to life. Follow how medieval books were made, from inks to binding, and watch an animated manuscript unfold.
★ 4.4 · 899 reviews
Step into the Museum of Illusions in Brussels and put your perception to the test. Work through puzzles, wander the immersive rooms and take trick photos with friends or family.
★ 4.5 · 476 reviews
Step into Erasmus House, one of the oldest Gothic houses in Brussels. Browse the books and displays on the humanist's life, then unwind in the quiet garden behind the building.
★ 4.5 · 348 reviews
Visit La Fonderie, a museum of industry and labour in a former foundry in Molenbeek. Walk the yard of old machines, then explore the galleries on Brussels' workers and immigrants.
Brussels · 🏛️ Landmark
Atomium
1h30
Brussels · 🎨 Museum
Magritte Museum
Brussels · 🎭 Entertainment
Mini-Europe
2h30
Royal Belgian institute of Natural Sciences
Comics Art Museum | Brussels
1h15
Oldmasters Museum
45 min
Musée Horta
1h
Autoworld | Brussels
Train World
Brussels City Museum
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
Musical Instruments Museum
Art & History Museum
House of European History
Église Notre-Dame des Victoires au Sablon
20 min
Choco-Story Brussels
Villa Empain
Parlamentarium
BELvue museum
The World of Banksy Museum Permanent Exhibition
Musée René Magritte Museum
Maison Autrique
Halle Gate
Cauchie House
30 min
Museum of Belgian Fries including tasting
Design Museum Brussels
KBR museum
Museum of Illusions Entry Ticket
Erasmus House
La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour
