Brussels

Best things to do in Brussels

1. 

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   1. A day trip to Antwerp

   • A full day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Rainy day

   A city about 40 km north of Brussels. Highlights include the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady, the Grote Markt with its guildhalls and Brabo Fountain, the Beaux-Arts Central Station and the MAS museum. It is known as a hub of the world's diamond trade.

   Our sources do not give train times, so check the rail timetable.

   38,726 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Antwerp

2. 

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   2. A day trip to Bruges

   • A full day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Rainy day

   A medieval city whose historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. It has a ring of canals, the Markt square and a 13th-century belfry with 47 bells. The station has at least hourly trains to other major Belgian cities.

   Check the rail timetable from Brussels before you plan the day.

   31,733 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Bruges

3. 

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   3. A day trip to Ghent

   • A full day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Rainy day

   A city with a medieval castle (the Gravensteen), St Bavo's Cathedral with the 15th-century Ghent Altarpiece, and the harbour architecture of the Graslei. The belfry and cloth hall are UNESCO-listed. The Gentse Feesten, a ten-day festival, is held every year.

   Rail and the E40 motorway link Ghent with Brussels. Check timetables first.

   26,242 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Ghent

4. 

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   4. Manneken Pis

   • 15 to 30 minutes
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • No car needed
   • Couples

   A small bronze fountain statue, 55.5 cm tall, at the corner of Rue du Chene and Rue de l'Etuve, about five minutes' walk from the Grand-Place. The present statue dates from 1965 and replaced an original from 1619. It has about 1,000 costumes, shown at the GardeRobe museum on Rue du Chene.

   20,891 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Manneken Pis

5. 

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   5. A day trip to Leuven

   • Half a day to a full day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • No car needed
   • Rainy day

   A university city about 25 km east of Brussels, where the university dates to 1425. Sights include the late-Gothic Town Hall (1439 to 1463) with 236 statues, St Peter's Church and the Great Beguinage, a UNESCO site since 1998.

   Check the rail timetable from Brussels.

   13,312 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Leuven

6. 

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   6. Atomium

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • Tickets needed
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Rainy day

   A 102 m landmark built for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, made of nine steel-clad spheres of 18 m diameter. Six are open to visitors. Its layout is modelled on an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

   The official site says tickets are currently sold only at the on-site office, with waits of 45 minutes to 2 hours, and that the upper-sphere panorama is temporarily closed. Check before you go.

   10,591 readers a month

   Sources

   • Atomium, official site
   • Wikipedia, Atomium

7. 

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   7. A day trip to Mechelen

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families
   • No car needed

   A city about 25 km from Brussels that was capital of the Low Countries in the early 16th century. St Rumbold's Cathedral dominates its Grote Markt, the belfry dates to the 14th century, and its Beguinages are UNESCO-listed.

   Check the rail timetable from Brussels.

   6,931 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Mechelen

8. 

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   8. Grand-Place

   • About an hour
   • No booking needed
   • Flower carpet every two years in August
   • Families
   • Couples
   • No car needed

   The central square of Brussels, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, lined with guildhalls rebuilt after the French bombardment of 1695. The Town Hall's tower is about 96 m high. A carpet of begonias or dahlias covers the square every two years in August.

   5,521 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Grand-Place

9. 

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   9. Royal Palace of Brussels

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples
   • Rainy day
   • No car needed

   The official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians, used for state business and receptions rather than as the family home. It opens to the public from 21 July until early September. The Hall of Mirrors ceiling by Jan Fabre uses over a million beetle wing cases.

   Public opening is in summer only. Check the official dates before you go.

   3,783 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Royal Palace of Brussels

10. 

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    10. Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula

    • About an hour
    • Check entry rules before you go
    • Rainy day
    • Couples
    • No car needed

    The Brussels cathedral, mostly Brabantine Gothic, whose main structure was finished around 1519. Its two western towers are about 64 m tall, and most of its windows date from 1525 to 1663. Royal weddings and state funerals are held here.

    Our sources do not give opening hours, so check before you go.

    3,522 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Just missed the list: Lion's Mound (11th by readers; at the Waterloo battlefield); Parc du Cinquantenaire (12th by readers; a park in Brussels)