Attractions in Brussels

Zinneke Pis is a bronze statue of a street dog urinating, installed in 1998 to complete Brussels' irreverent trio alongside Manneken Pis (boy) and Jeanneke Pis (girl). The mongrel stands on a bollard on Rue des Chartreux.

Manneken Pis is a small bronze fountain sculpture of a urinating boy, standing just 61 centimetres tall. Despite its diminutive size, it has been a beloved Brussels symbol since the 17th century.

The Grand-Place (Grote Markt) is Brussels' central square and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Ringed by opulent Baroque guild halls rebuilt after the 1695 French bombardment, it is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.

The Atomium is a 102-metre-tall structure representing an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Built for the 1958 World's Fair (Expo 58), it was intended to be temporary but became Brussels' most recognisable landmark.

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula is Brussels' principal church, a Brabantine Gothic masterpiece built between the 13th and 15th centuries. It serves as the venue for royal weddings and state funerals.

The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians, used for state functions. Though the royal family resides at Laeken, this imposing neoclassical building on the Place des Palais represents the Belgian monarchy.

The Brussels Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville) is a 15th-century Gothic masterpiece and the architectural anchor of the Grand-Place. Its asymmetrical design and 96-metre tower are Brussels' most iconic silhouette.

The Palais de Justice (Law Courts of Brussels) is one of the largest courthouses ever built — 26,000 m² of floor space, bigger than St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Its eclectic Neoclassical-Assyrian design dominates the Brussels skyline.

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Basilique de Koekelberg) is the world's fifth-largest church and the largest Art Deco building in the world, occupying a commanding hilltop position in Koekelberg.

La Monnaie / De Munt (Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie) is Brussels' national opera house, one of Europe's most prestigious since 1700. Its neoclassical facade graces the Place de la Monnaie in the city centre.

Jeanneke Pis is a small bronze fountain sculpture of a squatting girl, the female counterpart to the famous Manneken Pis. Installed in 1985, she crouches behind iron bars in a side alley off Rue des Bouchers.

Mini-Europe is an outdoor miniature park at the foot of the Atomium, featuring over 350 models of famous European monuments and buildings at 1:25 scale, set in landscaped gardens.

Visitors can enter the actual hemicycle (debating chamber) of the European Parliament when the house is not in session. Free guided tours explain how European laws are debated and passed.

The Church of Our Lady of the Sablon (Église Notre-Dame du Sablon) is a 15th-century Brabantine Gothic masterpiece, noted for its remarkably luminous stained-glass windows and the absence of exterior buttresses.

The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken are a monumental complex of 19th-century glass-and-iron hothouses in the grounds of the Royal Palace of Laeken, opened to the public for just three weeks each spring (usually late April to mid-May).

The Halle Gate (Porte de Hal) is the last surviving medieval gate of Brussels' 14th-century second city wall, now housing a museum on the city's medieval history and fortifications within its impressive towers.

The Coudenberg Palace archaeological site reveals the underground remains of the medieval and Renaissance palace of Brussels — once one of Europe's grandest courts — buried beneath the Place Royale since the 18th century.

The Cinquantenaire Arch (Arc du Cinquantenaire) is a monumental triumphal arch topped by a bronze quadriga, built to celebrate 50 years of Belgian independence. It anchors the grand Cinquantenaire park and museum complex.

Brasserie Cantillon is one of the last traditional lambic breweries in Brussels, producing spontaneously fermented beers using wild yeast since 1900. A self-guided tour walks visitors through the unchanged brewing process.

Place Flagey is a vibrant square in Ixelles anchored by the Flagey building — a stunning 1930s Art Deco former radio broadcasting studio now serving as a cultural centre with concert halls, a cinema, and an art-house programme.