How To Use This E-Book
Getting Around the e-Book
This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Brussels, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.
The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Brussels, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Brussels are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Brussels. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
2018 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd
Table of Contents
Brusselss Top 10 Attractions
Top Attraction #1
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The Cathdrale des Sts-Michel-et-Gudule
Beautiful stained glass windows in the choir depict Louis II and his wife. For more information, .
Top Attraction #2
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Manneken-Pis
The citys famously cheeky statue. For more information, .
Top Attraction #3
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Atomium
A symbol of the city, this metallic 1950s sculpture rises above the toy-town buildings of Mini-Europe. For more information, .
Top Attraction #4
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The Old England Department Store
One of many lovely Art Nouveau buildings, it now houses a music museum. For more information, .
Top Attraction #5
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The Grand-Place
This focal point of the citys daily life is simply one of the loveliest squares in the world. For more information, .
Top Attraction #6
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Ghent
The city has numerous attractions, including the picturesque Korenlei. For more information, .
Top Attraction #7
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Place Royale
The square at the heart of Royal Brussels. For more information, .
Top Attraction #8
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Parc du Cinquantenaire
Beautiful formal gardens with a monumental arch created for King Leopold II. For more information, .
Top Attraction #9
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Antwerps Grote Markt
The central fountain depicts Antwerps hero Silvius Brabo. For more information, .
Top Attraction #10
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Bruges
The 13th-century Belfry towers over the old town. For more information, .
A Perfect Day In Brussels
9.00am
Breakfast
Begin the day in style by having breakfast at the terrace caf of the sumptuous Belle poque-style Mtropole Hotel, on place de Brouckre.
10.00am
The Grand-Place
Walk to the Grand-Place by way of place de la Monnaie, passing the Thtre Royal de la Monnaie, the citys neoclassical opera and ballet house, on the way. When you arrive at the Grand-Place, take in the magnificent spectacle as an ensemble. Then, going around the square, take time to view the ornate facades of the buildings, including the Htel de Ville, Maison du Roi and guildhouses.
11.00am
A stroll through central Brussels
Walk to the Galeries Royales St-Hubert, an elegant 19th-century shopping arcade, emerging below the Gothic Cathdral des Sts-Michel-et-Gudule. Then go past Gare Centrale to the Mont des Arts, a fine city garden and restored showcase of 1950s architecture. Drop downhill through place St-Jean to view Manneken-Pis, and decide for yourself whether this much-loved symbol of Brussels is worth all the fuss. Return to the Grand-Place.
1.00pm
Lunch
There are many restaurants in the lIlot Sacr district just off the Grand-Place, but you cant do better than join the throng for lunch in the traditional Belgian restaurant T Kelderke, set in an atmospheric Grand-Place cellar.