The most famous buildings in Brussels include the Grand Place with the Brussels City Hall in the center (World Heritage Site 1988), the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudule, and the Royal Chateau of Lacan, which is famous for its huge glass conservatory. Another landmark of Brussels is the Royal Palace of Brussels.
The Tower of the Atomium, located in Hessel Park, is a monumental metal structure built when Brussels hosted the 1958 World Exhibition. The building consists of nine large aluminum spheres, each 18 meters in diameter, each representing an atom, connected by hollow steel tubes, which form a square pattern with the tubes connecting the spheres. This square is equivalent to a 165 billion times enlarged square crystal structure of alpha iron. Next to the Tower of the Atomium is the Mini-European Park, a collection of 1/25th scale replicas of famous European buildings.
Another iconic sight in Brussels is the statue of the Little Peeing Child, known as "Brussels' First Citizen," a bronze statue that is a must-see for visitors.
Other notable attractions in Brussels include the Fiftieth Anniversary Park, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of Belgium's independence, the Sacré-Coeur, the Brussels Stock Exchange, the Palais de Justice in Brussels, and a series of buildings for the European Union organization.
Cultural facilities in Brussels include the Brussels Theatre and the historic Royal Mint Theatre (La Monnaie). There is also a wide range of museums, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which houses a large collection of Rubens' works, the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, and the Belgian Center for Comic Art.
The Arc de Triomphe in the 50th Anniversary Park
The city center of Brussels is characterized by Flemish architecture, as well as buildings designed by Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta. As one of the birthplaces of Art Nouveau, Brussels has a number of buildings in the Art Nouveau style, with the districts of Schaerbeek, Etterbeek, Ixelles and Saint-Gilles being particularly noteworthy. Another example of Art Nouveau is the Stoclet Palace, designed by architect Josef Hoffmann.
Brussels was also the stage for many great artists. The famous Belgian surrealist René Magritte studied here. The city has also given birth to many famous comic strips, such as The Adventures of Tintin, Lucky Luke, Gaston, Cubitus and Marsupilami. Many of the city's building facades and subway stations are covered with comic book characters. The Belgian Museum of Comics, a collection of comic book art, is itself a Victor Horta-designed Art Nouveau building. The museum itself is an Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta.
The 50,000-seat King Baudouin Stadium is Belgium's largest stadium and is used for sports competitions and concerts. Formerly known as Stade de la Hessel, the stadium had a downturn after the Hessel tragedy in 1985. The stadium was then remodeled and renamed to the current stadium.
Brussels (Brussels) - the capital of Belgium, population of about 1 million, the country's political, economic and cultural center, located in the heart of the Dutch-Belgian-French railroad line, known as Europe's most beautiful city. Brussels is the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union. Brussels has some of the finest architecture and museums in Europe, with skyscrapers and medieval buildings. The city is centered around the Royal Palace and built along the Petit Ring, and is best explored on foot.
Brussels, the capital of the Kingdom of Belgium, is located on the banks of the River Sennar, with the low plain of Flanders in the north and the slightly undulating Brabant Plateau in the south, with an average elevation of 58 meters above sea level. With a population of 1.07 million and an area of 162 square kilometers, it is the largest city in Belgium.