Brussels

💡 About Brussels

Brussels, the bilingual and bicultural capital of Belgium where French-speaking Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings have coexisted in a state of creative political tension for nearly two centuries, has evolved into the de facto capital of European integration — the city where 28 (now 27) sovereign nations have chosen to site the headquarters of the European Union's executive Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, along with NATO's supreme headquarters, making it the second most important diplomatic city in the world after New York by number of international institutions. The Grand Place, Brussels' central square, is unquestionably one of the most beautiful public spaces in Europe: rebuilt after its catastrophic destruction by French artillery bombardment in 1695, the gilded facades of the guild houses that surround the Gothic Town Hall — the brewers' guild, the tailors' guild, the archers' guild, each more elaborately decorated than the last — create a backdrop of such architectural magnificence that Victor Hugo, who lived in exile in Brussels for 19 years, described it as "a magnificent jewel-case"; the square is illuminated at night and holds a spectacular flower carpet of over 700,000 begonias every two years. Belgium's culinary holy trinity of chocolate, beer and French fries (which are in fact Belgian in origin, not French — Belgian frites, double-fried in beef fat and served with mayonnaise, bear no resemblance to their French namesake) represents a genuine contribution to world gastronomy: Belgian chocolate, developed by Jean Neuhaus who invented the praline in 1912 in a Brussels arcade, is the most technically accomplished in the world; Belgian beer culture, with over 1,500 distinct varieties including the Trappist ales brewed by Cistercian monks in seven monasteries under strict rules of production, was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016.

The Atomium, a 102-metre structure representing an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, was designed by engineer André Waterkeyn for the Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58) — the first World's Fair held after World War II — in a spirit of optimism about science, technology and the atomic age; it was intended as a temporary structure but became so beloved that it was retained permanently, and its nine interconnected spheres, renovated and reopened in 2006 with stainless steel cladding, continue to house a museum, restaurant and event spaces while presiding over the city as its most distinctive skyline feature. Brussels is the worldwide capital of Art Nouveau architecture: the architect Victor Horta, working in Brussels in the 1890s, invented the style — with its sinuous plant-inspired lines, iron structural elements used decoratively, stained glass skylights and integration of architecture with interior design — and the city preserves an extraordinary concentration of Art Nouveau buildings, four of which (including the Horta Museum in Horta's own house) are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The city is the birthplace of the world's most beloved fictional characters: Hergé (Georges Remi) was born in the Brussels commune of Etterbeek in 1907 and created Tintin, whose adventures have been translated into 70 languages and sold over 200 million copies; Peyo (Pierre Culliford), born in Laeken in 1928, created the Smurfs; and René Goscinny, while not Belgian-born, worked in Brussels when he and Albert Uderzo created Asterix.

Brussels' somewhat unfortunate reputation for bureaucratic blandness — deliberately cultivated, some argue, by EU officials who want the city to remain a background player rather than a competing cultural capital — obscures a vibrant, affordable and genuinely international city with a nightlife district (the Matongé African quarter, the Saint-Géry bars, the Place Fernand Cocq restaurants) that rewards visitors who look beyond the Manneken Pis and the waffle stands of the tourist circuit.

⭐ Known For