Architecture and heritage

• The most convenient way to explore Brussels’ great buildings is by the hop-on, hop-off bus service, which takes you to all the main tourist attractions, including Manneken Pis, the Stock Exchange, the Atomium and the European Parliament.
• There are plenty of guided tours of Brussels’ architectural heritage to choose from, too, especially in summer. Individual guides are also available.
• Opens in new windowArt Nouveau (FR/NL) inspiration is also found online.

The Brussels-Capital Region’s Direction du Patrimoine culturel is responsible for the Opens in new windowlist of architectural heritage in Brussels (FR/NL). The list of Brussels’ architectural gems is posted online.

It can be interesting to take a look behind the façade of some prestigious buildings. The walks below take you inside several of the city’s architectural masterpieces:

• The Direction du Patrimoine culturel holds its Opens in new windowHeritage Days (FR/NL) every September when you can go inside buildings that are usually closed to the general public.
• The commune of Koekelberg has published a walking map, "Opens in new windowKoekelberg à la carte" (FR/NL) to reveal the commune's rich heritage and spots off the beaten track.
• A very large number of museums are housed in magnificent buildings. The architecture is often just as interesting as the contents of the museum itself. The home of both the Opens in new windowMuseum of Musical Instruments (Montagne de la Cour 2, 1000 Brussels) and the Opens in new windowBelgian Comic Strip Centre (Rue des Sables 20, 1000 Brussels) is a typical art nouveau structure.
• The Opens in new windowFlagey building (Place Sainte-Croix, 1050 Ixelles) and Opens in new windowBozar (Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000 Brussels) are both in the art deco style. Leopold II ordered the building of prestigious museums like the museums in Parc du Cinquantenaire (Mérode metro station) and the Opens in new windowMuseum for Central Africa in Tervueren. The Opens in new windowAtomium (Heysel metro station), that forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal, is certainly one of a kind.
• Several associations of guides specialise in architectural heritage and are able to take you inside some of Brussels most unique buildings. See the websites of Opens in new windowArkadia (FR), External linkARAU (FR), Opens in new windowKorei (NL) and Opens in new windowLa Fonderie (FR) (industrial heritage).