Things to Do in Brussels: Grand-Place, the Atomium, Museums and Comics
Things to do in Brussels in the order the guides agree on them: the Grand-Place, Manneken-Pis, the Atomium, the Royal Palace, museums and comics, with hours and prices from official pages.
The short answer. The guides agree on a compact core. See the Grand-Place and Manneken-Pis on foot, take the metro out to the Atomium, walk up to the Mont des Arts, and spend one afternoon on comics or a museum. Add a market on a weekend morning and a beer or a waffle when you’re hungry. The centre is small enough to walk, so most of the picks below sit within a short walk of the Grand-Place, and the Atomium and the Cinquantenaire are the two that need a ride.
The picks are ordered by how many guides name them. Roam Brussels read 22 guides in English, French, Dutch and German, from travel magazines and independent blogs. Every hour and price on this page comes from the place’s own page or a city body, not from those guides. Several museums close on Monday, so check the day before you go.
Then look at what’s on for your dates, because that’s what changes a trip here. The events page lists festivals, concerts, markets and exhibitions from the organisers’ own pages, this weekend covers the next few days, and live music lists gigs. The map puts every place below next to the events nearby.
The Grand-Place and the Town Hall
The Grand-Place is recommended by 22 of 22 guides read, the Town Hall by 13.
The Grand-Place is the square every guide starts from. Guild houses line the sides and the Gothic Town Hall takes up one of them. The guides say to see it twice, once by day for the facades and once after dark when they’re lit. It’s free, and it sits in the Grand-Place and Îlot Sacré area, which also holds the lanes of the Rue des Bouchers. Town Hall visit times aren’t on an official page that could be read, so ask at the square before you plan around a tour.
Manneken-Pis
Recommended by 22 of 22 guides read, Jeanneke-Pis by 8.
Manneken-Pis is a small bronze boy at the corner of Rue de l’Étuve and Rue du Chêne, a few minutes’ walk from the square. According to the City of Brussels, the fountain dates to the 15th century, it survived the bombardment of 1695, and it’s dressed on 23 fixed dates a year. His wardrobe holds more than 900 costumes and is kept at Rue du Chêne 19. If you see him in a suit, that’s why. Jeanneke-Pis, the girl version, is the one the guides add for a quick second photo.
The Atomium
Recommended by 20 of 22 guides read.
The Atomium is the nine-sphere structure from the 1958 World’s Fair, out on the Heysel plateau in the Laeken and Heysel area. Its opening hours page lists daily opening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry at 5:30 p.m., and a closure from 18 January to 5 February 2027 for annual maintenance. On 12 November 2026 the upper sphere with the panorama was temporarily closed, and the prices page said tickets were sold on site only, with waits of 45 minutes to 2 hours. An adult ticket is €17 and includes the Design Museum Brussels, 150 metres away. A combined ticket with Mini-Europe is €35 for adults. If the view is why you’re going, check the page again before you set out.
The Royal Palace
Recommended by 19 of 22 guides read.
The Royal Palace faces Brussels Park, and most guides stop for the facade and the square. The interior is open only in summer. The Belgian Monarchy’s page says it reopened from 3 July to 16 August 2026, as it has every summer since 1965, so it’s shut now. Dates for 2027 weren’t published when this page was checked.
Chocolate, waffles and beer
Chocolate is recommended by 18 of 22 guides read, waffles and frites by 18 and beer by 9.
The guides treat these as a sightseeing stop of their own. For chocolate, Neuhaus is the name most of them give (9 guides), and it isn’t on the map yet. Pierre Marcolini gets 4 and Wittamer 3. The shops under the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert are the easy place to browse, and the Choco-Story museum (3) is the museum version. Maison Dandoy (6) is the biscuit and waffle shop. For beer, Belgian Beer World is named by 7 guides, the Delirium Café by 4 and the Cantillon brewery in Anderlecht, a working lambic brewery, by 2. Opening days differ for each, so check the venue’s own page first.
Mont des Arts and the museums
The Mont des Arts is recommended by 17 of 22 guides read, the Magritte Museum by 14, the Musical Instruments Museum by 8 and the Old Masters museum by 5.
The Mont des Arts is a terraced garden between the lower and upper town, and it gives the view the guides like. The Musical Instruments Museum is in the old Old England building. Its rooftop restaurant was closed for renovation when its page was read. The Magritte Museum is at Place Royale 2, run by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts. Per the museums’ hours page, it’s open Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Mondays, and entry through the Place Royale door is for visitors who booked online. An adult ticket is €13, and the admission page says all the museums are free on the first Wednesday of the month from 1 p.m. The area page is Mont des Arts and Royal Quarter.
Cinquantenaire Park
Recommended by 17 of 22 guides read.
Cinquantenaire Park is the big arched park east of the centre, and the arcade is the photo stop. The Art & History Museum is inside it. Per its practical page, it’s open Tuesday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays, and an adult ticket is €10. Autoworld is next door and four guides name it. See the European Quarter and Cinquantenaire page.
The European Quarter
Recommended by 17 of 22 guides read, the House of European History by 4.
The European Parliament sits a short walk from the park, and 8 guides send you to its visitor centre, the Parlamentarium. Its opening hours page couldn’t be read when this was checked, so look at the Parliament’s own site before you go. The House of European History is the museum a few guides add for a rainy hour.
Comics and the murals
The Comics Art Museum is recommended by 16 of 22 guides read, the comic strip murals by 12.
The Comics Art Museum is in the former Waucquez warehouse on Rue des Sables, a Horta building. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last tickets at 5 p.m., and closed Mondays except in July and August, plus 25 December and 1 January. An adult ticket is €14, per the museum. The murals are free. They’re painted on house walls across the centre, and the guides treat finding them as a self-guided walk, so a map is useful. The map shows the nearby places.
The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert
Recommended by 16 of 22 guides read.
The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert is a glass-roofed arcade with chocolate shops, cafes and a cinema, and it’s the usual rainy-day detour from the Grand-Place. Each shop sets its own hours, and the arcade’s official site is the place to look.
The cathedral
Recommended by 13 of 22 guides read.
The Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula is Gothic, built of Gobertange stone, with towers 64 metres tall, according to the cathedral’s own site. It got cathedral status in 1962, and it stands on the slope between the Central Station and the upper town. Entry is free, but services change when you can walk through.
The Sablon and the Marolles
The Sablon is recommended by 12 of 22 guides read, the Marolles and its flea market by 8.
The Place du Grand Sablon is the antiques quarter, and the City of Brussels lists the antiques market on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., for objects at least 30 years old. Down the hill, the flea market on Place du Jeu de Balle runs every day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and until 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, per the same page. See Sablon and Marolles.
Art Nouveau houses
Recommended by 10 of 22 guides read.
Ten guides send you to Horta’s houses and the Art Nouveau streets of Saint-Gilles and Ixelles. Few name a single house. The Hôtel Tassel gets 3 and the Hôtel Solvay 2, and both are on the map. Many are private homes, so the exteriors are the part you can count on. Visiting rules are on each house’s own page.
Day trips
Ghent and Bruges are recommended by 13 of 22 guides read, Antwerp by 6.
Most guides add a day out. The map carries the Gravensteen in Ghent, the Belfry of Bruges and the Rubens House in Antwerp, so you can see what’s there before you pick.
Less common picks
Mini-Europe (8 guides) sits below the Atomium and is easy to add to the same trip. The Bois de la Cambre and the Ixelles ponds (7) suit a longer stay. The big Ferris wheel (5), Train World (3) and the Museum of Natural Sciences (3) get fewer mentions, so they’re worth it only if the topic is yours.
How to put it together
- One day: the Grand-Place, Manneken-Pis, the Galeries and the Mont des Arts, all on foot.
- Two days: add the Atomium, the Cinquantenaire and the comics museum.
- Rainy day: the Magritte Museum, the Comics Art Museum or the Art & History Museum.
- A weekend: the Sablon market on Saturday morning, the flea market the same day.
STIB takes contactless bank cards on the network, per its site. For what’s on during your dates, use the events page and the map.
Sources: 22 guides in German, French, Dutch and English, and 12 official pages
Guides in German
- Top 10 Sehenswürdigkeiten BrüsselAnimod
- Die 10 besten Sehenswürdigkeiten in Brüsselkurz-mal-weg.de
- Top 14 Sehenswürdigkeiten in BrüsselUrlaubsguru
- Die Top 10 Brüssel Sehenswürdigkeiten in 2026Travelcircus
- Brüssel Sehenswürdigkeiten: 15 Must Sees und GeheimtippsMy Happy Places
- Sehenswürdigkeiten Brüssel - 1 Tag bei den TOP 10 & KarteUrlaubsreise.blog
Guides in French
- Que faire à Bruxelles : 18 incontournablesSelectour
- Guide de voyage et vacances à BruxellesRoutard
- Visiter Bruxelles en 1 jour à pied : mon itinéraire optimiséLa souris globe-trotteuse
- Que faire à Bruxelles ? 25 incontournables à découvrirReporter on the Road
- Visiter Bruxelles : 10 incontournables à faire et voirGénération Voyage
- Que faire à Bruxelles : TOP 10 activités, visitesQue faire en voyage
Guides in Dutch
- Wat te doen in Brussel: 23 tips en bezienswaardighedenReisgenie
- Dé 39 x bezienswaardigheden in Brussel + wat te doen & zien?Reisroutes
- Wat te doen in Brussel? Top 10 stedentrip bezienswaardighedenIk wil meer reizen
- Dagje Brussel: 24 leuke bezienswaardigheden en tipsTravel a Lut
- Brussel top 10 bezienswaardighedenTop 10 bezienswaardigheden
- Citytrip Brussel? 55x bezienswaardigheden, tips & ervaringen27 vakantiedagen
Guides in English
- The Best Things to Do in Brussels: Grand-Place, Comic Murals, Belgian Food & MoreCandace Abroad
- Brussels for First-Time Visitors: Make the Most of Your TripLifeguin
- Perfect One Day in Brussels Itinerary for First-TimersTravel on the Reg
- Best 10 Things to See in Brusselsbest10Trips
Official pages
- Atomium, opening hoursatomium.be
- Atomium, pricesatomium.be
- Comics Art Museum, hours and feescbbd.be
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts, opening hoursfine-arts-museum.be
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts, admissionfine-arts-museum.be
- Art & History Museum, practical informationartandhistory.museum
- Belgian Monarchy, Royal Palace of Brusselsmonarchie.be
- City of Brussels, Manneken-Pisbrussels.be
- City of Brussels, outdoor marketsbrussels.be
- Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudulacathedralestmichel.be
- Galeries Royales Saint-Hubertgrsh.be
- STIB-MIVBstib-mivb.be
Places in this guide
Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.
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