A UNESCO-acclaimed site, the Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels
It is surrounded by opulent guildhalls and two larger edifices, the city’s Town Hall and the King’s House or Breadhouse building containing the Brussels City Museum. The square measures 68 by 110 meters. The Grand Place is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It is also considered as one of the most beautiful squares in Europe and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998
The Horta Museum is a museum dedicated to the life and work of the Belgian Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta and his time
The museum is housed in Horta’s former house and workshop, Maison & Atelier Horta (1898) in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles. Housed in the Art Nouveau interiors is a permanent display of furniture, utensils and art objects designed by Horta and his contemporaries as well as documents related to his life and time. The museum also organises temporary exhibitions on topics related to Horta and his art. The building is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the major town houses of Victor Horta in Brussels
It was in Belgium that Napoleon met his match at the battle of Waterloo, and during both the First and Second World Wars, Belgium found itself thrust into the frontline
T
he World War I battlefields of Ypres are now important pilgrimage sites that are among the most popular places to visit in Belgium.
The belfry is a key component of the UNESCO world heritage site of the historic centre of Bruges. The building is a central feature of the 2008 film In Bruges and is also mentioned in the novel Cloud Atlas
T
he Belfry of Bruges is a medieval bell tower in the centre of Bruges, Belgium. One of the city’s most prominent symbols, the belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other danger. A narrow, steep staircase of 366 steps accessible by the public for an entry fee leads to the top of the 83 m (272 feet) high building which leans 87 centimeters to the east. To the sides and back of the tower stands the former market hall, a rectangular building only 44 m broad but 84 m deep, with an inner courtyard. The belfry, accordingly, is also known as the Halletoren (tower of the halls)
The Battle of Flanders is the name of several battles fought in Flanders during the First World War
First Battle of Flanders (19 October – 22 November 1914) – The First Battle of Ypres – a battle fought during the Race to the Sea. Second Battle of Flanders (21 April – 25 May 1915) – The Second Battle of Ypres. Third Battle of Flanders (11 July – 10 November 1917) – The Battle of Passchendaele/Third Battle of Ypres – an Anglo-French offensive. Fourth Battle of Flanders (9–29 April 1918) – The Battle of the Lys/Operation Georgette, second part of the German Spring Offensive. Fifth Battle of Flanders (28 September – 2 October 1918) – The Fifth Battle of Ypres – a Belgian-French-British offensive during the Hundred Days.
The Gravensteen is a medieval castle at Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium
T
he current castle dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton factory. It was restored over 1893–1903 and is now a museum and a major landmark in the city.
T
he Saint Bavo Cathedral an 89-meter-tall is a Catholic Gothic cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. It is the seat of the diocese of Ghent named after Saint Bavo of Ghent and contains the well-known Ghent Altarpiece
The Atomium is a landmark building in Brussels, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World Expo
Located on the Heysel Plateau where the exhibition took place, it is now a museum and was designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak. It stands 102 m tall. Its nine 18 m (60 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected, so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes of 3 m (10 ft) diameter connect the spheres along the 12 edges of the cube and all eight vertices to the centre. They enclose stairs, escalators and a lift (in the central, vertical tube) to allow access to the five habitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant which has a panoramic view of Brussels.
The Basilica of the Holy Blood is a Roman Catholic basilica in Bruges, Belgium
The church houses a venerated relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders. Built between 1134 and 1157 as the chapel of the Count of Flanders, it was promoted to a minor basilica in 1923. The basilica in Burg square consists of a lower and upper chapel. The lower chapel, dedicated to St. Basil the Great is a dark Romanesque structure that remains virtually unchanged. The venerated relic is in the upper chapel, which was rebuilt in the Gothic style in the 16th century and renovated in the 19th century in Gothic Revival style
Manneken Pis is a landmark 61 cm bronze fountain sculpture in the centre of Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain’s basin
It was designed by Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619. The current statue is a replica which dates from 1965. The original is kept in the Brussels City Museum. Manneken Pis is the best-known symbol of the people of Brussels. It also embodies their sense of humour and their independence of mind. Manneken Pis is located only five minutes’ walk from the Grand Place, at the junction of Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat and the pedestrian Rue de l’Étuve/Stoofstraat. This site is served by the premetro station Bourse/Beurs and the bus stops Grand Place/Grote Markt and Cesar de Paepe