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Brussels, Belgium: Top Sights
First stop for the vast majority of visitors is usually the atmospheric Grand Place, Brussels's Baroque central square where it is easy to spend half the day gazing up at the intricate architecture and down at your glass of Belgian beer. Around the corner there's the Mannekin Pis, a small statue of a small boy answering a call of nature, a skill, legend has it, the little fella used to help put out a big fire. Also near to the central square is Europe's oldest shopping arcade, the Galeries St-Hubert, an elegant mixture of high-class shops, eateries and theatres. Ten minute's walk south from the Grand Place are two attractive squares, Grand Sablon and Place Royal. The former is a meeting place of Brussels sophisticates while the latter affords excellent views of the old city below. Take a short stroll north of Grand Place you'll find Vismet, a vibrant area renowned for its sea food restaurants. Outside the centre of town lie two attractions, which keep children of all ages happy; the Musee des Enfants, a hands-on educational experience, and Mini-Europe, which features hundreds of the most famous buildings in Europe rendered small scale. Other museums of note include one of the best comic strip museums in the world, the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee, home to many Tintin originals among others; the Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, a major centre for African artefacts and research; the Musee Horta, devoted to the Belgian king of Art Nouveau and the city's two major art showcases, the Musee d'Art Ancien, featuring the works of Rubens, Van Dyck among others and the Musee d'Art Moderne, whose highlight is probably its high quotient of Magrittes.
