Brussels
N 50°50.801', E 4°21.146'
2014-10-05, 2019-06-08
http://visitbrussels.be
Our rating: 7.80
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
2014 Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the European Union. But in terms of tourism the city is not as popular as other European capitals. Bruges or Ghent are more interesting than the capital. Probably that happened because of Brusselization, which was held here in 60th-70th. This term means a chaotic demolition of historic buildings and neighborhoods in order to build modern ones. A typical example of Brusselization:
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
In Brussels, we have fulfilled a minimum program, visited the three main attractions and the rest ones will visit next time. In the morning went to the Atomium (subway line 6 to station Heysel, schedule and prices ). Atomium is a most unusual thing in Brussels and in Belgium. In 1958 it was built for the World Exhibition in the form of a crystal lattice of iron magnified 165 billion times. 9 huge spheres connected by tubes, which have inside the escalators and stairs. The exposure inside the spheres tells about the history of the Atomium and about the World Exhibition in 1958. It is curious that this projects won another project, which involved the construction of a huge, spiky skyscraper.
Atomium in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Atomium in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
The highest sphere can be reached by a fast lift.
Lift in the Atomium ©Yuriy Buriak
Atomium in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Atomium in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Atomium in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Atomium in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Mini-Europe Park in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Next we went to the center to see Grand Place - the main square of Brussels. Some call it the most beautiful square in Europe. All the buildings here, except for the Town Hall (1455) and the Bread House (XIII century), were built at the turn of the XVII and XVIII centuries. The square is famous not only for its beauty but also for floral carpet that is constructed on August 15 every 2 years.
Floral carpet on the Grand Place in Brussels ©wikipedia.org
During our visit there was a marathon throughout the city.
Brussels marathon ©Yuriy Buriak
Town Hall - example of late Gothic architecture of Brabant. Was built at the beginning of the XV century, rebuilt in the XVIII century ©Yuriy Buriak
Bread House / House of the King ©Yuriy Buriak
The third sight is the famous Manneken Pis. Almost every day he dressed up in various costumes and crowd of tourists here is no less than near Trevi Fountain in Rome. I absolutely do not understand why this 61 cm sculpture is so popular.
Manneken Pis in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Manneken Pis in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
On the Rue du Chêne street, 100 meters from here, there is a much more interesting "Manneken Pis" :)
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
On the way to the "boy" from Grand Place you will see a huge drawing.
Tintin in Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Tintin is the most famous Belgian comic character. This is one of the few comics of the Old World which was made into a movie in Hollywood and even by Steven Spielberg. In Belgium, by the way, comic books are very popular. Smurfs and Lucky Luke are from here. If you want to find all the comics on the walls, then use this map.
Comic Tour of Brussels ©@
Paintings in Brussels ©@
2019 We went to the central square, but there were crowds of tourists, now it is absolutely uncomfortable place. Also we wanted to see the "pissing girl", but there were also crowds of some outcasts. After this, our attempts to walk in the historical center ended and we went to other places. Of the interesting things in the center only new graffiti and murals
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Ascenseur des Marolles Street elevator near the Palace of Justice. This place is located on a hill, so it can be used as an observation deck, although the view is not very picturesque.
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Улица Луа (Rue de la Loi) и проспект Тервюрен (Chaussée de Tervueren) Walked along one of the central transport arteries of the city. There are a lot of interesting things here, for example, Parc du Cinquantenaire Park with a large museum palace.
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
The main road here goes underground.
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
There is also a large quarter with buildings of the European Parliament. Unlike Strasbourg, a similar quarter here was built in the very center of the city.
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Холм Искусств (Mont des Arts) At the moment, the only picturesque viewpoint in the city that we found. You can come here to meet the sunset, though the place is quite crowded.
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Here are also several beautiful buildings
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Brussels ©Yuriy Buriak
Map of Brussels ©@
Getting to Brussels: Use train from the main airport to reach the center of the city, buy tickets from the machine. A taxi to the center costs 35 euros.
Tags, Belgium: city , unusual structures Tags, all countries: city , unusual structures
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - A small town with a poor transport links 4 - Not far from human settlements, can be reached only by car 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - Photograph does not make sense or object in the reconstruction 2 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 3 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 4 - Interfere with foreign objects 5 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 6 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 7 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 8 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 9 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists 10 - A heavenly place, always perfect weather, no tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 7.80
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - A small town with a poor transport links 4 - Not far from human settlements, can be reached only by car 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - Photograph does not make sense or object in the reconstruction 2 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 3 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 4 - Interfere with foreign objects 5 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 6 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 7 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 8 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 9 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists 10 - A heavenly place, always perfect weather, no tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - A small town with a poor transport links 4 - Not far from human settlements, can be reached only by car 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - Photograph does not make sense or object in the reconstruction 2 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 3 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 4 - Interfere with foreign objects 5 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 6 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 7 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 8 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 9 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists 10 - A heavenly place, always perfect weather, no tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help