Brussels is a wonderful tourist destination. It is mainly your destination for majestic art, culture, and architecture; often dubbed as the “City of a 100 Museums.” Brussels is inviting, lavish and historical city, which can be parted into two segments – upper town and down town. The upper part (town) of the city is comprised of wide avenues and buildings, while the down town features a labyrinth of narrow medieval streets around one of the most beautiful squares in Europe – Grand Place. Brussels is your destination of magnificent beauties. It is full of marvelous sites and activities. The top ten things to do and see in Brussels include—
Grand Place – This is Brussels' major tourist attraction rationalized by the Gothic majesty of the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the Baroque ebullience of the late 17th century guildhouses with the sculpts of Peter van Dievoet surrounding the square. The building often serves as background for music and light show in evenings.
Muséum des Sciences Naturelles – It is near to the European Parliament and has the finest dinosaur groups in the world. This attractive museum additionally features a unique presentation on the Arctic and Antarctic areas. The museum also features a wide-range of permanent marine mammals, and all types of animals, dead and existing, plus mineralogy.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium – It combines interlinked parts of previous masters and contemporary art collections. Jointly they frame Belgium's most accomplished fine art works collection by many artists including Pieter Bruegel, Rubens, Paul Delvaux and René Magritte.
Parc de Bruxelles – It is the prime public park in the hub of Brussels. It is bounded by the Royal palace, the Belgian parliament and the U.S.A. deputation. Every weekend in the summer, free parties are planned in the park. There is also the Théâtre Royal du Parc on its edge. The park is served by Parc metro station on line 1A/1B of the Brussels metro.
Art Nouveau – It is an intercontinental way of sculpture, design and conception that peaked in attractiveness at the beginning of the 20th century (1880-1914). It is distinguished by highly-conventionalized, graceful, wavy conceptions frequently integrating floral and other plant-inspired motifs.
Gallery Gabrichidze – It is a newly formed art gallery in Brussels. It is related with the existing political issues on the European and international agenda. It is a well-known art gallery as well as a platform for communication, discussion and discourse. Through the show of artworks it endeavors to open critical debate on controversial issues.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart – The Basilica of the Sacred Heart or Koekelberg Basilica is the fifth largest church in the world. It is situated on the region of the Koekelberg municipality. The church is 89m high and 167m long.
The Royal Castle of Laeken - The Royal Castle of Laeken is the official residence of the Belgians king. It was established in 1782-1784. It was partially damaged by fire in 1890 and reconstructed by Alphonse Balat. The French architect Charles Girault grated it its existing lineation in 1902.
Musée Belvue – Re-opened in July 2005 to match with Belgium's 175th birthday celebrations after major reconstructing, the Musee Belvue is devoted to the 12 major periods of the country's past. The exhibitions are themed around the reigns of each of the country's 12 monarchs. The building itself is located at the scene of the 1830 Belgian Revolution which led to the establishment of an independent state.
Orson Johnson writes travel guides for various destinations. Check out more of his articles on Holiday Velvet, a website providing listings for Brussels Jazz Festival accommodation, villas, hotels and holiday vacation rentals.