Sights and Activities
Below are the places we saw and activities completed while visiting Belgium:
Brussels
Hotel de Ville and other Guildhalls: adorning the Grand Place, central square, these elegant guildhalls were rebuilt shortly after the originals were bombarded by French forces in 1695. One older survivor is the spired Gothic-style Hotel de Ville (city hall).
Manneken Pis Statue: a surreal national symbol, the bronze statue is a fountain in the form of a little boy cheerfully taking a leak into a fountain pool. It was designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy and put in place in 1618 or 1619.
Jeanneke Pis Statue: sexual equality is ensured by Manneken Pis lesser-known squatting sister. Jeanneke Pis is a modern fountain, which was commissioned by Denis-Adrien Debouvrie in 1985 and erected in 1987.
St Michael’s Cathedral: is a Roman Catholic Church. The church was given cathedral status in February 1962 and has since been the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels.
Royal Palace: the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians, but it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Palace of Laeken.
Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze (Cantillon Brewery): this working brewery produces Brussels’ unique lambic beers, created through the miracle of spontaneous fermentation. After a tour of the brewery, we tasted these tart flavored beers.
Atomium Monument: the monument is a leftover from the 1958 World Fair consisting of nine gigantic gleaming balls impressively representing an iron crystal lattice enlarged 165 billion times.
Magritte Museum: the museum celebrates the life and work of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte.
