Things to do near the Grand-Place: 10 sights within 11 minutes’ walk

280 m · 4 min from the hotel · Square free · Town Hall ticketed

1. The Grand-Place and the Town Hall

The Grand-Place is the historic heart of Brussels and one of the most beautiful squares in the world. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

Its story is a dramatic one. In August 1695, French troops under Marshal de Villeroy bombarded the city and destroyed almost every house on the square. Only the façade and tower of the Town Hall survived, even though the artillery had used them as a target. The guilds rebuilt their houses in barely five years, in a lavishly ornate Baroque style. That is the scene you see today.

The Town Hall, a 15th-century Gothic masterpiece (1401–1455), towers over the square with its 96-metre spire crowned by Saint Michael. You can visit it with a video guide, and at weekends on a guided tour that climbs the tower.

Our tip · Come twice. Early in the morning, before 9:00, to enjoy a near-empty square. Then after dark, when the façades are lit up.

275 m · 4 min from the hotel · Ticketed

2. The King’s House – Brussels City Museum

Opposite the Town Hall, this neo-Gothic building is called the “Maison du Roi” (King’s House) in French and the “Broodhuis” (Bread House) in Dutch, a nod to the bread hall that once stood here. It houses the Brussels City Museum, which tells the story of the city and keeps the original Manneken Pis statue.

It was also in front of this building that the Counts of Egmont and Hornes, who opposed the policies of Philip II, were beheaded in 1568.

120 m · 2 min from the hotel · Free

3. St Nicholas’ Church

The closest sight to the hotel. Tucked away on Rue au Beurre (Butter Street), between the Bourse and the Grand-Place, St Nicholas’ Church dates from around 1125. It is one of the four oldest churches in Brussels and the best preserved of them. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of merchants: a fitting nod to the butter market held around the church in the Middle Ages, which also gave the street its name.

Free entry. Inside you can see the original statue of Saint Nicholas that once adorned the Grand-Place, restored in 2018.

150 m · 2 min from the hotel · Hall free · museum ticketed

4. The Bourse and Belgian Beer World

The former Brussels Stock Exchange, a 19th-century landmark on Boulevard Anspach, reopened to the public in September 2023. Its upper floors are home to Belgian Beer World, an experience devoted to Belgian brewing culture.

Good to know: the central hall, with its coffered ceilings, is free to enter. You can simply walk through it.

380 m · 5 min from the hotel · Free

5. The Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries

Opened in 1847 and designed by the architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar, these glass-and-cast-iron arcades are among the oldest in Europe. They bring together three passages: the Galerie du Roi, the Galerie de la Reine and the Galerie des Princes.

Chocolatiers, bookshops, cafés, a theatre and a cinema: the perfect stroll on a rainy day.

290–390 m · 4–5 min from the hotel · Free

6. Rue des Bouchers and Jeanneke Pis

In the heart of the Îlot Sacré, Rue des Bouchers is lined with restaurant terraces. At the end of a small cul-de-sac nearby, the Impasse de la Fidélité, hides Jeanneke Pis, Manneken Pis’s “little sister”, installed in 1987.

550 m · 7 min from the hotel · Statue free · museum ticketed

7. Manneken Pis and the GardeRobe MannekenPis

No visit to Brussels is complete without saying hello. The bronze statue was made in 1619 by Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder. The one you see on the corner of Rue de l’Étuve and Rue du Chêne is a copy installed in 1965. The original is in the City Museum (see no. 2).

Some 660 m from the hotel (9 minutes), the GardeRobe MannekenPis displays a selection of the more than 1,000 costumes given to the statue over the centuries.

Our tip · The statue is small (about 55 centimetres), so don’t be surprised. Check the costume calendar to catch him dressed up.

410 m · 6 min from the hotel · Free

8. Place Sainte-Catherine

To the west, the old port district of Brussels has kept its character: St Catherine’s Church, designed by Joseph Poelaert, seafood restaurants and a real neighbourhood feel. At the end of the year, the square hosts part of the Winter Wonders (Plaisirs d’Hiver) Christmas market.

740 m · 10 min from the hotel · Free · museums ticketed

9. Mont des Arts

This terraced garden links the lower and upper town. It offers one of the finest views of the Town Hall tower. All around: the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Magritte Museum.

790 m · 11 min from the hotel · Free

10. St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral

Built between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Gothic cathedral of Brussels hosts the country’s great national ceremonies. Free entry. Don’t miss its 16th-century stained-glass windows.