Paris1972-Versailles2003

I will update and condense this older post on Brussels, capital of Belgium. Well Brussels or Bruxelles has lots of memory to me, and my family, This was one of the first cities we visited even before moving permanently to France as my dear late wife Martine have brother still living near the border I like to write my introductory post about curiosities of Brussels !!! This post will be in my black and white series, no pictures. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Brussels or Bruxelles (FR) or Brussel (NL) is the capital of the  Brussels-Capital Region comprising 19 towns, including the City of Brussels as well as Anderlecht, Auderghem, Berchem-Sainte Agathe, Etterbeek, Evere, Forest, Ganshoren, Ixelles,Jette,Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint Jean, Saint Gilles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek, Uccle, Watermael-Boitsford,Woluwe-Saint Lambert, and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (French names version) . The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country ,a bit complicated indeed having split into French and Flemish speaking country. This is Bruxelles, in French and Brussel in Dutch, capital of Belgium and the European Union. It is a very old city divided into 19 districts, and which French and Flemish/Dutch can interwined freely with English widely spoken.

Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are also located in Brussels. The Royal Palace, where the King of Belgium acts as the  head of state. The Palace of the Nation is located on the opposite side, and is the seat of the Belgian Federal Parliament. The office of the Prime Minister of Belgium, colloquially called Law Street 16 , is located adjacent to this building. This is also the place where the Council of Ministers holds its meetings. The City of Brussels is also the capital of both the French Community of Belgium  and the Flemish Community. The Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government have their seats in Brussels, as do the Parliament of the French Community and the Government of the French Community. Ok ok…

Some of the things to see , walk is great , I have there by train (2 times) , plane (once) and mostly car (lots of times!) but once in, walking is better than public transports in general,(taken tramway and metro but moved about by car as well) I have several, many posts on Brussels and Belgium in my blog and will let you read up on these wonderful monuments.  The neoclassical style of the 18-19C can be seen in the Royal Quarter/Coudenberg area, around the Brussels Park and Royal Square. Other uniform neoclassical ensembles can be found around Martyrs’ Square and Barricades’ Square. The city center has a wonderful concentration of monuments easily walkable such as the Grand’Place, The Art Nouveau style is well represented too with work by the Belgian architects Victor Horta, Paul Hankar and Henry Van de Velde. Good examples can be found in the neighborhoods of Schaerbeek, Etterbeek, Ixelles, and Saint-Gilles. Nice parks in my opinion are the Botanical Garden of Brussels , lovely; Leopold Park, Brussels Park , and my favorite the Parc du Cinquantenaire / Jubelpark.

The ultimate Grand Place, where everything converges in the city, a must just fabulous! Manneken Pis from 1388 the symbol of Brussels, located at the junction of Rue de l’Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. The Bourse area with great walks and the building built in 1868-1873 , Cathédrale St Michael , just gorgeous, the Royal Palace , the Atomium ,a science park with the atom in mind, very educational for all. The Cinquantenaire park  to go here with metro Mérode and Schuman, great walk park surrounded by many good museums. Mini Europe, a miniature park with many scale sizes monuments of Europe!

As I have taken my boys here on our personal trips and for them it is the best museum ,the Comic Strip Museum.  The gastronomy as to waffles, lambic beers, and the famous moules and frites or mussels and fries are in itself worth a trip lol! Good Belgian chocolate well we like the Darcis by Midi train station,and Corné Royale by Galerie de la reine in the Galeries Royales St Hubert. For general chocolate stores we preferred the Leonidas at rue au Beurre near Grand’Place, and rue Neuve. For historical upscale shopping and typical Belgian, you must at least visit this place Galeries Royale St Hubert, if anything try the ice cream Häagen Dazs and the Corné Royale chocolates! The areas just around the Grand’Place is a shopper’s paradise of stores, as well as rue Neuve, the big pedestrian street there. For the wonderful Belgian laces try the Anais Lace Palace.

Brussels is known for its local waffle, its chocolate, its French fries and its numerous types of beers, and reasons enough to come visit the city or country. Belgian cuisine is characterised by the combination of French cuisine with the more hearty Flemish fare. Notable specialties include Brussels waffles (gaufres) and mussels (usually as moules-frites, served with fries). The city is a stronghold of chocolate and pralines manufacturers with renowned companies like Neuhaus, Leonidas , Corné Port Royal, and Godiva. Pralines were first introduced in 1912, by Jean Neuhaus II, a Belgian chocolatier of Swiss origin, in the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, in central Brussels. In addition to the regular selection of Belgian beer, the famous Lambic style of beer is predominately brewed in and around Brussels, and the yeasts have their origin in the Senne valley. Shopping is done best by amous shopping areas include the pedestrian-only Rue Neuve (Dutch: Nieuwstraat), the second busiest shopping street in Belgium ,  Avenue Louise lined with high-end fashion stores and boutiques; the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert; as well as the neighbourhood around Antoine Dansaert Street. The Old Market  on the Place du Jeu de Balle/Vossenplein, in the Marollen neighbourhood, is particularly renowned. The nearby Sablon area is home to many of Brussels’ antique dealers. The Midi Market around Brussels-South train station and Boulevard du Midi is reputed to be one of the largest markets in Europe.

My eateries over the years have been at Le Pavillon, Rue Defacqz 63, for your light cafe type setting in a nice decor and on your way to the Grand’Place walking, Le Grand Cafe, blvd Anspach 78, we had the house grand cafe menu. The Cave du roy, Grand’place itself with great people view, and brussel pork sausage or mussels in alsacien wine. The ever popular but niceLe Brasseurs de la Grand’Place, for great beers and people watching at the Grand Place. For all kinds of seafood my all time favorite place in town is Chez Patrick, and A la Mort Subite, the best nightime bar/pub in the city in my opinion, it means Sudden Death but you will survive ! When in town, I stay with the ACCOR French chain as it gives me points, and it is one of my favorite chain all over Europe. The Mercure at the airport has been used on business trips before, it is convenient to city center.  One that would be more convenient for visitors and I have used with the family is the Novotel Grand’Place, very convenient and nice.

The Brussels Tourist office: https://visit.brussels/en

The Brussels region tourist office on Brussels : https://be.brussels/culture-tourism-leisure

A bit of history I like tells us that the official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel. Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. By the middle ages Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven, gained the County of Brussels around 1000, by marrying Charles’ daughter. In the 15C, by means of the wedding of heiress Margaret III of Flanders with Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a new Duke of Brabant emerged from the House of Valois (namely Antoine, their son). Through the marriage of Mary of Burgundy (who was born in Brussels) to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Low Countries fell under Habsburg sovereignty. After the death of Mary in 1482, her son Philip the Handsome succeeded as the Duke of Brabant. In 1506, he became King of Castile, and hence the period of the Spanish Netherlands began. In 1516, Charles , who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain (as Charles I) in the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula of Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, Charles became the new ruler of the Habsburg Empire and was subsequently elected Holy Roman Emperor (as Charles V). It was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. Following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the Spanish sovereignty over the Southern Netherlands was transferred to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg. This event started the era of the Austrian Netherlands. The city was captured by France in 1746, during the War of the Austrian Succession, but was handed back to Austria three years later. Brussels remained with Austria until 1795, when the Southern Netherlands were captured and annexed by France. Brussels became the capital of the department of the Dyle. The French rule ended in 1815, with the defeat of Napoleon on the battlefield of Waterloo , With the Congress of Vienna, the Southern Netherlands joined the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, under William I of Orange. The former Dyle department became the province of South Brabant, with Brussels as its capital. In 1830, the Belgian revolution took place in Brussels, after a performance of Auber’s opera La Muette de Portici at La Monnaie theatre. Brussels became the capital and seat of government of the new nation. South Brabant was renamed simply Brabant, with Brussels as its capital. On 21 July 1831, Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, ascended the throne, undertaking the destruction of the city walls and the construction of many buildings. During WWI, Brussels was an occupied city, but German troops did not cause much damage. During WWII, the city was again occupied, and was spared major damage during its occupation by Nazis forces, before it was liberated by the British Guards Armored Division, on 3 September 1944. The Brussels-Capital Region was formed on 18 June 1989, after a constitutional reform in 1988. It has bilingual status and it is one of the three federal regions of Belgium, along with Flanders (Flemish) and Wallonia (French).

There you go folks, a dandy pretty city we enjoy visiting over the years , and always looking forward for more in the future, Brussels, capital of Belgium , enjoy it as we do. Do take a look at my previous posts for plenty of info and pictures. Again, hope you enjoy this post on curiosities of Brussels !!! as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!