The main city square in Brussels is one of the finest in Europe. Unlike many great plazas you almost stumble upon it, entering through one of six narrow avenues. Most of the buildings look medieval, with elaborate porticos, towers and gables, but what is so remarkable about the Grand Place is that most of the buildings are not original. The square was virtually destroyed by the French army in 1695, but the city council decided to rebuild in the gothic and Baroque style that characterised the city in its golden age. 

The showpiece is the monumental City Hall, and all around the huge cobblestone square are the buildings of the trade guilds that made Brussels so wealthy in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Most are now home to shops, bars and restaurants, and will probably be where you have your first beer, mussels or frites of your Brussels city break. 

Brussels has a strong tradition of public art, and there are murals and frescos everywhere across the city – on pavements, in shopping malls, train stations, the sides of buildings, subway walls and ceilings. There are walking trails that take you from mural to mural, on particular themes or genres, and it is a great free activity to do. The Cartoon Strip Trail is one of the most popular, with The Adventures of Tintin well represented. Tintin was created by Belgian comic strip artist Hergé, and the stories were published by a Brussels company. But you will also find incredible examples of urban art and graffiti around almost every corner, inspired by history, ideas and social issues. 

(image credit: Ferran Cornellà, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The historic centre of Brussels is a maze of atmospheric shopping streets, but for a touch of old style glamour, down one unassuming lane you will find Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, one of the first glass roofed shopping arcades in Europe. Opened in 1847, it is still perhaps the finest example of a galleried arcade. 

Featuring Renaissance style arches and classical statues, the arcade is home to high end designer shops, cafés, restaurants, a theatre, chocolate shops, bakeries, bookshops, art galleries and even a cinema. Perfect for when the weather is not playing ball, or even as a shade for when it is, the Galeries Royales is ideal for a stroll in the evening before a show or for some retail therapy, and is lit up beautifully for the Christmas season.

It is somehow very Belgian that a small bronze statue of a little boy urinating should attract so many tourists. But why not? It is thought that the Manneken Pis has existed in Brussels since at least the 15th century, surviving wars and multiple thefts to become an  icon of Belgium and a symbol of the city of Brussels. You will find this cheeky water fountain at the corner of Rue du Chêne and Rue de l’Étuve, around five minutes walk from the Grand Place, although the original statue has been kept in the Brussels City Museum since 1965. 

Brussels is very fond and protective of the statue. Railings now protect it, so the fountain is purely decorative, and the little boy is regularly dressed up to mark certain events. He has an official wardrobe of around 1000 costumes and there is even a museum nearby dedicated to the clothes the statue has worn, the GardeRobe MannekenPis.