Art & History Museum (RMAH)
Embark on a fascinating journey through art and history! Come and stroll among the prehistoric flints and Egyptian mummies, walk between the ancient glasses and stand back to contemplate the impressive medieval tapestries. Immerse yourself in the oriental world as you pass Asian Buddhas and travel to the other side of the world to see a gigantic statue from Easter Island. You still have to admire the magnificent collection of Belgian Art Nouveau...
The Art & History Museum is part of the Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) that also cover the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM), Halle Gate and the Museums of the Far East (currently closed for renovation).
Art & History Museum (RMAH)
House of European History
Get ready for a journey like no other!
The permanent exhibition begins with the myth of the goddess Europa, exploring Europe’s ancient roots and the continent’s heritage of shared traditions, before Europe’s dramatic journey towards modernity in the 19th century and rebuilding process following World War II.
A multimedia guide in 24 languages gives you new ways to interact with the exhibition, while special activities and Family Discovery Spaces allow children to grasp the story of Europe.
Located next to the European Parliament in a striking Art Deco building in Parc Léopold, the House of European History is an essential part of any tour of the city.
* Free
* Available in 24 languages
* Book online: See practical information
House of European History
Institute of Natural Sciences
The Institute of Natural Sciences: a great day out, naturally!
In the largest Dinosaur Gallery in Europe, you can meet the famous Bernissart Iguanodons, T.rex, Triceratops, Diplodocus, and 34 other species.
But that’s not all!
The Earth is swarming with life - rediscover it in the Gallery Living Planet, through an aesthetic, family-friendly and scientific approach to biodiversity. Learn about the human body and how we evolved in the Gallery of Humankind and go back in time in the Gallery of Evolution. You can also find out about urban species in BiodiverCITY, discover 250 years of the history of Natural Sciences through 14 iconic specimens, beware of the kings of the Cretaceous seas in the Mosasaur Hall or admire the magnificent crystals in the Mineral Hall.
And last but not least, don't miss the temporary exhibitions and all the activities of the Educational Service: more information at www.naturalsciences.be.
Institute of Natural Sciences
Parlamentarium
Have you ever wondered how the European Union works and how it affects your daily life?
The Parlamentarium has it covered!
Thanks to its interactive tools like a 360° cinema, a role play game for students and a giant interactive floor map, you’ll learn everything there is to know about the European Parliament. Discover the path that led to today’s European Union and what Members of the European Parliament are doing to tackle Europe’s biggest challenges.
* Free
* Available in 24 languages
* Book online : see practical information
Parlamentarium
Musée Wiertz Museum
The Wiertz Museum is be temporarily closed for works. The work will involve renovating the museum entrance (outside and inside) and the caretaker's lodge. The Wiertz Museum will be closed to the public for the duration of the works, which should be completed by summer 2025.
The museum, which has preserved its original atmosphere, is dedicated to painter, sculptor and writer Antoine Wiertz (1806-1865), a somewhat controversial artistic figure of the Belgian Romantic movement. Wiertz loved the spectacular, painting giant canvasses to indulge his thirst for the excessive, like the more than 8 metres long Greeks and Trojans fighting over the body of Patroclus. Wiertz is also known for his dramatic subjects and horror scenes, such as his Premature Burial. His most famous painting is probably Two Girls (La Belle Rosine), in which a young woman faces a skeleton, reflecting the artist's fascination with death and the fragility of human life. Wiertz also produced numerous portraits and self-portraits.
Musée Wiertz Museum
Autoworld
An impressive historic building in Brussels, linked with automotive history, is home to Autoworld, the Belgian National Automobile Museum. Situated in the ‘Parc du Cinquantenaire’, the neo-classical building commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1880. From 1902 to 1936 it hosted motor¬car and motorbike exhibitions. Since 1986 it has treasured the major part of Ghislain Mahy’s renowned classic car collection.
Over 300 vehicles, ranging from cars and trucks to motorcycles, are on permanent display. From the earliest models of the dis¬tant past to contemporary cars that prefigure the automobile of tomorrow, visitors are guided through the motorcar’s history dating as far back as 1896.
Various cars representing the most exciting years of the auto¬mobile history since 1960 can be approached and admired from close by, thanks to a brilliantly designed scenography.
Special sections focus on sports and competition, cars owned by the Belgian Royal Family, micro and bubble cars, and car design. The Belgium at Autoworld section is dedicated to the roots and history of the Belgian car industry.
Autoworld is a museum on the move, with temporary exhibi¬tions taking on various automotive themes organised through¬out the year.
More detailed information on autoworld.be
Autoworld
Cauchie House
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The Cauchie House is one of the most exceptional Art Nouveau masterpieces in Brussels. Built in 1905, it was originally the home to Paul Cauchie and Caroline Voet, a couple of artists and decorators. The majestic sgraffito on the façade and the opulent decorations of the bel-étage served as a manifesto for their artistic skills. We invite you to join us for a guided tour to discover its history and unique artworks.
Open every Saturday of the month. Individual guided tours, group guided tours.
Cauchie House
Hôtel van Eetvelde X LAB·AN
Created in 2023 to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Art Nouveau in Brussels, the LAB·AN (Laboratory Art Nouveau) aims to enhance and promote this unique style and the general and specific themes associated with it. Through its exhibitions and activities, it takes a contemporary look at this Belgian, Brussels and international cultural heritage.
LAB·AN is located in the van Eetvelde building, one of Victor Horta's finest creations and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The opening of LAB·AN in this extraordinary building makes the Hotel van Eetvelde, a jewel of Brussels Art Nouveau, accessible to the general public 3 days a week.
The LAB·AN x Hôtel van Eetvelde project is managed by the non-profit organisation Patrimoine & Culture, which is also responsible for managing the Halles Saint-Géry.
Hôtel van Eetvelde X LAB·AN
Experience Europe
Experience Europe is the free, permanent exhibition centre of the European Commission, located in the heart of Brussels’ European Quarter, at Schuman Roundabout.
Open 7 days a week, it offers a fun and interactive space where visitors can discover what the European Commission does, what it stands for and how its decisions shape everyday life across Europe.
Whether you’re visiting Brussels as a tourist, exploring with family, or simply passing by, you’re welcome to walk in and enjoy the exhibition. You can virtually “meet and ask” questions to the President of the European Commission, take a glimpse inside the Berlaymont building, and enjoy immersive, hands-on activities and games. Perfect for young people, including school classes and groups, Experience Europe offers a fun and engaging way to learn about the EU (advance booking required for 10 or more people).
Especially for groups of young people, such as school classes, Experience Europe offers “Let’s talk Europe”, a 45-minute interactive workshop designed to spark conversations about the European Union and its role in daily life.
All content of the exhibition is available in seven languages (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish), with a significant part also accessible in all 24 official EU languages.
Come along and discover Experience Europe.
Experience Europe
Council: Europa building
The Europa building of the Council of the EU
The Europa building is one of the most recent and magnificent examples of contemporary architecture in Brussels. The enormous cube is made up of 3 750 restored window frames and contains a glass lantern that, at night, is beautifully lit up by 374 LED tubes. This ‘House of the European Member States’, with its multicoloured interior, is the main seat of the European Council and of the Council of the EU, and is where meetings between EU ministers and heads of government are now held.
Philippe Samyn, the Europa building’s lead architect, sees it as the expression of a number of the values espoused by the EU. The façade thus consists of window frames from every EU country which signify both the diversity (‘United in diversity’) and the craftsmanship of every Member State, as well as the desire to promote sustainability. Thanks to the collection of rainwater, the use of solar panels across the whole area on the top of the building, and the optimised façade structure, the Europa building has been awarded the Valideo environmental certificate. The interior lantern, built in a shape that was necessary to avoid too much pressure being exerted on the ground and the underground metro tunnels, mainly contains meeting rooms and a large press room and press area.
The Belgian artist Georges Meurant has created a vibrant polychrome interior with an array of different coloured squares on the walls, doors, lifts and carpeting. The squares feature all the colours that appear on the flags of the 28 Member States.
In addition, the splendid Art Deco Résidence Palace, designed by the architect Michel Polak and constructed between 1922 and 1927, was incorporated into the project.
The Council is open to the public and offers individual or group visits. All visitor activities are free of charge. You can explore our Visitors’ Centre to learn about the Council's work and about the EU as a whole. Moreover, you can visit the Council buildings or meet our experts at information sessions. It is also possible to take part in a guided tour, which gives visitors the opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes at the Council.
Visits must be booked in advance. Information about the different types of visit and how to make a reservation can be found on the following pages: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/fr/contact/visits/
Visitors’ Centre opening times: Monday to Friday: 10:30 – 16:00 (10:30 – 13:00 in August). The Visitors’ Centre is closed on certain Belgian public holidays and on official holidays of the EU institutions.
Council: Europa building
The European Parliament Hemicycle
Visit the Hemicycle, the heart of the European Parliament in Brussels, where Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) hold their debates and take crucial votes for Europe.
A visit to the Hemicycle is a great way to soak up the exciting atmosphere of the world’s largest transnational parliament. Come and find out about its powers and role and discover how your MEPS represent you. If you time your visit right, you might also be lucky enough to follow a plenary session from the visitors’ gallery.
* Free
* Free multimedia-guided visits, available in 24 languages
* Interactive talks by experienced speakers: Mondays at 11:00 and 15:00 (in English and in French)
* Book online: see practical information
* A valid proof of identity is required (passport, identity card, etc.).
The European Parliament Hemicycle
Info Hub
Dive into the topics you are interested in with open access research material, policy talks and civil society events, and thought-provoking exhibitions at the heart of the European Quarter. With distinct areas offering access to a variety of content and activities, the Info Hub on the Esplanade Solidarność 1980 caters to many needs. Engage in a dialogue on the European Union and democracy, attend a short policy talk, or simply sit and read more about what is going on in Europe. What is more, with a constantly changing programme of events and exhibitions, you can come back time and time again, and discover something new each time.
Got a question? Ask the friendly staff and they will help you find your way around the Info Hub, or the European Parliament campus.
Info Hub
Segments of the Berlin Wall at the European Parliament
Did you know that Brussels is home to several sections of the infamous Berlin Wall. For almost 30 years, this physical and ideological barrier symbolised the intractable division of the European continent into two camps: the liberal and capitalist West and the communist East. In addition to dividing Europe, it also harks back to the Cold War and a global hiatus.
Nowadays, sections of the Wall can be found all over Europe and even beyond. There are pieces in Strasbourg, Tallinn, Reykjavik, New York, Seoul and... Brussels, of course!
You’ll find four original sections of the Berlin Wall in Brussels. Two are showcased near the entrance to the European Parliament, by Léopold Park. They have stood there since 2021, each encased in a glass box, the result of a project to protect them co-organised by the Belgian State, the Brussels-Capital Region and the European Parliament.
While a lot of the graffiti was applied when the Wall divided Berlin in two, artists continued to decorate the Wall after it fell. The piece in the left-hand showcase recalls, not without a slight error, the memory of a momentus international sporting event in 2009: the figures of the new - and still current! - 100m world record, set by Usain Bolt in Berlin. The artist made a mistake: the time was 9.58 and not 9.85!
But how did these pieces of the Wall get there? One of them was donated by the city of Berlin to the European capital in 2004. The second arrived in Brussels in 2009, as part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. On this occasion, ten sections of the former dividing line were installed in Brussels, on Place du Luxembourg. A few months later, all but a few returned to Germany.
This dichotomy between the values defended by Europe - unity, togetherness, the rejection of division - and the situation in Berlin and Germany, which until 1989 was characterised by separation and partition, is quite remarkable!
Segments of the Berlin Wall at the European Parliament
Kennedy Piece: the Berlin Wall
A wonderful portrait of John F. Kennedy on a genuine piece of the Berlin Wall stands next to the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. Something like this, right next to the Berlaymont building, acts as an impressive and powerful symbol of a united, or rather, reunited Europe. It’s a perfect selfie opportunity!
This restored monument was inaugurated on 9 November 2015 as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of German unification following the fall of the Berlin Wall. It stands in a glass display, protected from the elements, weighs 3 tons and stands 3.6 metres tall. It was brought to Brussels in 2009, along with 15 other pieces as part of the ‘Breaking the Wall installation which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A few years later the European Commission bought the Kennedy Piece to turn it into a permanent monument.
Just a reminder: The Berlin Wall was part of the Iron Curtain that split Berlin, Germany and Europe in two for 28 years (1961 - 1989). At least 138 people died attempting to climb the wall from east to west. Eventually the wall fell on 9 November 1989. It remains to this day a symbol of the Iron Curtain that fell over Europe.
Kennedy Piece: the Berlin Wall
Digital Journey to the European Parliament
Are you ready for an online voyage of discovery?
With the Digital Journey to the European Parliament, a free online and immersive experience, you can dive deeper into European democracy from wherever you are. Discover the Parliament in 360°, meet its Members for a day and have your own time-travelled adventure through European History.
Enjoy full immersion to the European Parliament on your computer or in virtual reality with VR-glasses. Stroll through the corridors of the Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg, tour the office of President Roberta Metsola and even explore the House of European History’s permanent exhibition.
Come and sit in the European Parliament and vote on important EU legislation in this group game. For groups only, 60 to 90 minutes (minimum 16 players).
From whenever you are. Whenever you want. Get started: ep-digital-journey.eu
* Free
* Available in 24 languages
Digital Journey to the European Parliament
