MIM - Musical Instruments Museum (MRAH)
As soon as it opened at the end of the 19th century, the luxurious Old England department store earned an excellent reputation for its highly distinctive building. The entrance to the building is a jewel of the Art Nouveau style, while the rest is in perfect harmony with the neoclassical ensemble on the Place Royale, and just around the corner from the Grand-Place and Central Station, no less!
With a wealth of some 9.000 instruments, some 1.200 of which are on permanent exhibit, the museum's reputation is mainly built on its extraordinary collections.
Once inside, you'll embark on a true tour of the musical world. After your visit, the instruments and their history will no longer hold any secrets: from the viola da gamba from the Court of Brussels to the 20th century theremin, and even including the African kora!
The mim is nothing other than a place to experience music. A visitor's guidance system allows you to explore the thematic tours to the tune of the melodious sound of the instruments presented.
A program packed with concerts, demonstrations and workshops for the young and the not so young makes the mim experience even better.
The mim has its own concert hall, specialized library, museum shop, workshop for restauration and conservation of musical instruments and is crowned by a restaurant with panoramic view over Brussels.
MIM - Musical Instruments Museum (MRAH)
KBR
At KBR, history comes to life. The Royal Library of Belgium collects all Belgian publications and preserves a vast cultural and historical heritage. The collection contains over 8 million items, including books and manuscripts, newspapers, prints, music scores, coins, medals, and maps. As the national scientific library, KBR’s mission is to manage, study, and make this heritage accessible to the general public.
At the heart of the Royal Library lies the KBR museum. Dive into the enchanting world of manuscripts, polyphonic music, and illuminated miniatures. Discover the magnificent Library of the Dukes of Burgundy and enjoy a unique musical experience.
Enter the miniaturists' workshop and immerse yourself in a soundscape in the late-Gothic Nassau Chapel, where you are surrounded by the polyphony of the Franco-Flemish composers of the 15th and 16th centuries. Want to get hands-on? Design your own miniature, test your skills as a copyist, or experiment with polyphony yourself. Two or four voices, just the tenor or the bassus? The result is in your hands.
KBR
Museum of the National Bank of Belgium
Since 2018 the museum of the National Bank of Belgium is housed in a splendid 19t century bank building situates at a mere 10-minute walk from the Central Station.
The first part of the exhibition pays particular attention to the role and the functions of the National Bank. By use of an audio guide and interactive displays, the visitor will no doubt discover lots of interesting facts about the issue of notes and coins, test their knowledge of the euro, or even try to control the rate of inflation.
The second part paints an overall picture of the evolution of money, and showcases many wonderful objects from the museum collection. Commodity money, diverse and peculiar objects once used for bartering, coins and notes... These many various pieces are purposely put in a thematical and chronological context which in the end will provide the visitor with a fascinating overview.
The third part of the exhibition proves just how much money is present in our day to day life by displaying a wide range of objects, some everyday and trivial, some quirky.
Group visits can be from 10 people up to 25. They are free and take about 1 hour. Please book via the website of the museum https://www.nbbmuseum.be/en/booking.
More information: 02 221 22 06 - museum@nbb.be
Museum of the National Bank of Belgium
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium assemble six different museums: the Oldmasters Museum, Meunier Museum, Wiertz Museum and the Magritte Museum.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts
It’s impossible to talk about culture in Belgium without mentioning the Centre for Fine Arts located in Brussels. Whether it comes to exhibitions, concerts, theater performances, movies or projects concerning literature and architecture, BOZAR will always put originality and innovation first. They prove to keep a finger on the pulse with their varied and sophisticated programme. Besides emphasizing the importance of creation, quality and a rich artistic offering, BOZAR is especially concerned about the total experience of the visitors.
Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts
Choco-Story - The Chocolate Museum
Visit to the Choco-Story Brussels museum
Right next to the Grand-Place, Choco-Story Brussels plunges you into the world of cocoa and chocolate, from the origins of cocoa over 5,000 years ago to the famous Belgian praline. You start your journey in the Amazon, passing through an Aztec temple before boarding the Cortes ship that brought cocoa beans to Europe. You'll discover how cocoa is transformed into chocolate and how it is sublimated by our chocolatiers. The tour ends with a traditional praline-making demonstration and tasting sessions. The audioguide, available in 11 languages, is included in the admission price.
Adult admission, without discount: €14/ person
Choco-Story - The Chocolate Museum
Coudenberg Palace
Once upon a time, the Coudenberg Palace towered over the city of Brussels. Charles V and many other of the most powerful rulers ever to reign in Europe made this princely residence their home between the 12th and 18th centuries, until it was consumed by a terrible fire. Every trace of this prestigious palace simply disappeared underground for many years. Today, however, these ruins constitute a fascinating archeological site incorporating a network of underground passages and chambers.
When you visit it you can explore the principal buildings of the palace and enjoy a stroll along the Rue Isabelle, which is now underground. In the Coudenberg Museum, located in Hoogstraeten House, the finest of the archeological discoveries made during the various excavations of the Coudenberg site are displayed.
Coudenberg Palace
Brussels Comics Figurines Museum
Where Comics come to life !
The Brussels Comics Figurines Museum will immerse you in a private collection of figurines from the world of Belgian comics (Tintin, Spirou, The Smurfs...), American comics (Spider-Man, Batman...), mangas and many others.
You will also find these characters in other formats: with video games, explanatory videos or during a projection of cartoons in a period movie theater.
This immersive, sound-enhanced experience will appeal to the whole family. It will bring back many memories for adults and will also be suitable for the youngest: the visit is easily accessible, with very visual and colorful displays. Trip Advisor awarded the Moof the certificate of excellence in the year 2014 to 2024.
It is located in Brussels, behind the big statue of the white Smurf, in the HORTA gallery on LEVEL -1.
Brussels Comics Figurines Museum
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
Train World
Train World is a unique railway experience that takes you from the very first steam locomotives to the flashing high-speed trains! It is a universe that appeals to all the senses in order to grasp the many different dimensions of the railways. A visit to Train World is an active and surprising outing. You can walk among locomotives, take a seat in 100-year-old trains, visit a railway house and walk across a real railway bridge. You will even experience how it feels to drive a train!
Train World
Design Museum Brussels
The Design Museum Brussels, established after the acquisition of a private collection by the Atomium, is a place dedicated to design and its history. Since 2015, the museum's collection, the Plastic Design Collection, circumscribes the landscape of plastics in design from the 1950s to the present day. Alongside this collection, the museum opened Belgisch Design Belge, a new permanent exhibition space dedicated to Belgian design and its history.
Enriched by a programme of temporary exhibitions, the Design Museum Brussels also explores other fields of design creation and its impact on society and our daily lives.
Through exhibitions, guided tours, workshops, conferences and events, the museum aims to ensure that design is intelligible to one and all.
Design Museum Brussels
AfricaMuseum
The Royal Museum for Central Africa, or AfricaMuseum, is not just a reference centre for scientific research but one of the most visited museums in Belgium. Visitors discover the natural and cultural diversity of Central Africa through largely historic collections. Universal themes such as language, music, biodiversity, education, leadership, and ceremonies are presented in detail. Contemporary Congolese artists offer their views on the collections through their installations and artworks in and around the museum. AfricaMuseum also discusses the colonial history of Belgium and tackles its own inception.
AfricaMuseum
