The most interesting places in Brussels, part 2 (and last) | club75

That post is the continuation of my publication from a few weeks ago. Scrolling my profile I've just realized that I left my list of the most interesting places in Brussels unfinished, so I am writing down a few other places worth visiting in the capital of the European Union right now.

If you didn't read my first publication or already don't remember it, check THIS POST. I'm describing there the Manneken Pis and less popular Jeanneke Pis & Zinneke Pis, besides that I'm taking you for the trip to the main square, Parlamentarium, futuristic Atomium and my favorite museum in Belgium - Museum of Instruments.

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Parc du Cinquantenaire

_{All the photos in this article were made by me}

I think it is the most visited park by me in Brussels. The reason is simple - my mother lives around 100 meters from there. It's a lovely place with a big fountain from one side and an enormous grass area on another. People are coming here for picnics, meeting with friends, playing frisbee, dancing, chatting, or participating in one of many events that are organized in that space.

The Triumphal Arch in the middle is from the XIXth century and has two museums inside - from one side there is the Royal Museum of Armed Forces, while from another Art and History Museum with the expedition of the old cars in one of the rooms. Now, I didn't enjoy so much the Armed Forces Museum, because that sort of mood is not my thing, but I have been amazed by the Art and History part of the Triumphal Arch and I can recommend it to you as the interesting (although quite a small) place to visit. The entrance cost 10 euro, which is currently 27 - 30 STEEM.

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Royal Museum of Fine Arts - Oldmasters Museum

Oh, what a great place it is! So many artworks of the masters started from the late Medieval times and ended in the XVIIIth century. I have seen many of that paints before, photographed in the history of art books. I have learned about them at schools, discussed them with my friends as a student and when I had the opportunity to see them for the very first time with my bare eyes, it was a very mystique, almost transcendental experience for me.

The museum was created by Napoleon Bonaparte and I think it can be the most important place of that type in the country (that or maybe Magritte Museum, but in my opinion, Oldmaaster Museum is more important though). Here there are artworks of painters that everyone who is interested in classical art recognizes for sure:

• Hieronymus Bosh, that scared me a bit when I was a child, but I loved his artwork and adored watching the book dedicated to his art, that my grandma was keeping in her office
• Pieter Bruegel, which I have discovered as a teenager, and since then I'm fascinated with the details and symbolism in his works. I loved the most "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus"
• Peter Rubens, that maybe is not my favorite, but surely is one of the most important European painters in our history
• Weyden, Campin, van Dyck and many others that you may know (and if you don't - google them, it's worth it!)

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BOZAR

The Center of Fine Arts with a theatre, concert room, and a few exhibition rooms. The prices for the exhibitions vary, depending on what do we want to see but in general, it's one of the more expensive Museums/Galleries in Brussels. I have been there with my husband and mother to see the exhibition of Pablo Picasso, which was focusing on his sculptures, not paints - something less obvious, as we consider Picasso to be the painter mostly. There was also a nice exhibition about contemporary art.

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The Smurf Museum

The tradition of making Comic Books in Belgium is very big. Smurfs may be the most recognizable internationally, but from Belgium comes also Tintin, Hugo, Thorgal Lucky Luke, and probably tens of others that I don't even know.

The Smurf museum is a nice way to spend the evening in a less conventional and quite light way. It may be a great option for those of you who are traveling with kids, but honestly, everyone who enjoyed Smurfs as a child will find that place interesting. I'm a grown-up man, but I loved it there anyway :)

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City Hall Museum

Okay, that may not be the most exciting place in Brussels, and if you are coming to visit that city just for a few days, don't waste your time going there. If you have any additional time, you may want to go there though - the museum is free of charge and gives you some basic information about the demographic, region, history, and geography. All the information is provided in a very interactive, interesting way and visiting the place takes up to 2 hours.

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Walking on the streets

Sometimes to get to know the city, you don't have to visit museums and other tourist attractions and it's more than enough to just take a long walk and admire the street art or architecture.

Brussels is great for trying the Belgian chocolates, waffles, or fries, for experiencing the street art, that is strictly related to their cultural heritage, often mentioned before comic books created here, it amazes with the architecture, from gothic buildings to the modern glass skyscrapers and with that lovely cultural atmosphere in the center.

I can recommend to you the gay district that maybe is not as big here as in Madrid or London, but still has its charm with all the clubs, pubs and cultural centers.