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Brussels - Belgium
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| About Brussels |
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Brussels is a cosmopolitan city, known as a crossroads for all of
Europe It has a wide range of architectural styles, from Gothic cathedrals
and churches to classical, with many art nouveau and art deco houses
in the neighborhoods .
Visit medieval cities, quaint towns, gothic cathedrals and town halls,
castles and carillons. The reputation of their gourmet food makes
the French jealous and it is almost impossible to find chocolates
as good as theirs!
Brussels is known as a city of markets, with very neighborhood having
it's own, ranging from antique to horse markets. Here, you can purchase
fresh produce like cheeses , cured hams, fresh fish including shrimps
and mussels, flowers and potted plants, chickens and rabbits, to name
a few.
There is always something to do in Brussels and in keeping with the
city's cosmopolitan outlook, thereis a wide variety of entertainment
events. These range from the Classical music events to the Jazz Festival
, held every year which attracts legendary jazz stars to the city.
The city of Brussels has enough to keep anyone fascinated, entertained
and well-fed. |
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| Things to Do in Brussels |
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Festivals
- April and September - Music and Light Show - the square
and its buildings are illuminated at night to the sound of classical
music.
- May - Brussels Jazz Marathon - Over 350 first rate musicians
performat this festival . Lovers of jazz can enjoy their favorite
artists in bars and clubs all over the city.
- July - The Ommegang Pageant - This is a colorful medieval
pageant on Brussels' Grand'Place commemorating a celebration in
honor of Emperor Charles V in the 16th century.
- August - The Flower Carpet on the Grand Palace - A gigantic
flower carpet will cover Brussels' Grand'Place using over 600,000
fresh begonias.
Cabaret /Shows/Restaurant
- Exito 13 - Hoogstraat 13
- Chex Lfo - Rue au Beurre 25
- Le Pre Sale - Laamsesteenweg 20
- Au Fou Chantant - Avenue De Fré 176
- La Voix Secrete - Rue du Lombard 1
- Le Zenith - Place de Brouckère
Trendy Bars and Cafés
- Zebra - Place St.Géry
- Mapa Mundo - Place St. Géry
- Kafka - Rue de la vierge noire
- O'Reilley's - Boulevard Anspach
- Le Coq - Rue Auguste Orts
- La Tentiation - Rue de Laeken
- Goupil Le Fol - Rue de la violette 22
- Le Cerceuil - Rue des Harengs 10 -
- H2O - Rue Marché au Charbon 27
- DNA - Plattesteen 18
- Falstaff - H. Mausstraat 17
- L'Amour Fou - Chaussée d'Ixelles, 185
- Ultime Atome - Rue Saint Boniface, 14
- Conway's New York - Avenue de la Toison d'or 10
- Cyber Theatre - Avenue de la Toison d'or 4
Discos
- The Sparrow - Rue Duquesnoy, 18
- Mirano Continental - Chaussée de Louvain, 38
- Le Nostalgia - Rue de la Fourche, 49
- Espace De Nuit - Rue Marché au Fromage
- Le Why Not - Rue des Riches Claires, 7
- Fuse - La Demence - Rue Blaes, 208
Shopping in Brussels
- Lower Town and avenue Louise and Ixelles - food shops,
crafts stores, boutiques and chains.
- St Josse, the chaussée de Louvain - food stores and
clothing outlets.
- Boulevard Lemonnier - comic stores, second-hand book
and record stores and an assortment of dusty little businesses.
- Grand' Place and the Manneken-Pis - chocolate and lace
shops.
- Rue des Eperonniers - old-fashioned gift shops antique
jewellery and clothing.
- Avenue Louise and boulevard de Waterloo - boutiques
of Chanel, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Cacharel and Cartier.
- Avenue de la Toison d'Or - mainstream gift shops and
high street clothing stores like Springfield or ProMod.
- Sol Luna at 20 rue St Boniface - silver jewellery.
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| Places to Visit in Brussels |
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The Sablon Square
The Sablon is one of the most prestigious and attractive areas in
Brussels. It has recently become the center of the antiques shops
and art galleries. The name of this area refers to the time when it
was still situated outside of the city walls of the 12th century.
A visit to the most exclusive pastry maker in Brussels, is also a
must. If you like chocolate, try Pierre Marcolini, the World Chocolate
Champion's chocolate shop
Atomium
Known as the Eiffel Tower of Brussels. The Atomium is the visual representation
of the concept of an "atom". It symbolizes an elementary iron crystal
with its 9 atoms and magnified 150 billion times.
Maneken Pis
The tiny statue was cast in bronze back in 1619 by Jerome Duquesnoy
but, the statue was destroyed and another was cast to replace it in
1630. There are many legends about the Manneken. According to one
of them a little boy had watered against the door of a witch who lived
where the fountain now stands.
Belgian center for comic strip art
Comic strips are becoming a new art form in Belgium, since most of
the Belgians have grown up with Belgian comic strips.The best known
Belgian comic strip is Tintin. Visit the Gallery, dedicated to this
form of art.
Autoworld
At Autoworld you will discover the history of the automobile through
its unique collection of more than 300 vehicles from all over the
world. They include horse-drawn carriages or coupé sports cars of
the 1950s, limousines of your dreams or popular saloon cars, not to
forget motor cycles and other utility vehicles.
Mini Europe
Mini-Europe is located at the foot of the Atomium and is the only
park where you can have a whistlestop tour around Europe in a few
short hours. A truly unique journey !
You can walk the typical ambiance of the most beautiful towns of the
old continent. The incomparable chimes of Big Ben welcome you to the
heart of London. The gondolas and the mandolins will invite you to
discover the charms of Venice. Follow the T.G.V. from Paris to the
other end of France. You can make the models work yourself : the eruption
of Vesuvius, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the bullfight in Seville
and many more In total 300 models and sites in a quite unequalled
craftsmanship.
With its European Space, Mini-Europe enters the world of multimedia.
Visitors to the European Space will find computers stations with user-friendly
touch-screen. Each of these stations has different games that are
easy to play and fun for adults and children alike |
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| Museums in Brussels |
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Royal Museum of Fine Arts
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which comprises the Museums of Ancient
Art and Modern Art. Both possess enormous collections featuring many
outstanding works.
Tram Museum
The tram museum has the great advantage of being actually connected
to the Brussels tram network. As a result, on top of the models displayed
inside the building itself, several models still run along the regular
lines.
Museums of Films
This film museum is not only a very nice little museum , but it also
has two cinema theatres. First the museum. In 40 display boxes you
witness the primeval history of cinema, what all kinds of inventors
tried in order to get moving images onto the big screen. The two small
theatres show five films a day, generally with a theme. There are
two silent movies shown each day, accompanied by a live piano.
Chocolate museum
The chocolate museum is located in the corner of the main Market Square,
you can find out about the history of cocoa and chocolate here. There
are demonstrations by a chocolate master and you can taste different
chocolates |
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| Facts on Brussels |
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Language: French and Dutch and English
Time Difference: GMT/UTC +1 hour
- Brussels is also the home of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
- Brussels, in the heart of Europe,and welcomes nearly 16,000 business congresses every year.
- Nearly a third of the Brussel's population is made up of foreigners
- Around 2,000 foreign companies, including 1,400 American companies and over 1,000 international associations, have offices on the territory of Brussels
- There are 60 foreign banks that make Brussels the world's seventh biggest financial market.
- Brussels has about 125 hotels providing more then 11,581 rooms including 12 five-star deluxe hotels with 3,301 rooms and 42 four-star deluxe hotels with 5,101 rooms
- There are very few public toilets in Brussels. If you find one, expect to having to pay
Transport
- If you need a taxi you need to go to the taxi stop , you can't just hail a taxi down in Brussels.
- In Brussels, there is a wide-spread network of public transport with trams, busses and metro.
- Brussels has three main train stations, these being North, Central and Midi.
Brussels Culture & Entertainment
- Every neighborhood has its own market as Brussels is a city of markets.
- In Brussels, some of the finest artistic contributions to the Western cultural heritage can be found.
- In Brussels you will find superb range of art and architecture past and present - Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Nouveau.
- Carnivals, festivals, pageants, plays and religious processions are held all year long, through out Belgium.
- Most movies in Brussels run in two different versions. They are either the original version with Dutch subtitles or a version dubbed in French. If you want to see the original version look out for the films marked VO (Version Originale)
- Nearly verybody has cable TV in Brussels. Through cable you get about 40 different channels, with some hotels having Satellite.
- When you visit Brusels you will find more than 350 delicious beers to chose from.
- The drinking age is 18 years old.
- Belgian chocolate is known as the best in the world
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