Destination: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

UNDERSTAND BRUSSELS

THINGS TO SEE IN BRUSSELS

• Grand' Place-Grote Markt. At night. Awesome. Some evenings a music and light show is provided with the buildings serving as a canvas. Have a "Gauffre Liègoise-Luikse wafel" here (Belgian waffle with caramelized sugar) -- the best ones are available from the little shops off the northeast corner of the Grand' Place-Grote Markt.

• Manneken Pis. Just a short walk from the Grand' Place-Grote Markt is the Manneken Pis, a small bronze statue thought to represent the "irreverent spirit" of Brussels. This statue of a child performing one of Nature's most basic functions is believed to have been inspired either by a child who, while in a tree, found a special way to drive away invading troops, OR to commemorate a child who found a unique method putting out a fire, that threathened the city. Belgians have created hundred of outfits for this statue, each with a hole strategically placed to allow the water flow to continue.

• Parc du Cinquantenaire-Jubelpark. Definitely check out the Arc de Triomphe-Triomfboog on the east side of town. It's in the Parc du Cinquantenaire-Jubelpark. Take Metro line 1 east, exit Schumann and walk east or exit Merode and walk west.

• The Atomium and Europe in miniature are worth a trip. Take Metro line 1A direction Roi Baudouin-Koning Boudewijn, exit at Heysel-Heizel. The Atomium re-opened on February 18 2006 after renovation work was completed.

• Take a 3D virtual tour around the EU quarter and learn more about Brussels as the lobbying capital of Europe at www.eulobbytours.org

• Brave the tourist-trap restaurant gauntlet of the Rue des Bouchers-Beenhouwersstraat.

• See the history of film-making at Musee du Cinema-Filmmuseum, it's free to look around, and classic and cult films are shown at low prices. Rue Baron Hortastraat, walk from Gare Centrale-Centraalstation.

• The Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts-Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten show historical art and modern art in one building. In a vast museum of several buildings, this complex combines the Musee d'Art Ancien-Museum voor Oude Kunst and the Musee d'Art Moderne-Museum voor Moderne Kunst under one roof (connected by a passage). The collection shows off works, most of them Belgian, from the 14th to the 20th century, starting in the historical section, with Hans Memling's portraits from the late 15th century, which are marked by sharp lifelike details, works by Hiëronymus Bosch, and Lucas Cranach's Adam and Eve. You should particularly seek out the subsequent rooms featuring Pieter Brueghel, including his Adoration of the Magi.
  Don't miss his unusual Fall of the Rebel Angels, with grotesque faces and beasts. But don't fear -- many of Brueghel's paintings, like those depicting Flemish village life, are of a less fiery nature. Later artists represented include Rubens, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt. Next door, in a circular building connected to the main entrance, the modern art section has an emphasis on underground works - if only because the museum's eight floors are all below ground level. The collection includes works by van Gogh, Matisse, Dalí, Tanguy, Ernst, Chagall, Miró, and local boys Magritte, Delvaux, De Braekeleer and Permeke. Don't miss David's famous "Death of Marat."

• Horta Museum Visit the home of famous art nouveau architect Victor Horta. Seeing where he lived and worked is a great way to get an introduction to the art nouveau style in Brussels. A museum few visit-- its a wonderful place!

• Musee BD is located in Europes earliest Shopping-Mall (a shine Jugendstil palais). There is a permanent exposition featuring the early beginning of comics as well as it's development. There is enough room for other varying expositions. Tue-Sun 10am-6pm. Prices: € 7.50 adults, € 6.00 students/seniors. The bookshop Bd at the ground floor sells many different comics. A readers' library operates on the ground floor, where, for a low entrance fee, you can read many different comic books.

• Snapping up a Bargain at the Flea Market. Each day, from 7am to 2pm, the Marche aux Puces-Vlooienmarkt in Place du Jeu de Balle-Vossenplein offers everything from the weird to the wonderful at rock-bottom prices.

• Taking a Ferry Trip. The ferry in question is a tiny, electrically operated pontoon that makes a 1-minute crossing to Robinson's Island in the lake at the heart of Bois de la Cambre.

• The BIFF is Brussels' international fantasy film festival (film fantastique in french)

THINGS TO DO IN BRUSSELS

• The cooperative nouveau cinema run the Actors Studio and the Styx. Both cinemas screen interesting films in their original version with French and Dutch subtitles.

• Cinema Nova is an independent-to-the-bone cinema showcasing the more esoteric side of cinema - films which would not be shown elsewhere are generally shown here. A Korean Ultraman rip-off, a Pakistani documentary or a bleak Chilean cinema verite flick? Only at Nova.

• Arenberg. The Arenberg is a good arthouse cinema with a well-programmed selection of films. Especially good for the newer arthouse flicks.

• Royal Film Museum. The Musee du Cinema/Filmmuseum is part of the Centre for Fine Arts and features a carefully chosen selection of contemporary and classic arthouse films. The best thing about this isn't just the building (due to be restored soon) but also the fact that the entrance fee is cheap. So if you can't live without your dose of Werner Herzog or Jan Svankmajer fret not - this place won't cost you an arm and a leg.

• The Vendome is yet another arthouse cinema. It's located near the Porte de Namur (Naamsepoort) and acts as the metaphysical gateway to a lively african neighbourhood known locally as Matonge.

• The Flagey is the old broadcasting headquarters and now houses the regional TV station tvbrussel. It labels itself 'the sound and images factory'. Quite an apt description - arthouse films, theatre pieces or world-renowned musicians are all featured here.

• UGC De Brouckère. This is the most centrally located UGC in Brussels. Other branches exist in Ixelles and near the Heysel plateau (next to the Atomium). As far as programming goes it's the usual Hollywood and mainstream European fare you'd expect from any other UGC in Europe.

FOOD AND CHOCOLATE IN BRUSSELS

TRIPS OUT OF BRUSSELS