Brussels

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We were in Brussels on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2nd for the Belgian Paradise Beer Weekend held in Grand Place. We also went to the Cantillon brewery, a lambic family run brewery built in 1900 which is one of the last traditional breweries where nothing much has changed over the last century. I highly recommend visiting this place, as their beer is excellent. Other highlights of Brussels include Grand Place, The Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art and The Museum of Musical Instruments. We found finding a decent breakfast in Brussels very difficult. The area around Grand Place seems to be the best place to go to find restaurants that actually serve food for most of the day (a lot of restuarants will look open, but their kitchen is actually closed). A lot of stuff is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, which is very irritating, and there's a lot of boarded up buildings and empty storefronts in certain areas of Brussels. I think if it weren't for the Beer Festival, I probably would have got bored pretty quickly in Brussels.

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Photos

Grand Place
Grand Place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful squares in Europe - I'd say it was my favourite, especially during the Beer Fest.

Cinquantenaire Arch
Erected to mark the 50th anniversary of Belgium's independence from Holland. Located in the 90 acre Jubelpark aka Parc du Cinquantenaire.

The Museum of Musical Instruments
There are over 7000 instruments on display here.

Atomium
The Atomium located in Bruparck was built for the 1958 World's Fair and represents a molecule's 9 atoms magnified 165 billion times. Although the Atomium is a nice landmark, it's not really worth the time or the money to go up inside it.

Brussels Museum
I can't remember the name of this Brussel's Museum, but there was a Leonardi Da Vinci exhibition there we went to see.

Galaries St. Hubert
This glass roofed arcade was the 1st shopping arcade in Europe built in 1847. All the shops and cafes here are very expensive though.

Instrument Museum
Just one of the many historic instruments found in the Museum of Musical Instruments.

Town Hall in Grand Place
Some Belgians we met at the beer festival told us the architect of this building committed suicide when he jumped off it. Apparently, he was upset because the building was asymetrical.

Smurfstraat
Smurfstaat, aka Rue des Sables or Zandstraat, is where you will find The Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art, which displays artwork from over 670 cartoonists and pays homage to the Belgian passion of cartooning.

Smurf Stuff in Comic Museum
Here are just some of the many Smurf items that are found in The Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art.