Brussels' tourist center is the Grand Place, which is surrounded by guild
halls such as the Brewers' Guild,
as well as the magnificent Town Hall,
which is newly restored. The Guild Halls all sport intricate façades
from the Middle Ages.
Near the Grand Place is the Theâtre
Royal de la Monnaie and the Galeries
Royales St. Hubert. The Galleries are beautiful indoor strip mall type
things.
Further afield, but still within Brussels, one can find the [in]famous Manneken
Pis and Porte
de Hal, which is one of the few remaining medieval wall structures. I
also randomly saw a statue of Don Quixote
and took a photo because I liked it; I have no idea why it's there. The old
Royal Palace with its gardens is also
in town, although the current royal family lives in another
palace in "Brussels 2", which is a few kilometers north of the
center of town. From the higher vantage point of Laeken
Park you can get a good view of "Brussels 1". Other sites in
"Brussels 2" include the designer
greenhouses, a statue of Neptune,
the Chinese Pavilion, the extraordinarily
bizarre Atomium and the business district
with its modern buildings.
There are several gothic churches in Brussels, most of which are now dirty
and black, but St. Michael's is amazingly
well kept up, and they even let you take pictures inside!
The stained glass is as well kept
up as the façade.
