World City Guide

Further Distractions

Centre Belge de la Bande Dessine (Belgian Centre for Comic Strips)
The history of the Belgian comic strip, including its links with silent movies and animation, is displayed throughout the airy and uplifting Grand Magasin Waucquez, designed by Victor Horta. Original drawings by early masters – such as Andr Franquin, who created accident-prone Gaston Lagaffe, and Georges Remi (Herg), who breathed life into Tintin – are complemented by modern-day cartoons, temporary exhibitions, an exhaustive academic library, children’s library and a brasserie.

Rue des Sables 20
Tel: (02) 219 1980. Fax: (02) 219 2376.
Website: www.cbbd-bcb.org
Transport: Train/mtro Gare Centrale, Botanique, Rogier; tram 3, 52, 55, 56, 81, 90, 92, 93, 94; bus 38, 58 or 61.
Opening hours: Daily 1000–1800.
Admission: 6.20; concessions available; 1.24 (reference library).

Muse Horta (Horta Museum)
Victor Horta (1885–1946) worked to produce some 110 buildings, first in neo-Gothic style, famously in Art Nouveau and latterly in sparse Modernist style. Many – such as the Htel Solvay, Avenue Louise 224, and Htel Van Eetvelde at Avenue Palmerston 4 – are still standing. However, the Muse Horta – the architect’s former home and studio – is beautifully preserved and open to the general public. Attention to detail sweeps through the building, from the vertical letterbox and finely scripted number 25 on the faade to the sculpted staircase and dining room floor, where a marble mosaic encircles the finest American ash. A theatrical arrangement of secret front doors allowed the architect to welcome guests from different social and religious backgrounds without their being aware of each other’s presence.

Rue Amricaine 25
Tel: (02) 543 0490. Fax: (02) 538 7631.
E-mail: musee.horta@horta.irisnet.be
Website: www.hortamuseum.be
Transport: Tram 81, 82, 91 or 92; bus 54 or 60.
Opening hours: Tues–Sun 1400–1730.
Admission: 4.95.

Atomium and Mini-Europe
Lopold II bequeathed the 202-hectare (500-acre) estate of Heysel to the city of Brussels, in 1909. The large exhibition spaces are located here, to the northwest of the centre. Its most famous landmark, however, is the Atomium – a giant model of an oxygen molecule, built for the 1958 World Fair as a temporary structure, although never dismantled. The highest sphere gives a panoramic view of the entire region. The science exhibition is of interest only to young children. Nearby Mini-Europe shrinks Europe to a size that can be covered in a short walk, with faithful miniatures of the Eiffel Tower, Westminster and the Berlin Wall in the process of being dismantled. The year 2002 welcomed in the restoration of the model of the Cathedral of Saint Jacques de Compostella to its former glory.

Atomium
Boulevard du Centenaire
Tel: (02) 475 4776. Fax: (02) 475 4779.
Website: www.atomium.be
Transport: Mtro Heysel; bus 84 or 99; tram 23 or 81.
Opening hours: Daily 0900–1900 (Apr–Aug); daily 1000–1730 (Sep–Mar).
Admission: 5.45; 15 (combined Atomium and Mini-Europe ticket); concessions available.

Mini-Europe
Bruparck, Boulevard du Centenaire
Tel: (02) 474 1311. Fax: (02) 478 2675.
E-mail: info@minieurope.com
Website: www.minieurope.com
Transport: Mtro Heysel; bus 84 or 99; tram 23 or 81.
Opening hours: Daily 0930–1700 (Apr–Jun); Mon–Thurs 0930–1900, Fri–Sun 0930–2300 (Jul–Aug); daily 0930–1700 (Sep–Dec).
Admission: 11; 15 (combined Atomium and Mini-Europe ticket); concessions available.

Muse des Instruments de Musique (Musical Instrument Museum)
Located in the splendid Victor Horta-designed Art Nouveau Old England Building, at the Place Royale, the Musical Instrument Museum is home to a collection of instruments as well as information and activities covering ancient, modern and tradidtional music. A 200-seat concert hall hosts regular concerts (Thursday evenings, from October to May), which are organised to coincide with the various themes of the exhibitions.

Place Royale, Montagne de la Cour 2
Tel: (02) 545 0130. Fax: (02) 545 0178.
Website: www.mim.fgov.be
Transport: Mtro line 1A or 1B to Gare-Centrale or Park; tram 92, 93 or 94 to Royale; bus 20, 38, 60, 71, 95 or 96 to Royale.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Fri 0930–1700, Thurs 0930–2000 (concert at 2000), Sat and Sun 1000–1700.
Admission: 5 (concessions available).