BGM: Brussels Downtown

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is the capital city of Belgium, covering an area of approximately 32 square kilometres with a population density of close to 5,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2017. It used to be Dutch-speaking until a gradual shift to French took place from the late 19th century. Today, it's officially bilingual in French and Dutch.

The photos shown in this post were mostly taken in the old town area called The Pentagon, which is named so due to the irregular pentagonal shape of the inner beltway that surrounds the area. As a quick recap, my BFF and I stayed at Floris Arlequin Grand Place Hotel at the heart of The Pentagon.

UNESCO inscribed Belgian beer culture on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.

We walked along one of the streets leading to Grand Place.

Brussels is indeed the 'chocopolis' of the world with lots of chocolate shops here and there.

It's not difficult to find Chinese restaurants in the area.

Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place is a 4* hotel.

Brussels Stock Exchange held an exhibition on Pompeii from November 2017 to August 2018.

Brussels has got its fair share of street art.

Fans of Tintin should remember that the young adventurer lives in Brussels.

An object of interest not to be missed is the bronze sculpture of a urinating little boy called Manneken Pis. Have you seen the less well-known female counterpart called Jeanneke Pis, as well as the dog called Het Zinneke?

The poor dog was struck by a car in 2015, but it was immediately restored by the sculptor.

Not surprisingly, there's a fries shop inspired by those urinating statues.

Belgium is well-known for its waffles. Don't forget to grab some.

I prefer mine to be topped simply with maple syrup.

Here are a few photos taken after sunset.

"Grow old with me, let us share what we see~"

Mont des Arts (French) or Kunstberg (Dutch), literally meaning 'hill of the arts', is said to offer one of the finest views of Brussels.

Don't you love such a geometric garden?

Belgium's national library was established in 1837.

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium was a patron of the arts and a friend of Albert Einstein.

From there, we passed by some interesting landmarks on our way to Brussels Park.

Does that building look like a church to you?

Brussels Park is the largest urban public park in the city.

It looks like a nice eatery selling all-day brunch menu.

Amen~

Here's a clickable panorama photo of Palace of the Nation, which houses the parliament of the country.

Click on the photo of Royal Palace of Brussels below, which is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians, but not used as a royal residence.

From Brussels Central Station, we rode the metro to Porte de Hal (French) or Hallepoort (Dutch) station to see the medieval fortified gate, which is the last remnant of the second walls of Brussels.

We walked around the area a little bit more without looking at a map, which proved to be rewarding.

What a majestic Palace of Justice!

I can't remember exactly, but I think that's Louise (French) or Louiza (Dutch) metro station.

Last but not least, as a Chemistry teacher, I just had to make sure that I got a photo of myself taken in front of the iconic building. To reach there, we took the metro to Heysel (French) or Heizel (Dutch) station.