Walking Tour Brussels 07/12/2025
This article is originally written by Mr. Johan Devits, my partner, who likes to explore cities all over Europe and if he could the world. He’s a great guide and I’m sure will be a professional guide soon enough. He has a knack to catch onto really historical aspects during a walk. He’s curious to know more about each hidden gem or statue out there in the open that no one really knows anything about. On the 7th of December, a slightly rainy and chilly morning, he walked in the Brussels Urban Walk with his friend Martin.
What's an UrbanWalk?
An Urban Walk or Urban Hiking is exploring a city on foot, blending exercise with sightseeing by discovering hidden gems, landmarks, street art and culture.
On a walk like this in Brussels, one can discover amazing historical and unique buildings, where you get the time to explore and learn more about their history and purpose!
The distance was 12 Km and that also makes it accessible to everyone. It’s a bit more than people usually do and not an impossible distance. Also, as you’re discovering different places, you’re generally stopping for sometime in a place.
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| Europe's crossroads square |
The walk’s start and finish points were at Europakruispunt square. This is at the Central Railway Station, in the heart of the city, and the walk contains 13 sights to visit.
When they registered to participate they had to choose a starting time slot. The first participants started between 9h00 and 9h30, Johan and Martin chose the last slot between 11h00 and 11h30. The end of the event was planned at 17h00.
Even though Johan is passionate about walking and is usually able to walk that distance in about 2hours, it took them almost 5 hours to complete the walk. This was because it was interesting, educational and very pleasant. Being able to stop at a local bar to enjoy a cup of coffee or having interactions with other participants were added fun factors.
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| Plein Publiek |
Let’s know more about the 13 sights :
First stop, Plein Publiek, was not so far from the start, just about 250m away, so they reached there within a few minutes of walking.
Plein Publiek: Plein Publiek is located at the beautiful Palais de la Dynastie on the Monts des Arts in Brussels. A variety of events are hosted here, from concerts to vintage markets, dance nights, expositions and so much more. They also have delicious small dishes on their menu. At a few minutes distance was the second stop - the KBR museum.
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| KBR Museum |
KBR: At the heart of the Royal Library lies the KBR museum. There, you can dive into the enchanting world of manuscripts, polyphonic music and illuminated miniatures from the 15th and 16th centuries. With the magnificent Library of the Dukes to discover more history. There are more than 8 million documents preserved and restored. A treasure of cultural heritage.
A nice thing to know is that the manuscripts are sometimes on public display despite being extremely fragile in terms of exposure to light and air. In an open exhibition, they cannot be exposed for more than 6 months, after which they are hidden away to rest again for at least 6 years in the storage depot.
After leaving the inspiring KBR museum, the duo went on to do the longest walk of the event to reach the third site, the Science Museum. During the 25 minutes walk to the Museum they saw a lot of beautiful buildings like the Royal Palace and several others .
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| reception Hall in KBR |
The Science Museum: This museum finds its origin in 1751 when Karel Van Lotharingen installed a natural history museum in it. In 1846 it was taken over by the Belgian State who converted it into the Science Museum it is today. Present-day it is still one of Belgium’s most popular museums amongst all age groups. They then continued to the fourth site , the Triumphal Arch of Parc du Cinquantenaire. On the way, Johan suggests one to take the time to discover Park Leopold that’s part of the grounds where the Science museum is located. This park has a lot of interesting additional historical events linked to it.
Triumphal arch of Parc du Cinquantenaire: The arch is a memorial arch in the center of the Parc du Cinquantenaire which was built for the 50th birthday of Belgium. This beautiful structure is a monumental triple arch which is crowned with a bronze quadriga or chariot ridden by a female charioteer. She represents the Province of Brabant and is seen raising the National Flag. As they passed under the arch, they reached the next site.
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| Park Leopold |
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| lycée Emile Jacqmain in the park |
Triumphal arch of Parc du Cinquantenaire: The arch is a memorial arch in the center of the Parc du Cinquantenaire which was built for the 50th birthday of Belgium. This beautiful structure is a monumental triple arch which is crowned with a bronze quadriga or chariot ridden by a female charioteer. She represents the Province of Brabant and is seen raising the National Flag. As they passed under the arch, they reached the next site.
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The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History: This museum occupies the two Northern halls of the Cinquantenaire. It was completed for the world exhibition held in 1880. It got burned down by a fire accident in 1946 and was then rebuilt. The Museum displays uniforms, weapons, vehicles and military equipment of all ages and all countries. Once they left the Museum they continued walking towards Margareta square.
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| Martin & Johan |
Margareta square: This square is a recreational green space in the European Quarter, an area richly adorned with beautiful architectural buildings with influences from the Art Nouveau, Neo-renaissance and Gothic styles.
The name of the square comes from Margareta of York (15th century) who was the third wife of Karel De Stoute, the Duke of Bourgondie. The original plan was apparently to build a cathedral there, but because of a lot of disagreements, that never happened! Sounds very Belgian to me :)
At this stop the organizers of the walk provided the participants with warm fresh soup, which was very needed due to the cold and served as a great energy boost. The participants could enjoy a hearty picnic atmosphere with those amazing views. ( Great place to have your own picnic some day, suggests Johan).
Then they walked to the Noble Concert that led them along the huge Berlaymont building, better known as the Head Quarter of the European Commission.
Concert Nobel: An architectural pearl opened in 1873 that takes you back to the past of grandiose concerts or royal weddings. Some very famous people walked on those hallowed floors : King Baudewijn ,The Dalai-Lama, The Shah of Iran. This building was occupied during the War tand it served as a casino for high-ranking officers. It was badly damaged, but luckily everything has since been restored to its beautiful original condition.
After leaving this masterpiece of heritage , a very short walk brought them to the Sint-Jozef church.
Sint-Jozef kerk ( Saint Joseph Church): The architect got inspired by the church of Trinità dei Monti in Rome and its eclectic style. This hidden pearl built between 1842 and 1849 is absolutely worth visiting .
This is the 2nd largest church in Brussels and daily masses are still organized.
After the passage inside the Saint Joseph Church, Johan and Martin enjoyed a real Brussels Waffle and Mulled wine, of course only to support the local charitable association selling it.
The 9th site, one which Johan was very inquisitive about, was the Flemish Parliament building.
The Flemish Parliament: The Flemish Parliament was formerly called the Flemish Council. This upholds the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence and jurisdiction of Flanders.
They approve decrees, which are Flemish laws, applicable to all persons in the Flemish region and covering the Flemish institutions in Brussels.
Belgium has the most complex political system in the whole world, having 4 Parliaments in a small country. Because Johan is Flemish and lives in Flanders, this interests him a lot!
A nice to know fact is that, from 1830 to 1970 Belgium was a unitary state. On 7 December 1971 , the cultural Council for Dutch speaking Community held its first meeting and the parliament for the Flemish region was quickly created.
Leaving the parliament behind, they passed the Federal Parliament to reach the next site, namely the Vaux-Hall which is a building hidden in the Warandepark. This park situated between the Federal Parliament and the Royal Palace is the largest urban public park of Brussels. Warandepark is the official name, most locals know it as the Royal park or Parc Royale. It was originally laid out between 1776 and 1783 and lies on the site of the gardens of the former Palace of Coudenberg. This Palace burned down in 1731. In that period it was considered to be one of the most beautiful gardens or parks in Europe.
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| Vaux-Hall |
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| a part of Vaux-Hall |
The Vaux – Hall: The Vaux-Hall, otherwise known as the Waux-Hall is an historic performance hall in the Warande Park and is named after the pleasure gardens of Vauxhall in London. The Vaux-Hall was opened in 1781 and was initially a drinking place, concert hall and theatre. These days one can still experience concerts , exhibitions and meetings happening. I have participated in a Salsa party in the gardens of the Vaux- Hall one summer. After walking through the beautiful Warandepark Johan and Martin reached the next site, Hotel Errera.
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| Hotel Errera |
Hotel Errera: The Hotel Errera is a beautiful building built in 1780 at the corner of Baron Horta street in the Royal Avenue, adjacent to the Palace of Fine Arts. This house was originally an urban refuge for the Abbey of Grimbergen. The Abbey had received this building and its grounds from the Empress Maria Theresa from Austria. The property changed owners several times till the Italian banker Mister Errera bought it in 1868. Only recently in 1980, it became the property of the Belgium State with a department of the Brussels conservatory using the premises. These days it’s used as the official residence of the Flemish Minister-President. From the Hotel Errera it was just 100 m to the right and then take the stairs down to reach the next site, the Bozar.
The Bozar: The Bozar is actually Brussels Center for Fine Arts. The idea of a Center for Fine Arts in Brussels dates back to the Mid-19th century. In 1856 a government commission explored a venue for concerts and major exhibitions. By 1866, a law allocated one million Belgian Francs for a hall for exhibitions and public ceremonies. The construction began in 1874 and the building opened on the 1st of August 1880 with a major exhibition of Belgian Art. In 1913, King Albert 1 and Queen Elisabeth, both keen lovers of music, urged the then Mayor of Brussels, Adolphe Max to create a temple dedicated to music and visual arts. World War 1 halted the plans. But between 1923 and 1931 it was constructed under the authority of the world famous architect, Victor Horta. From the Bozar , our duo crossed the street to reach the last site - Gallery Ravenstein.
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| The Bozar |
Gallery Ravenstein: Gallery Ravenstein is a covered shopping arcade in the center of Brussels. Built between 1954 and 1958 in the context of the construction of the North – South connection. This location is where the Granvelle Palace once stood. The Granvelle Palace was built in 1555 and served as the sumptuous home of Cardinal- Archbishop Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle. Between 1842 and 1928 this building served as the HeadQuarters of the Free University of Brussels before being demolished in 1931. Crossing the gallery is an experience as its architecture and style is unique. Do not hesitate to stop for a coffee, local beer or even a decent meal. We would personally recommend you, reader or visitor of Brussels, to try the Pure Veg India restaurant, which serves delicious vegetarian dishes here in its daily buffet.
After leaving the Ravenstein Gallery, all that remained was to cross the street and arrive at the destination, the Europakruispunt ( Europe Crossroads) Square. Let’s learn something more about that start and finish place.
Europakruispunt plein (square): This square located in the heart of the Capital Brussels has a rich history. This Square is located halfway across Putterij street and is connected with the Grasmarkt. Situated below the square is the Horta Gallery and one can also easily enter the main entrance of the Central Railway Station. At this entrance, you can see a Memorial structure of the demolished neighborhood of Putterij and Sint-Rochus. These working class neighborhoods were considered unhygienic and dilapidated in the late 19th century, which meant that the City council did not need much to have them demolished as part of the North-South connection. After the demolishing, there were plans to build a huge traffic network to join with the highways of Lisbon to Stockholm and from Istanbul to London. The idea was to make the intersection right here, crossing over in the middle of the capital of Europe. This plan was ultimately never implemented. The square became a paid parking for the station and busy center of Brussels. 4 international hotels were also built at the spot, before it was redesigned and made car-free earlier this century.
Johan says that he really enjoyed this walking route. Both his passions were united. Experiencing History and Architecture while walking.
This kind of concept also exists for runners, in the past Johan has already taken part in a few Urban Runs himself. And I’m sure this passion will soon become a huge part of his life.
Please do not hesitate to leave a comment in the article if you’re planning a trip to Brussels and would like to experience a nice walk with the necessary information. I can give you Johan’s details. He will proudly guide you through this unique and beautiful city.
#urbanwalk #urbanwalks #urbanwalkers #urbanwalkabout #urbanwalk2025 #citytrips
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