Royal Museum of Fine Arts
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts combines the Musée d’Art Ancien, the adjoining Musée d’Art Moderne and also the brand new Magritte museum. It’s Belgium’s premier collection of ancient and modern art, and is definitely one not to miss.

Place du Sablon – the place to be
200m uphill from Place du Grand Sablon, the charming garden Place du Petit Sabon is framed by 48 bronze statuettes depicting the medieval guilds. At its heart is a monument to Counts Egmont and Hoorn, beheaded on the Grand Place in 1568 for defying Spanish rule.

Brussels’ Art Nouveau jewel
Art Nouveau is Brussels’ architectural jewel. Amongst some of the best examples is Hôtel Hannon, a gallery and accessible to the public and Maison Autrique, the Schaerbeek that started it all – Horta’s first building of note opened its doors to the public a couple of years ago.

Art Deco bar
L’Archiduc is an excusive Art Deco bar built in the late 1930s, located on one of the city’s hippest streets. Home to jazz musicians from local to international, this venue was once for those in-the-know, but is now well and truly legendary.

Chocolate shopping
If one of the first images that springs to mind at the mention of Brussels is chocolate, then a visit Mary’s is a must. It gets no better than this. Scrumptious pralines (filled chocolates) are sold from one exclusive boutique in the royal quarter of town.

One of the world best music hall
Bozar is a much celebrated classical music venue. Designed by Horta, it opened in 1928 and is home not only to the National Orchestra but also to the Philharmonic Society. The Henri Le Bœuf hall is considered to be one of the five best in the world for acoustic quality.

Samourai
Samourai is a great Japanese restaurant, tucked away inside a gallery on a busy downtown street. The food’s as authentic as it gets, and is highly regarded by the busloads of Japanese who turn up here without fail.

Mussels specialties at Jacques
Tuck into mussels at Jacques. This down-to-earth restaurant is one of the city’s oldest seafood establishments and has been around over 60 years. It’s rate to see the restaurant anything but full, with a very local crowd filling the tables from lunchtime until late at night.

Oriental Al Barmarki
Hidden on a quiet backstreet, Al Barmarki has long been considered one of Brussels’ best Middle Eastern eateries. And now, after more than three decades of faithful service to uncompromisingly authentic Lebanese food, it’s made the Michelin guide. Expect cool Moorish décor, brusque service and succulent skewered lamb kebabs.