Brussels a capital choice for a Euro city break

Nov 21 2010 By Steve Nicholls

Teeming with history and culture, there’s more to Brussels than just home to the European Parliament. Steve Nicholls reports.

The popular European pastime of mocking our international neighbours will often see the British trotting out the cliche that no-one famous ever came from Belgium.

In fact, it's the most famous thing about Belgium, we snort. And, there, I've just used it myself.

Obviously, it's not true - unless the barometer for fame is how many times you've appeared on the cover of celeb magazines.

Brussels isn't just the capital of Belgium, of course. It's also the capital of Europe, home of the European Union. (You know, the place that gets us all hysterical over fears that Blighty is about to be forced to straighten out its bananas and put pictures of Jurgen Klinsmann on the five pound note.)

But Brussels is a great city break. Especially at weekends when the EU isn't at work and all the MEPs and representatives go back home.

It has fabulous history, architecture and culture. And, yet, it probably isn't that close to the top of the list when holidaymakers are planning a short-stay getaway to Europe.

With so many citybreak/culture destinations available on economy flights, Brussels is up against places such as Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Venice, Madrid, Milan. Some big names there. Famous names...

But it's time Brussels was given a go. It's art history, particularly, is fascinating.

In 2009, a museum was finally opened to celebrate and honour the work of Brussels’ own Rene Magritte, one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century.

It is the world's largest collection of Magritte works, with more than 200 items on display. This includes not just his paintings and sculptures, but his photography, music and film - and several advertisements when he felt the need to take the corporate dollar.

Well, even an artistic genius needs to pay the rent.

The museum’s galleries, housed on three floors, are dark exhibition halls like the insect house at a zoo, which encourage a hushed reverence while admiring Magritte’s surrealist paintings and give them an added mystery.

It’s worth buying an audio guide for the tour, but also worth checking it is fully charged and so doesn’t conk out after five minutes like mine did. Not that it detracted from the magic of some of the paintings.  If anything, it focused the appreciation of a genius at work.

Away from the classics, Brussels is considered the spiritual home to comics and cartoons.

Tin Tin, one of the first comic strips, originated here and is the inspiration behind a powerful presence across the city.

From the fascinating Comic Strip Trail to the Comic Strip Museum there is a warm celebration of the Ninth Art.

The Comic Strip Trail was conceived in 1991 as a walk through Brussels which takes in many landmarks in the history of comics as well as some eye-catching street art - not to mention many of the other fascinating architecture and culture on offer in the city.

Entire sides of 37 buildings are decorated with murals to commemorate some of the city’s most popular fictional characters, painted into scenes which often echo the immediate location.

The trail is an ongoing project with additions being made every year.

(One of the places it takes you past is the Manneken Pis. Everyone knows the Manneken Pis.  The fountain of a little boy having a wee. It is always surrounded by tourists and is the most common subject of gift shop tat like mugs, coasters, lighters, thimbles, badges, playing cards and postcards.)

The museum, or officially The Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art, goes big on Tin Tin and those other Belgian creations, The Smurfs, as well as housing interactive installations which show how cartoons and comic strips are formed.

There are also many original first drafts on display, along with some life-sized and oversized exhibits. It’s understandably very popular with families.

The museum is housed in a former department store designed by Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta and his work can be seen all over Brussels, in much the same way that Gaudi is ubiquitous in Barcelona.

Another recommended city trail to follow (you can walk for miles in Brussels if you want) is the Art Nouveau trail.

Brussels is considered the home of Art Nouveau architecture, the movement forming in the late 19th century before developing across Europe.

Some of the old buildings you pass will have AN effects that you could easily miss - it might be an ornate door knocker or unusal boot scraper, but many have bold designs that sit defiantly among new developments.

One such place, Victor Horta’s former home which he designed and built inside and out, is now the Horta Museum.

Built over three years at the turn of the 20th century, it is still largely intact with many of the furnishings, also designed by Horta, unchanged by time. These features include ornate mosaics, carved furniture, windows and various innovations.  It’s a special place and can only be accessed through prior arrangement.

Another Art Nouveau building which has become a museum is the Musical Instruments Museum, which aside from a fascinating collection of what it says on the tin, also has a marvellous rooftop restaurant.  Marvellous if it isn’t a cold and grey day, that is. I’m sure the view is fantastic otherwise.

It’s not all museums in Brussels, but there are about a hundred of them, including museums of beer, plastics, chocolate, computers, Japanese art, Jews, street lamps and toys.

Our guide for the Art Nouveau trail was Chris Bourne, originally from Bournville, in Birmingham, which prompted an obvious question: does Cadbury have any popularity in a country renowned for its chocolate?

Clearly not following the script, his answer was a resounding “no”. In fact, so particular are the Belgians of what is considered to be chocolate (it all depends on levels of cocoa and vegetable fat) that Cadbury has to be labelled as “family chocolate”.

Well, it has to be said, the chocolate in Belgium is fabulous.  Rich, yes, but beautifully tasty. And, unsurprisingly, there are plenty of boutique stores enticing the tourists into their welcoming interior to dazzle them with goodies.  It’s very hard to resist.

In fact, eating out in Brussels can be an overwhelming delight. It can be expensive - most things usually are in capital cities - but if you can treat yourself to some of the restaurants at the top end of the gastro scale, you won’t regret it.

The beef carbonade at the splendid Café du Vaudeville above an old theatre is a rich and tender dream dish and, likewise, at the somewhat exclusive Belga Queen, with it’s satanic goat’s head centrepiece, the meatballs Liege is irresistible. (If you want to go really posh, there’s the roasted cuckoo or the Iranian caviar.) 

You’ll need to loosen a button or two if you want to go from there on to the desserts, which are equally tempting.

Frankly, they feed you so well, the only thing feeling any lighter at the end of the evening will be your credit card.

Brussels offers an extravagant and hugely cultural experience, ideal for a short break with so much possible inside the city boundaries.

It won’t be the cheapest weekend you’ve ever had, but you’ll feel enriched by the time you leave.

FACTBOX
Travel: BMI flies direct to Brussels from East Midlands Airport three times a day during the week and once on Sundays. www.flybmi.com 
Accommodation: The Royal Windsor, is a large, ornate and luxurious hotel with spacious rooms, a relaxed and comfortable bar and even a lively nightclub in the basement.  www.royalwindsorbrussels.com
Museums: Magritte Museum - www.musee-magritte-museum.be
Musical Instruments Museum - www.mim.be/en
Victor Horta Museum - www.hortamuseum.be
Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art  - www.comicscenter.net
Restaurants: Belga Queen - www.belgaqueen.be
Café du Vaudeville - www.cafeduvaudeville.be
Chez Vincent - www.restaurantvincent.com
Belgian tourism: www.belgiumtheplaceto.be