11 Best Sights in Lower Town, Brussels

It fell to the land of Tintin to create a fitting museum for the ninth art. While comics have historically struggled for artistic recognition, they have been taken seriously in Belgium for decades. In the Comics Art Museum, they are wedded to another strongly Belgian art form: Art Nouveau. Based in an elegant 1903 Victor Horta–designed building, the museum is long on the history of the genre, if a little short on kid-friendly interaction. The collection includes more than 400 original plates and 25,000 cartoon works. A library and brasserie are added incentives, but best of all is the bookshop, which sells a comprehensive collection of graphic novels and comic books, albeit largely in French or Dutch. Keep an eye out for the comic-strip murals that dot the city; walking maps showing the location of each one can be found at the tourist information office.

This jewelry box of a square is arguably Europe's most ornate and theatrical. It's also a vital part of the city—everyone passes through at some point. At night, the burnished facades of the guild houses look especially dramatic. Try to make it here for the Ommegang, a historical pageant re-creating Emperor Charles V's reception in the city in 1549 (in June and July), or for the famed Carpet of Flowers, which fills the square with color for four days in mid-August on even-numbered years. Dominating the square is the magnificent Gothic-era Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall). Work began on it in 1402, and it's nearly 300 years older than the surrounding guild houses. Be sure to tilt your gaze to the belfry, which is topped by a bronze statue of St. Michael (patron saint of the city) crushing the devil beneath his feet.

If the Grand Place stands for old money, the Marolles neighborhood stands for old—and current—poverty. Times are changing, but the area still has some raffish charm. This was once home to the workers who produced the luxury goods for which Brussels was once famous. As that industry faded, immigrants, mostly from North Africa and Turkey, made homes here. The hugely popular daily Vieux Marché (flea market) at the place du Jeu de Balle sells clothing, bric-a-brac, plain junk, and the occasional gem. Trendy shops are found on the surrounding Rue Haute and Rue Blaes.  Keep in mind that despite improvements, this area can be pretty sketchy at night.

Despite drawing sightseers for centuries, the minuscule statue of the peeing boy may leave you underwhelmed. The first mention of the Manneken dates from 1377, and he's said to symbolize what Belgians think of the authorities. The "original" version was commissioned from noted sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy in 1619 to replace the old stone one, though what is on display now is a copy. This earlier version was once seized by French soldiers, and to quell local unrest caused by this act, King Louis XV of France presented the Manneken Pis with a gold-embroidered suit, thus starting a bizarre trend. The statue now has more than 1,000 costumes (the safe-sex outfit is truly remarkable!) for ceremonial occasions, and it even has its own personal dresser. 

You can see a selection of the statue's many outfits at the GardeRobe Manneken Pis museum at nearby 19 Rue du Chêne.

This marionette theater troupe has been going for eight generations, performing plays in the old Brusseleir dialect with hefty doses of local humor and innuendo. It's suitable for kids, though, and even if your French isn't up to scratch, there's fun to be had just looking around. Plays last two hours (including intermission) and are held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (twice). These range from "puppet" Hamlet and Faust to The Passion, with tickets sold just before each show. Alternatively, many people come just for the quirky downstairs bar, Toone (Tuesday–Sunday, noon–midnight), which is locally famous in its own right and is scattered with marionettes and memorabilia.

If you find the Grand Place overrun by tourists, head to Place Sainte-Catherine, whose markets are a favorite among locals, who come to shop for necessities (Thursday–Saturday 7–5; Wednesday organic market 7:30–3). At night, it often has a mobile bar, while the square's fishmonger serves great seafood ( see Restaurants).

Soaring over this scene is the Church of Sainte-Catherine, a rather grand Baroque church with a magnificent rose window. On the outside wall of the church is, bizarrely, the only remaining historical public urinal in Brussels, which dates from 1873 and is still in use. The church also overlooks the neighboring Vismet (fish market). A canal used to run through here, when the Port of Brussels extended deep into the city, and this was the site of a fish market up until 1955. It's now reduced to a couple of elongated ponds lined by seafood restaurants—some good, many of them overpriced.

From there, head along Rue de Peuplier to find the Church of St John the Baptist at the Beguinage, a magnificent 17th-century Flemish Baroque church that was once surrounded by a vast community of beguines, a lay religious movement of unmarried Christian women who devoted their lives to God but never took the orders of a nun. Their beguinage once spanned more than 1,000 houses, across 7 hectares, and the surrounding streets here are often colonized by filmmakers seeking a taste of old Brussels.

Beyond the museum, the real appeal here is the audio-guided descent into the sewers themselves, where you'll find the River Senne. The city's main waterway had become increasingly polluted and problematic (frequently flooding) by the end of the 19th century and had to be covered over. Redevelopment projects are starting to reveal small stretches of the old river across the city, but this is a rare chance to glimpse, hear about, and yes, smell a little-seen part of Brussels's history, buried since 1871.

With the excellent MIMA gallery having shut its door at the start of 2025, it's left to CENTRALE to fly the flag for contemporary art museums in the capital. Set in a former power station built at the turn of the 20th century, its bold shows are never less than daring, and the setting is impressive in itself. Each year, it also shows the work of four hand-picked artists from Brussels and beyond in its nearby offshoot gallery space, Centrale/Vitrine.

A number of immersive sights have popped up in the city in recent years, blending digital art and Instagram-friendly settings. This part-hologram, part-theater, part-storytelling museum is a bit different and is certainly the most creative. It aims to tailor the experience to each person, as you whittle down your "spirit animal" across seven rooms. We'll spare you too many details because going in slightly blank makes it all the more fun.

The irony of a museum about money being free to visit is lost on no one. It also doesn't stop this being one of the surprise joys of the Brussels museum scene. Exhibits unravel different forms of payment throughout history, from Mesopotamian clay tablets to why you need a moko drum to buy a house on the Indonesian island of Alor.

No ruler ever lived in the 16th-century Maison du Roi (House of the King); instead, it housed Charles V’s administrative offices, built on the site of Brussels’s old covered marketplace. Then, in the 19th century, it was given a neo-Gothic makeover—all brooding spires and arches. Today, it houses the City Museum, which boasts some fine tapestries and paintings, notably the Marriage Procession by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. You can also see the "original" (1619 version) Mannekin Pis and an impressive 15th-century weather vane that used to top the town hall.