Round The World and other travel

June 2005 : Brussels

The capital city of Belgium and - many would say - of Europe, Brussels is perhaps not the most obvious city for a weekend break; yet it is an attractive and interesting destination. This was my second visit, the first having been in 1996. Shame the weather was so disappointing for June.

The Grand' Place

Other Sights

The Manneken Pis - the city's ... er ... Number One attraction? Surely not, but the little boy with the inexhaustible bladder continues to draw the tourists.	The Belgian Parliament building sits at the opposite end of Brussels Park from the Royal Palace.	The cathedral is magnificent, but they really need to do something about the immediate foreground, currently an ugly gap site.
An attractive spot in the Botanic Gardens, near my hotel, although there were one or two weirdos hanging around.	The Berlaymont complex is striking from some angles, but hideous from an overall perspective.	The European Parliament - one of its two homes!
The Royal Palace - impressive, but the gardens needed something to break up all that greenery. A flower or two, maybe?	Looked good from a distance, so I decided I had to go for a closer look!	One of the world's most distinctive structures, the Atomium is currently closed for major refurbishment. The re-panelling operation was proving to be a tourist attraction in its own right.