BEING THERE

Brussels' number-one tourist attraction, with its magnificently gilded, baroque facades of guildhouses and the gothic Hôtel de Ville. The famous Manneken Pis is located nearby.

The Galeries St Hubert

Glass-vaulted galleries, of which the Galerie de la Reine is the best-known.

Film history was written here in the Variétés theatre and tearoom where the Lumière brothers organised the first film screening in Belgium, just one month after the world's first film screening in Paris. The Arenberg-Galeries arthouse cinema still shows films.

The Royal Film Archive

World famous thanks to its late curator, Jacques Ledoux. Both the archive and museum are housed in the Palais des Beaux Arts, known for its concerts, and art and antiques exhibitions. It is located near the Central Station and the Royal Palace, the Belgian version of Buckingham Palace where King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola usually receive international guests.

Souvenirs

Chocolates, beers, lace and comics are probably Belgium's best-known souvenirs and can be bought at the airport and in most Brussels shopping areas. An alternative is the merchandise sold in the EuroLine (Boulevard A Max), where you can buy almost anything in the EC colours (blue with gold/yellow stars), from umbrellas to underwear or sweets, as well as ECU coins.