European Quarter to the Cinquantenaire: a walk in Brussels

The free EU museums, a hilly park between the Parliament buildings, the famous fries on Place Jourdan and the triumphal arcade.

Best time: Weekday late morning into lunch

The route, stop by stop

1
Parlamentarium
Free EU visitor centre; 60 min.
The European Parliament's visitor centre explains how the EU works with multimedia rooms and a 360-degree cinema.
2
House of European History
Free 20th-century Europe museum; 60 min.
A free museum on 20th-century Europe - wars, the Iron Curtain, migration and the EU - in a restored building inside Parc Leopold.
3
Leopold Park
Pond and hills behind the Parliament; 15 min.
A hilly English-style park with a pond, hidden between the European Parliament buildings; EU staff lunch here.
4
Maison Antoine
Fries on Place Jourdan; 20 min.
The best-known friterie kiosk in Brussels, where EU staff and neighbours queue for twice-fried frites with one of a long list of sauces.
5
Parc du Cinquantenaire and Arcade
Park and arcade; 30 min.
Leopold II's triumphal arcade built for Belgium's 50th anniversary, flanked by three museums (Art & History, Autoworld, Military History) around a formal park.
6
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
Optional: aircraft hall and arcade rooftop terrace.
Armour, WWI and WWII halls and an aircraft hangar full of planes; the ticket also gets you onto the Cinquantenaire arcade terrace.