There is probably nothing more synonymous with Belgium than chocolate. Evidently, this heavenly treat is the most popular item among tourists in Brussels, as reflected in the astronomic number of chocolate shops throughout the city.

Suffice it to say that most tourist-oriented stores around popular sites charge chocolate buyers a hefty price for just a handful of pralines, making it a rather costly experience.

If you seek a more affordable option, the Neuhaus Factory Shop near Erasme Metro station is a great place to find low-cost pralines, without any difference in flavor.

This chocolate epicenter offers visitors unlimited free praline tastings as long as they are in the shop, so make sure to bring a bottle of water to wash down the sweetness in case of a sugar rush.

The store offers discounted chocolate packages, including a good value 1-kilo box jam-packed with pralines, while a more modestly sized option is a small bag of Caprice pralines, hand-filled biscuits with various types of ganache, covered by a chocolate layer.

The municipal district of St. Gilles is sometimes referred to as a village within a city due to its laid-back vibes. Nevertheless, this is somewhat contrasted by its multi-ethnic demographics and medley of architectural wonders, one of which is the massive complex of Saint Gilles Prison.

Notoriously known for its crowded conditions, the prison was built in 1884 according to panoptic principles of planning, featuring a circular main building interconnected with a couple of wings, each of which ends with a round courtyard, designated as a recreational space for inmates.

Its quaint 235-meter-long façade was designed in the Tudor Revival architectural style, mimicking a medieval English castle, culminating in the prison’s most iconic and prominent feature: its main fortified entrance, dominated by four machicolated towers, resembling a picturesque tourist site in a coastal town in France rather than an infamous incarceration facility.

Facing St. Gilles Prison on its south side is Forest Prison, planned according to similar principles, yet retaining its own architectural uniqueness—definitely worth beholding from the outside if you’re already there.

Brussels Airport is Europe’s 24^th busiest airport, serving over 26 million passengers on 234,460 flights in 2019, and functioning as a hub for Brussels Airlines, Belgium’s flag carrier.

As a result of the growing number of flights, the sky around the airport is teeming with aircraft, making it a hotspot for airplane enthusiasts, who gather at several locations to spot landings and takeoffs.

Recognized by local authorities, the increasing popularity of airplane spotting in the vicinity of Brussels Airport led to the construction of two observatory platforms on its south side.

Spottersplaats 01/19 overlooks runways 01 and 19, used for landings and takeoffs respectively, and sits on an elevated patch of land, whimsically designed as a mini-airport itself. If you opt to visit the platform during daylight, it’s more than possible to stroll in the nearby Speelbos forest.

The second platform is Spottersplaats 25L/07R, located farther east, right next to two detention centers for migrants, providing spectacular views of air traffic at runway 25L/07R. Nestled on an artificial slope, the platform is split into several wooden terraces on different levels, each offering its own unique perspective.

Needless to say, both platforms are an excellent opportunity to meet locals and engage in intriguing conversations.

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre is one of the 19 municipalities within the Brussels-Capital Region. Due to its residential character, not many outsiders bother to visit this part of the city as tourists. However, if you seek to be surrounded by trees while providing company to wild animals, you should consider going there, as a seamless series of parks stretches across vast areas.

Named after the many sources feeding its ponds, Parc des Sources is a pristine piece of nature engulfed by the urban environment. Its artificially dug pond is home to several types of hydrophytes, most notably yellow water lilies, which colorfully decorate the surface and contrast with the marshy water.

Slightly to the south is Parc des Étangs Mellaerts, which is dominated by two small lakes, serving as a magnet for water birds like swans and Egyptian geese, romping around the park and creating a somewhat squeaky musical backdrop for visitors to enjoy.

During the summer and spring, the smaller pond is a popular spot for fishing, while the larger one is teeming with paddle boats.

However, by far the largest park in the green network is Woluwe Park, created at the request of King Leopold II to attract the bourgeois class. It offers an English-style hodgepodge of lawns, groves, and ponds, perfectly suited for an afternoon picnic.

Following the industrial revolution in Europe during the 19^th century, Belgium became a global player in international trade, utilizing its access to the North Sea to commercially link major markets in Europe and beyond.

In order to facilitate the country’s economic growth and role as a trade center, a gigantic complex consisting of a 40,000 m² freight station and several warehouses was constructed on the banks of the Willebroek Canal, a water passage connecting Brussels to the North Sea via the Scheldt River.

Named after the German family who owned the land, the Tour & Taxis complex operated for decades as a mega distribution center for goods arriving by water, rail, and road.

As countries in Europe merged economically by signing a free economic zone treaty and improving their road infrastructure, Tour & Taxis became redundant as a shipping center, paving the way for its rebirth as a convention and recreational hotspot.

Currently, two of the former warehouses and the administrative building have been repurposed as a multi-functional complex, meticulously preserved both inside and out, highlighting 19^th– and 20^th-century Art Nouveau industrial architecture and extremely large vertical spaces, typical of large storage facilities. Since each of the buildings houses a variety of unconventional shops and venues, it’s always interesting to simply stroll through them, both horizontally and vertically.

Tour & Taxis hosts a plethora of events, including unique art exhibitions, music festivals, and gourmet food fairs. That’s why it’s recommended to check the schedule on their official website prior to your visit.

Located on the outskirts of Brussels, adjacent to the Sonian Forest, Red Cloister is a former priory with a turbulent past spanning centuries of devastation and regeneration.

Originally, a priest and a layman established a hermit community on the edge of the Sonian Forest, aligning all its members to the rule of Saint Augustine, a 4^th-century religious document advocating for an ascetic lifestyle of modesty and poverty.

During its four centuries of existence as a monastic settlement, the abbey was constantly expanded, utilizing the local abundance of materials such as wood and sandstone to construct additional buildings, one of which is the famous library, notable for its exceptional illuminated manuscripts. These manuscripts were acknowledged even by looters who plundered the complex throughout history, yet spared the library and its contents.

Nowadays, the hermitage and its surrounding buildings function as an art center, hosting exhibitions of contemporary local and international artists, inspired by its role as a pilgrimage site for renowned artists since its inception in the 14^th century.

Yet, what makes this monastery complex exceptionally charming is not only its rich past and plethora of art pieces to admire but also its surrounding natural reserve, consisting of several marshy ponds that attract many birds, such as blue herons and kingfishers, rare bat species, and amphibians.

It’s often the case that modern art gains a bad reputation, as it tends to be more abstract, at least in the minds of its most vocal critics.

While classic art masterpieces are revered for their immense complexity, their contemporary parallel is frequently branded as inferior and irrelevant. Whether it’s true or not is up for you to judge. However, Atelier 34zero is the perfect place to challenge those strict assertions for yourself.

Situated in the Jette municipality, Atelier 34zero is an art center showcasing contemporary three-dimensional art, mostly by promising local talents, using it as a platform to achieve broader recognition.

In contrast to generic museums, Atelier 34zero is unapologetically bold, displaying controversial sculptures and photography, including naked figures and morbid caricatures. This makes it slightly excessive for the faint-hearted, yet extremely amusing and enjoyable if you happen to be open-minded about it.

Besides the exhibition space, the center also features a fashionable café with an art-packed backyard and a bookstore offering art-related literature, ranging from art and design to architecture.

Originally created by King Leopold II in 1900, Stuyvenberg Park is one of the most underrated public gardens in Brussels, despite being remarkably pleasant and graceful.

The park is actually a small fragment of a gigantic green space encompassing the entirety of Laeken’s northern part, yet it is lesser known and visited compared to other parks in this large network of gardens.

One of Stuyvenberg Park’s prime features during its inception was the Colonial Park, designated for the cultivation and acclimatization of indigenous plants from Congo, one of Belgium’s overseas colonies. The botanical research itself took place inside six greenhouses constructed at the site, which were eventually dismantled during the 1960s and replaced by a lawn, as the plants were relocated to the National Botanical Garden of Belgium.

The ornamental garden, on the other hand, was thoroughly rehabilitated in 1999, providing visitors with a truly magnificent place to explore. Unlike the other aforementioned green spaces, Stuyvenberg Park is meticulously designed, leaving less room for wilderness to take over, as every inch of it is carefully crafted.

While an exceptional collection of flora is centered around two rectangular ponds packed with hydrophytes and bounded by a wooden deck and lawns, the park’s highlight is the several iconic lookouts, including a diagonally striped wooden structure, offering spectacular panoramas of Brussels.