Staycation 2020! and 2021… Might as Well Visit Museums in Brussels

We temporarily moved to Brussels, Belgium from San Diego, California with high hopes and a sunny outlook for a new adventure. We did not plan on that new adventure to be a global pandemic, which affectively locked us in Belgium and away from our dreams of traveling around Europe for more than half of the time we would be here. Ken’s job would only keep us here for 3 years, so we decided to make the best of our situation. The first wave of re-openings in June 2020 included museums. With tremendous enthusiasm, we quickly purchased museum passes and have been getting well over their worth. 

Helpful Tips for Visiting Museums in Brussels:

• I always keep headphones in my purse in case there’s an audio guide included. I find it’s easier to hear everything and it’s far more comfortable than holding the device up to my ear for an hour or more.

Museums near the Grand Place

• Belgian Comic Strip Museum
  • The famous Comic Strip museum is home to the Smurfs, Tintin, and numerous other Belgian comics. The building is also a Victor Horta Art Nouveau building, and definitely worth a visit.
  • Duration: 2 hours
  • Covid Clean: I was actually disappointed in how the museum handled Covid restrictions. We made our reservations online and upon arrival, there were too many people in line to check-in. We felt the museum was very crowded at the beginning, where the displays are in a narrow hallway and it was nearly impossible to distance ourselves. There were no reminders for social distancing or proper mask-wearing. There was only one set-up for hand sanitizer. We were prepared for it to be busier, as this museum is very popular for children, but we did not expect this high of a volume with no regard to proper social distancing and mask-wearing.

• BELvue Museum
  • Located inside a gorgeous historic building within the palace, this museum provides a fantastic overview of Belgium history. I highly recommend this museum to anybody new to Belgium.
  • Tip- There is an audio guide using your phone and a QR code. The wifi inside was pretty slow when we were visiting though.
  • Duration: about 1hr 30 mins
  • Covid Clean: The museum did a great job.

• Brussels City Museum
  • This beautiful museum can be found in the Grand Place. This was our very first museum in Brussels, which was a good introduction to Belgian and Brussels history. You can also visit the original Manneken Pis statue and see some of his wardrobe.
  • Duration: 2 hours
  • Covid Clean: I don’t know. This is the one museum we visited before the pandemic.
• GardeRobe Manneken Pis
  • Located down the street to Manneken Pis is the museum of his wardrobes! He has over 1,000 outfits. This location displays about 150 of his costumes. The museum is one giant room, divided by display cases.
  • Tips:
    • There is no bathroom at this tiny museum.
    • There is another display at the Brussels City Museum. You can buy a ticket combination at the City Museum to include the GardeRobe.
  • Duration: 15-20 minutes
  • Covid Clean: the museum maintained a light crowd with online reservations and reminders for social distancing.
• Musical Instruments Museum
  • Besides being in a beautiful Art Nouveau building, this amazing museum is the home to the largest collection of musical instruments in the world. Come for the architecture and the displays. It’s easily one of my favorite museums in Brussels.
  • Tip- I highly regret not purchasing the audio guide tour and would love to go back to do it.
  • Duration: about 2.5-3 hours
  • Covid Clean: The museum did a great job. There is a clear laid-out path indicated by arrows on the ground. There were also plenty of reminders for social-distancing. We made our reservations online and we felt the museum did a great job maintaining a safe number of visitors.

Museums near Parc du Cinquantenaire:

• Autoworld Brussels
  • This museum is in Parc du Cinquantenaire and displays an impressive variety of cars and motorcycles.
  • Duration: 2 hours
  • Covid Clean: This was the first museum we visited when museums were allowed to reopen in June 2020. We have learned a lot since then, so I’m not sure how different it would be now. The museum is spacious, which makes it easy to social distance. They also had a clear layout for you to follow.
• Museum of Art & HistoryThis stunning building is the home to many of Belgium’s historic artifacts. This place is huge with a giant collection. Be prepared for a long and lovely day.
  • Tips:Backpacks and larger bags are not allowed inside. There are lockers located outside of the entrance, before you walk up the stairs.
  • Most of the signs inside were not in English
  • Duration: about 3-3.5 hours. Most people were much faster, but they weren’t really looking at all the pieces either.
  • Covid Clean: Well-maintained with social distancing and reminders to wear your masks.
• Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
  • This is a very large museum in the Parc du Cinquantenaire. I was surprised by all of the artifacts and the enormous collection of planes and other vehicles.
  • Duration: about 2 hours
  • Covid Clean: a light crowd and good reminders for social distancing. A little unclear on what the museum path was, but it was fine since there were so few people around.

Marollen

• Halle Gate
  • It’s hard to miss the beautiful Hallepoort. It’s over 600 years old and a fantastic museum to Brussels’ medival history.
  • Tip- Info boards were not in English, but we enjoyed what we could using Google Translate on our phones.
  • Duration: about 75 minutes
  • Covid Clean: Well-kept Covid safety measures.

Schaerbeek:

• The Autrique House
  • This beautiful Art Nouveau house was Victor’s Horta’s first building, which was built in 1893. Lucky for us, we can walk around and admire this stunning home.
  • Tips:
    • There isn’t much to read in English. We may have stayed longer if we understood some of the additional displays.
  • Duration: 30-45 minutes
  • Covid Clean: we made reservations online. The museum limits the number of visitors and there is hand sanitizer.
• Train World
  • A multi-media museum experience about the history of Belgian railways. The museum is located in the Schaerbeek Station, which is a brilliant building. If you can, take a peek inside or have a drink at the café, you won’t regret it. It’s a great visit for adults and kids. Unfortunately I heard this museum is no longer included in the Belgium Museum Pass, but it’s still very worth it.
  • Duration: about 2.5-3 hours
  • Covid Clean: There was a clear floor plan to follow, plenty of hand sanitizer, and reminders for social distancing. The online reservations also helped maintain a safe number of visitors.

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek:

• MIMA- Millenium Iconoclast Museum of Art
  • Contemporary rotating art exhibit inside a fantastic industrial building with a terrace providing great views of the city. The museum is located along the river and the building itself was an old brewery. Ken isn’t usually interested in contemporary art, of any kind, but we got lucky with the rotating exhibit we saw.
  • Duration: about 1 hour
  • Covid Clean: it’s a small museum, but there are plenty of reminders for social distancing and mask use.

Anderlecht

• Sewer Museum
  • Well you don’t get to explore all 350 kilometers of underground Brussels, but this museum does walk you through the history and an actual sewer.
  • Tip:
    • It’s an actual sewer, so there are actual sewer smells when you walk through the basement and the sewer section of the museum.
    • Informational boards were in French and Dutch. The front desk offered several pamphlets of other languages, including English.
    • See the rotating exhibit on the 2^nd floor of the entrance building before continuing on to the main exhibit in the basement. Once you go through the sewer, you cannot back track.
  • Duration: about 1 hour
  • Covid Clean: Approved. The museum is small but has a clear path with plenty of reminders for Covid safety.

Like what you’re reading?

Here are some other posts that may interest you: