Brussels museums span more than two centuries, from an art collection dating from 1801 at one end to the House of European History, dating from 2014, at the other. In between you'll find the kind of museums that don't turn up in most capitals: a centre given over to comics since 1986, a collection of musical instruments dating from 1877, and a whole architectural museum built around one house. Some are easy to reach; others, like the Royal Museum for Central Africa out in Tervuren, need their own half-day. This list is for the visitor who wants to choose with care rather than tick off names: the art lover deciding between a large group of galleries and a single-artist museum, the family weighing natural history against military history, and the curious traveller with one free afternoon. Check the hours line in each entry before you plan the day. Several of these close on Mondays, including the Horta Museum and the Belgian Comic Strip Center.
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1 Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Rue de la Régence - RegentschapsstraatA group of art museums under one name, not a single gallery
Since 1801, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium have been building the collection the rest of this list gets measured against. It is a group of art museums, not one hall, so plan it like a small district rather than a quick stop. The address is Rue de la Régence - Regentschapsstraat; one map listing marks it as not open to the public, so check current hours on the official website before you build a day around it. Resist the pull to cover every room in one visit: pick one wing, give it your best two hours, then step out and get a coffee while your eyes still work.
Dates from 1801
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2 Horta Museum
27 Rue Américaine - AmerikastraatA museum where the building itself is the exhibit
Architecture is the exhibit at the Horta Museum, 27 Rue Américaine - Amerikastraat: it is an architectural museum rather than a hall of objects in cases, and you come to look at the house itself, the rooms, the way one space opens into the next, the craft in the details. Doors open Tuesday to Friday from 14:00 and from 11:00 at weekends, closing at 17:30 every open day, with no Monday visits. Don't arrive at opening on a weekend expecting to have the place to yourself; a weekday afternoon is the calmer bet, and the house rewards slow looking. Confirm details on the official site before you set out.
Hours: Tu-Fr 14:00-17:30; Sa-Su 11:00-17:30
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3 House of European History
Rue Belliard - BelliardstraatA young museum, dating from 2014, with long opening hours
The House of European History on Rue Belliard - Belliardstraat opens at 09:00 on weekdays between September and June, and at 10:00 through July and August. Mondays run shorter, 13:00 to 18:00, while weekends are 10:00 to 18:00. It is the youngest museum here, dating from 2014, and those long days make it the easiest to fit around other plans. Note the closures: 1 January, 1 May, 1 November, and 24, 25 and 31 December. This is not the gift-shop version of the past that every capital sells. Give it a full afternoon and you will leave with an argument worth carrying into dinner. The official site lists what is on.
Dates from 2014
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4 Belgian Comic Strip Center
Rue des Sables - ZandstraatA comics museum in the Pentagon, open since 1986
The Belgian Comic Strip Center has stood in the Pentagon on Rue des Sables - Zandstraat since 1986, and it treats comics as a proper museum subject, not a curiosity, which is the reason to visit whether you have read them all your life or never picked one up. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. Pass up the novelty comic merchandise lining the tourist streets. This is where the work is taken seriously, and an hour here will change how you read the painted walls you pass afterwards. The official website carries current exhibitions.
Dates from 1986
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-18:00
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5 Royal Museum for Central Africa
13 LeuvensesteenwegEthnography, natural history and history under one roof in Tervuren
Out in Tervuren rather than Brussels itself, the Royal Museum for Central Africa at 13 Leuvensesteenweg requires you to budget for the journey. Three disciplines share the building: ethnography, natural history and history. The institution dates from 1898, and a museum that old carries its own history alongside its collections. We hold no confirmed opening hours, so check the official website before you leave the centre. Don't squeeze it into a half-day of city sightseeing. Give it its own morning, and go in ready to think as well as to look.
Dates from 1898
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6 Musical Instruments Museum
2 Rue Montagne de la Cour - HofbergstraatA musical instrument collection dating from 1877
The Musical Instruments Museum, at 2 Rue Montagne de la Cour - Hofbergstraat, opens at 09:30 Tuesday to Friday, while weekends and public holidays run 10:00 to 17:00, which puts it among the few options in this guide worth visiting on a holiday afternoon. The collection dates from 1877 and is devoted entirely to musical instruments, a narrow subject that turns out to hold a whole history of craft and sound. We'd come on a weekday: the doors open half an hour earlier than at weekends, and the galleries are quieter. Check the official site for current displays.
Dates from 1877
Hours: Tu-Fr 09:30-17:00; PH,Sa,Su 10:00-17:00
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7 Magritte Museum
1 Place Royale - KoningspleinAn art museum devoted to one name, part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Magritte Museum at 1 Place Royale - Koningsplein has been open since 2009 and belongs to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, so think of it as a focused companion to the larger group, not a rival. Hours are Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 17:00, and Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 18:00, and that later weekend close works well if you are pairing the visit with a long lunch. Skip the poster-shop reproductions sold around town: the time is far better spent in front of the real thing. The official website has current information.
Dates from 2009
Hours: Tu-Fr 10:00-17:00; Sa,Su 11:00-18:00
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8 Halle Gate Museum
150 Boulevard du Midi - ZuidlaanA military museum that opens on Mondays
Dated to 1847, the Halle Gate Museum at 150 Boulevard du Midi - Zuidlaan is classed as a military museum, and its timetable is the practical draw: Monday to Friday 09:30 to 17:00, and weekends 10:00 to 17:00. That Monday opening makes it the answer when your trip starts at the beginning of the week. Public holidays are the exception, because it shuts on those days. Come for an unhurried hour, read the building as closely as the displays, and check the official site before you go.
Dates from 1847
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9 Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium
Rue Vautier - VautierstraatA natural history museum dating from 1846
Weekend chatter fills the Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium on Rue Vautier - Vautierstraat, and that is no criticism. A natural history museum with roots going back to 1846, it is the obvious choice on this list for anyone travelling with children. The hours are Tuesday to Friday 09:30 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. Come on a weekday and arrive at the 09:30 opening, before the galleries fill and while the youngest visitors still have their patience. Check the official website for temporary exhibitions before you go.
Dates from 1846
Hours: Tu-Fr 09:30-17:00; Sa,Su 10:00-18:00
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10 Brussels City Museum
29 Grand-Place - Grote MarktThe city's own museum, on the Grand-Place itself
At 29 Grand-Place - Grote Markt, the Brussels City Museum puts the city's own collection on its best-known square and has done since 1887. Hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays. Most visitors stop for a photograph and move on; walk inside instead, spend an hour, and the facades you just photographed will mean something when you step back out. If you have one morning in the centre, we'd begin here. The official website lists current exhibitions.
Dates from 1887
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-17:00
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11 Jewish Museum of Belgium
Rue des Minimes - MinimenstraatA museum dating from 1989, open six days a week
The Jewish Museum of Belgium on Rue des Minimes - Minimenstraat is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00. Dating from 1989, it is one of the younger institutions on this list, and it covers a chapter of the city's past that the large national collections leave to it. We'd give it a full unhurried hour early in the day, so you have the attention to read rather than skim. Mondays are closed, so keep that in mind. The official website carries current exhibitions and visitor notes.
Dates from 1989
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-17:00
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12 Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
A military history museum opening at 09:00, six days a week
Dating from 1923, the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History is a military museum with the earliest regular opening on this list, at 09:00 Tuesday to Sunday through to 17:00. That early start suits anyone who wants a serious museum done before lunch, but note that it is closed on Mondays. We have no confirmed street address on file, so get directions from the official website before you head out. Come with time and stamina: a museum built around armed forces and military history asks for both, and pays back the effort.
Dates from 1923
Hours: Tu-Su 09:00-17:00
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