What to See in Brussels, Belgium: Free Audio Guide
Things to do in Brussels: What to see on a self-guided trip
Brussels is far more than an administrative capital; it is a city where grand imperial architecture, playful public art, and rich local traditions come together in a compact, walkable center. Neywo has a free audio guide for Brussels featuring 334 narrated places, helping you discover the city’s highlights effortlessly.
What to see in Brussels: Key sights and landmarks
The Grand-Place
The central square of Brussels stands as one of Europe’s most memorable landmarks. Enclosed by richly decorated Baroque guildhalls, the Flamboyant Town Hall, and the neo-Gothic King’s House, the square has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Much of the square was rebuilt in stone following a devastating bombardment by French troops in 1695.
Manneken Pis and Jeanneke Pis
Just a short walk from the central square stands the city’s most famous bronze fountain, depicting a small boy urinating into a basin. Dating in its current version to 1619, the diminutive statue is regularly dressed in custom outfits. Nearby, tucked into a narrow cul-de-sac, its modern counterpart Jeanneke Pis offers a playful female equivalent.
Royal Palace of Brussels and the Royal Quarter
Facing Brussels Park, the official palace of the King of the Belgians serves as a working center for state affairs and royal ceremonies rather than a private residence. Nearby in the Royal Quarter, the BELvue Museum combines modern, interactive displays with historic surroundings, offering insight into Belgian society and access to the remains of the former ducal palace of Coudenberg.
Hôtel Solvay
Located on Avenue Louise, this masterwork of Art Nouveau design was created by Victor Horta for industrialist Armand Solvay between 1895 and 1903. Horta designed the exterior, interior, and furnishings as a complete, unified composition, making it one of the best-preserved town houses of its kind.
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
Dedicated to the city’s patron saints, this medieval Catholic cathedral is a prime example of Brabantine Gothic architecture. Construction began in the eleventh century and continued over several centuries, featuring soaring stained-glass windows, intricate chapels, and prominent pipe organs.
Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon
Situated in the Sablon district, this fifteenth-century Catholic church showcases late Brabantine Gothic architecture enriched by flamboyant flame-shaped elements, soaring stained-glass windows, and two contrasting Baroque chapels.
Palace of Justice
Rising imposingly over Poelaert Square, this monumental courthouse combines eclectic architecture with Greco-Roman inspiration. Constructed between 1866 and 1883 under architect Joseph Poelaert, it remains one of the largest buildings of its kind in the world and continues to function as the seat of the city’s judicial arrondissement.
Atomium and Heysel Plateau
Created for Expo 58, the Atomium is an enormous metal structure representing the unit cell of an iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times. Rising 102 metres, its nine interconnected spheres house exhibitions, and the highest sphere features a panoramic restaurant overlooking the city.
Belgian Comic Strip Center
Housed in a brilliant Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta in 1906—originally constructed as a textile department store—this museum celebrates the rich history and artistry of Belgian comics in the heart of the city.
Explore Brussels with a self-guided walking tour
If you want to experience the city at your own pace, Neywo provides a complete Brussels audio guide designed for independent exploration. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group to follow and no fixed schedule.
Explore the destination across 7 walking tours, 1 bus route, and 1 bike route, covering distances from 1.34 km to 4 km and durations ranging from 13 to 117 minutes, with hundreds of narrated stops in total. Narration is available in 11 languages.
From Brussels, you can easily extend your journey to other remarkable destinations across the country, such as Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent. Plan your next steps through the Belgium country guide.
Places with an audio guide in Brussels
8 places in Brussels with a Neywo audio guide. Each one starts telling its story as you reach it.
Self-guided tours in Brussels
9 tours in Brussels, free in the Neywo app. Each stop tells its story as you reach it.
- Bike ride
Ride the EU Quarter and Cinquantenaire
A short ride on cycle lanes through the European Quarter to Cinquantenaire Park, passing the House of European History, Kennedy memorial and the great exhibition halls.
House of European History · Tower of Beyaert · Art & History Museum · Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History · Church of St. Dominic · Pavilion of Human Passions …
Open this tour: Ride the EU Quarter and Cinquantenaire - Bus ride
Bus 95: from the Grand-Place up through the Sablon to the Royal Quarter
A regular STIB bus that starts by the Grand-Place and climbs through the Marolles and Sablon to the Royal Quarter. Ride it to see churches, palaces and monuments strung along one cheap ticket.
Hôtel de Roest d'Alkemade · Cellebroedersklooster · Church of Our Lady of the Chapel · Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon · Oldmasters Museum · Palace of Coudenberg …
Open this tour: Bus 95: from the Grand-Place up through the Sablon to the Royal Quarter - Walk
Kings, Palaces and Magritte: the Royal Quarter
Start in the park the Austrians laid out opposite the Royal Palace, then follow the story of Belgian power from the buried palace of the Dukes of Brabant to the surrealist visions of Magritte. Along the way you pass a crusader on horseback, a museum of music and an Enlightenment prince's palace. Continue through the museums of Place Royale and the Old Masters to the Royal Library on the Mont des Arts.
Brussels Park · Royal Palace of Brussels · Hôtel Belle-Vue · Equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon · Palace of Coudenberg · Musical Instruments Museum …
Open this tour: Kings, Palaces and Magritte: the Royal Quarter - Walk
Gothic Spires, Golden Guildhalls and a Cheeky Fountain
From the twin-towered cathedral of Brussels' patron saints to the baroque guildhalls of the Grand-Place, this loop gathers the old heart of the city. Meet Don Quixote on Place d'Espagne, pass the opera house, rub a brass relief, find the little girl who answers Manneken Pis, and end at the most famous small statue in Europe.
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula · Don Quixote & Sancho Panza · Charles Buls memorial · Royal Theatre of La Monnaie · Jeanneke Pis · Church of St. Nicholas …
Open this tour: Gothic Spires, Golden Guildhalls and a Cheeky Fountain - Walk
Sablon and Marolles: Antiques, Bruegel and the Count of Egmont
Climb from the monumental Palace of Justice into the Marolles, where Pieter Bruegel is buried, then drift through the antique-dealers' Sablon to a Gothic church of flame-shaped stone. Finish in the garden of Egmont Palace, where a bronze Peter Pan waits.
Palace of Justice of Brussels · Church of St. John and St. Stephen of the Minimes · Church of Our Lady of the Chapel · Statue of Pieter Bruegel the Elder · Place du Grand Sablon - Grote Zavel · Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon …
Open this tour: Sablon and Marolles: Antiques, Bruegel and the Count of Egmont - Walk
Europe's Capital: Cinquantenaire and the EU Quarter
Walk from the House of European History past the Berlaymont, seat of the European Commission, into Cinquantenaire Park. Beneath a triumphal arch built for Belgium's 50th birthday sit museums of art, vintage cars and military history, framed by the Horta pavilion and a Gothic-style tower.
House of European History · Kennedy Piece · Berlaymont building · Pavilion of Human Passions · Great Mosque of Brussels · Tower of Beyaert …
Open this tour: Europe's Capital: Cinquantenaire and the EU Quarter - Walk
Beneath the Black Tower: Saint-Catherine and the Old Flemish Quarter
Go behind the Bourse into the quarter where Brussels began as a port. Descend to the Franciscan ruins of Bruxella 1238, see the last piece of the first city wall in the Black Tower, then wander to the old Saint-Catherine church and its lone tower, the Béguinage church, a baroque house, and the Brussels dog who answers Manneken Pis.
Bruxella 1238 · Beursschouwburg · Black Tower · Saint Catherine Tower · Church of St. Catherine · Church of St. John the Baptist at the Béguinage …
Open this tour: Beneath the Black Tower: Saint-Catherine and the Old Flemish Quarter - Walk
Atomium and the Heysel Plateau
The Heysel plateau is where Belgium showed off to the world in 1958. See the national stadium, a planetarium, Europe in miniature, the shining Atomium and a design museum in its shadow.
King Baudouin Stadium · Brussels Planetarium · Mini-Europe · Atomium · Design Museum Brussels · ING Arena
Open this tour: Atomium and the Heysel Plateau - Walk
Laeken: the Royal Estate and the Far East
Walk north to Laeken, the home of Belgium's royal family. Start at the neo-Gothic church with the royal crypt, pass the castle and the royal parks and the monument to the dynasty, then finish with the Chinese Pavilion and the Japanese Tower that Leopold II brought home from the Orient.
Church of Our Lady of Laeken · Queen Astrid Memorial · Royal Castle of Laeken · Chapelle Sainte-Anne · Château of Stuyvenberg · Monument to the Dynasty …
Open this tour: Laeken: the Royal Estate and the Far East
Walk Brussels with Neywo
Neywo turns Brussels into a self-guided audio tour. Stories arrive as you reach the place they belong to, and the route reshapes when you wander off it.
