All new visitors to Brussels

All new visitors to Brussels should begin at the Grand Place (1), the historic central square, a magnificent coronet of guildhouses and joyously decorative civic buildings.

Pop into the Museum of the City of Brussels in the neo-Gothic Maison du Roi (10am – 5pm, closed Mondays; €4/ £3.30) for some historical background, and to see the collection of costumes made for the Manneken Pis. In a quirky, self-effacing gesture characteristic of Brussels, this small bronze statue of a boy doing what the name suggests has become a cherished the icon of the city. See it by walking along the Rue de l’Étuve (2).