Justus Lipsius Building
For over two decades, European heads of state hammered out the continent's biggest decisions in this building — the press atrium alone was rigged to seat 600 journalists per summit.
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Headquarters of the Council of the EU from 1995 and the European Council from 2002 until both institutions moved next door in 2017, the Justus Lipsius building is still active — 17 conference rooms, each with at least ten interpretation booths, plus offices for the shared General Secretariat. It sits at the geometric centre of Brussels' EU quarter, flanked by the Berlaymont directly opposite and the Europa building to the west.
What to look for
- Two skyways and a service tunnel visibly linking the building to the adjacent Europa building to the west
- The Robert Schuman Roundabout at the front entrance, with the Berlaymont — European Commission headquarters — directly across Rue de la Loi
- The press centre atrium, built to expand to 600 seats during summits
Schuman station is immediately to the north, with metro, regional, national and international rail — the easiest entry point into the EU quarter.
Justus Lipsius Building is one of 33 sights worth the detour in Brussels, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Brussels pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Brussels
- Manneken PisA 55.5 cm bronze boy that somehow became the face of an entire country — the joke is entirely intentional.
- Grand-PlaceEvery guildhall surrounding you was rebuilt from rubble — French artillery levelled the square in 1695, and the Town Hall tower survived only because it was the gunners' aiming point.
- AtomiumNine stainless-steel spheres arranged as an iron crystal blown up 165 billion times — built to headline a World's Fair and never taken down.
- Stoclet PalaceA UNESCO World Heritage house you can only see from the pavement — by design, and by the owner's choice.
- King Baudouin StadiumInaugurated for Belgium's 100th birthday in 1930, this 70,000-seat bowl on the Heysel Plateau hosted six European finals — and the night football changed forever.
- Cathedral of St. Michael and St. GudulaBelgium's national church began as a chapel on a trade-route crossroads in the 9th century — eleven centuries of building decisions are now stacked on a hill called "Mount of Sorrow."