Royal Palace of Brussels
The Belgian king conducts affairs of state here but sleeps somewhere else entirely — this is a working palace, not a home.
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The current facade was only raised after 1900 under King Leopold II, yet the ground beneath it held a ducal castle as far back as the 11th century — the Palace of Coudenberg, seat of the Dukes of Brabant and later Burgundy. Today the State Rooms host foreign heads of state, while the Place des Palais frames a long, open square between the palace and Brussels Park.
What to look for
- The Leopold II facade, commissioned after 1900 — the face the palace shows the world today
- The Place des Palais/Paleizenplein, the long square separating the palace from Brussels Park directly opposite
- The site itself: it stands on the former Palace of Coudenberg, a medieval complex dating to the 11th–12th century
Arrive via metro Parc/Park (lines 1 and 5) or Trône/Troon (lines 2 and 6), or walk from Brussels-Central railway station.
Royal Palace of Brussels 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."