3 days in Brussels: an itinerary built round the Monday closures, the Town Hall's odd days and a Saturday of Art Nouveau

💡 The Short Version: Day 1, Thursday, the centre: the Manneken Pis, the GardeRobe and the City Museum on one €10 ticket, then the Magritte Museum and the Old Masters (€20 together). Day 2, Friday, Heysel: the Atomium (€17) at opening and Mini-Europe (€21.70 online), then the Town Hall at 15:00 (€15). Day 3, Saturday, Art Nouveau: the Solvay House at 11:00, the Horta Museum and the Maison Hannon. A STIB contactless card is capped at €8.50 a day. The plan runs Thursday to Saturday, which keeps every sight open. Or book a walk: the guided walking tourad is from €25 (GetYourGuide).

Before you go: what to book

Hours are for autumn and winter 2026/27, from the operators.

Getting around

STIB runs the metro, trams and buses on one ticket. A single is €2.40, a contactless bank card is €2.40 a journey capped at €8.50 a day, and a paper day ticket is €9.00. Tap the same card at every connection, and one card pays for one person only. Brussels public transport has the rules and the fine for travelling without a validated ticket, €107. The Brussels Card pays only for three or more paid museums in 24 hours: Brussels Card: is it worth it? runs the sums.

Fitting the plan to your dates

The plan runs Thursday to Saturday, which keeps every sight open. If your days differ:

• Monday. The Magritte Museum, the Old Masters, the Musical Instruments Museum, the Art & History Museum, the Comic Art Museum, the Horta Museum, the City Museum, the GardeRobe and Train World are shut. Heysel, the Cathedral, Choco-Story, Autoworld and the Town Hall (11:00 to 17:00) are open, and the House of European History and the Parlamentarium open at 13:00. A food walk fills the day: see Brussels food tours.
• Tuesday. The Town Hall is shut. Everything else on the plan is open.
• Wednesday. The Town Hall is open from 11:00 to 17:00, so day 2’s Town Hall visit can move to the morning. The Magritte Museum, the Old Masters and the Musical Instruments Museum are free for everyone from 13:00 on the first Wednesday of the month.
• Friday. The Horta Museum opens at 14:00. The Town Hall opens at 15:00.
• Sunday. The Cathedral opens at 13:00. The Town Hall is open from 11:00 to 17:00, with tower tours at 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00. On the first Sunday of the month the Horta Museum (booked online), the City Museum and the GardeRobe are free.
• Winter. The Atomium closes from 18 January to 5 February 2027 and Mini-Europe from 4 January to 12 March: swap day 2 for the Cinquantenaire, in Brussels museums.
• Christmas. Winter Wonders closes at 18:00 on 24 and 31 December: see Brussels Christmas markets 2026.
• Summer. The Royal Palace opens for about six weeks each summer, daily except Monday, 10:30 to 17:00 in 2026, at €10, online only. It fits before the Magritte Museum on day 1: see the Royal Palace.

Day 1: the centre, Thursday

Place Royale, with the statue of Godfrey of Bouillon and the Church of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg. Photo: Michielverbeek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• 10:00, the Manneken Pis, the street statue, which is a copy. Visit the GardeRobe MannekenPis on Rue du Chêne 19, then the original in the City Museum on the Grand-Place, on the one €10 ticket: the Manneken Pis has the dressing calendar.
• 11:30, the Grand-Place, free, with the Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert a few steps away: the Grand-Place. The Town Hall is closed on Thursday.
• 12:30, lunch at Noordzee, the fish shop and standing fish bar on Rue Sainte-Catherine 45, open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 18:30, with no reservations. Or frites by the Bourse: Brussels frites.
• 14:00, the Magritte Museum and the Old Masters, on Place Royale and Rue de la Régence, €20 together, open to 17:00 with the ticket office closing at 16:30. Brussels-Central is a five-minute walk. Bags go in the free cloakroom.
• Evening, dinner round Sainte-Catherine and Dansaert: where to eat in Brussels.

The Church of Sainte-Catherine, on the square beside the Sainte-Catherine and Dansaert streets. Photo: Fred Romero, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Day 2: Heysel and the Town Hall, Friday

• 10:00, the Atomium. Arrive at opening: the peak is 11:00 to 15:00, and an online ticket skips the ticket desk, not the entry queue. Metro line 6 to Heysel is one line from Brussels-Midi, about 15 minutes. The €17 ticket includes the Design Museum. See the Atomium.
• 12:00, Mini-Europe, 150 m away. Book the €21.70 ticket 48 hours ahead. See Mini-Europe.
• 15:00, the Town Hall, on the Grand-Place. The video-guide visit is €15, last entry at 18:00, and the reception hall takes no cash: the Town Hall tour.
• 17:30, chocolate in the Royal Galleries, where Neuhaus is at Galerie de la Reine 25: Brussels chocolate shops.
• Evening, a beer at À la Mort Subite, open until midnight from Monday to Saturday, or at Delirium Café: Brussels beer bars.

Day 3: Art Nouveau, Saturday

• 09:00, the Marolles flea market on Place du Jeu de Balle, open until 15:00 at weekends: free things to do in Brussels.
• 11:00, the Solvay House, Avenue Louise 224, €19, booked ahead. The self-guided visit takes about 40 minutes.
• 14:00, the Horta Museum, in Saint-Gilles, €14, booked online. A booklet leads you from room to room: the Horta Museum.
• 16:00, the Maison Hannon, Avenue de la Jonction 1, about 10 minutes’ walk away, €14, open to 18:00 on Saturday, about 45 minutes with stairs.
• Evening, dinner in Saint-Gilles and a beer at Moeder Lambic, Rue de Savoie 68.

The Art Nouveau Pass is €37 with the Solvay House and covers the three houses, against €47 in single tickets: Brussels Art Nouveau has the nine sites and the day each is open.

Swap a day for a day trip. Bruges is about an hour by train, and day trips from Brussels compares Ghent, Antwerp and Waterloo.

With children

Brussels with kids sorts the sights by age and price, with Mini-Europe, the Atomium, Train World and Autoworld.

Plan the rest

For a self-guided route through the same streets, see the old town walk. Where to stay in Brussels compares the areas, and hotels near Brussels-Midi station lists the ones beside the Eurostar terminal. For the way in, see London to Brussels by Eurostar and Brussels Airport to the city. What to book before you go to Brussels has the hours for every sight, and the best time to visit Brussels has the weather by month. For meals, see where to eat in Brussels.