In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Brussels Card is €41 for 24 hours, €53 for 48 and €59 for 72, and it pays only when your singles come to more than that. Fine arts combi (€20) plus the Musical Instruments Museum (€18) is €38 and loses €3; add the Comic Art Museum (€14) and the day saves €11. A day of cheap museums can lose, and an Atomium and Mini-Europe day loses over €30. The card does not cover the Horta Museum. The STIB option (+€9) never beats a contactless bank card, which stops at €8.50 a day. Most card museums shut on Mondays. Buy at the Brussels Card shop or in the Brussels Card app. Or buy it on GetYourGuide: the Brussels Cardad is €41, the same as the shop, rated 4.0 from 237 reviews.
What the card is
The Brussels Card is the tourist board’s pass: free entry to dozens of museums (the pages that sell it give 40, 47 and 48), discounts at some attractions, tours and restaurants, and a free app with a museum map. It starts at your first scan in a museum, not on the day you buy: you have a year to activate it, and it is non-refundable. It comes by email to print, to show on a phone or to load in the app.
| 24 hours | 48 hours | 72 hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card alone | €41 | €53 | €59 |
| With STIB public transport | €50 | €69.95 | €80.50 |
| With the Tootbus hop-on hop-off bus | €63 | €79 | €88 |
| With both | €72 | €95.95 | €109.25 |
| Atomium option, added to any card | +€14 adult, +€12 aged 65 and over, +€6.50 for 17 and under and students |
There is one price for every age. Buy at shop.brusselscard.be, in the app, or at the desks of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the Comic Art Museum, Autoworld and Choco-Story, which hand over a paper card.
The sums
Singles are adult prices from the museums’ own pages: the Old Masters Museum and the Magritte Museum €13 each or €20 together, the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) €18, the Comic Art Museum €14, the Brussels City Museum with the GardeRobe MannekenPis €10 on one ticket, the Art & History Museum €10, Autoworld €18, Train World €15, the Town Hall video-guide visit €15 and Belgian Beer World €25 at the door (€21.50 online). The card admits you free to all of them.
| Day | Singles | The 24-hour card (€41) |
|---|---|---|
| Old Masters and Magritte (combi) and MIM | €38 | Loses €3 |
| The same, plus the Comic Art Museum | €52 | Saves €11 |
| City Museum, Art & History Museum and Comic Art Museum | €34 | Loses €7 |
| Autoworld, Art & History Museum and Train World | €43 | Saves €2, and Train World is at Schaerbeek station |
| City Museum, Town Hall visit and Belgian Beer World | €50 | Saves €9 (€5.50 against the online Beer World price) |
| A Monday: Autoworld, Town Hall visit and Belgian Beer World | €58 | Saves €17 |
| Atomium (€17) and Mini-Europe (€21.70 online) only | €38.70, or €35 combined on the spot | Loses over €30: the card, the Atomium option and Mini-Europe at 20% off come to at least €72 |
| Stay | Singles | The card |
|---|---|---|
| 48 hours: Old Masters, Magritte, MIM, Comic Art Museum and City Museum | €62 | Saves €9 on €53 |
| 48 hours: those, plus Autoworld and Train World | €95 | Saves €42 on €53 |
| 72 hours: all of those, plus the Town Hall visit and Belgian Beer World | €135 | Saves €76 on €59 |
- The rule is the total, not the number of museums. The 24-hour card pays when the day’s singles pass €41, the 48-hour card €53 and the 72-hour card €59. Two of the dearest museums lose; three of the cheapest lose.
- Free days beat the card. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the MIM and the Art & History Museum are free on the first Wednesday of each month from 13:00, and the City Museum, the GardeRobe and the Horta Museum (booked online) on the first Sunday.
- Online tickets are not a fast lane. The Comic Art Museum says its online ticket does not skip the queue, and card holders queue too.
The days that decide it
Mondays. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the MIM, the Art & History Museum, the Comic Art Museum, the City Museum, the GardeRobe and Train World are closed on Mondays. Autoworld, the Town Hall (11:00 to 17:00), Belgian Beer World and Choco-Story are open, so a Monday card day is the row above and little else. What to book before you go to Brussels has the full week grid.
The Cinquantenaire arch, with the colonnades of the park’s museum buildings on either side. Photo: Marc Ryckaert, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
The Town Hall is shut on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Town Hall tour has its hours and the weekend tower tour.
Temporary exhibitions are not covered at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, which admits card holders to its permanent collections only. The Magritte Museum tickets page has its prices and hours.
What the card does not cover
- The Horta Museum (€14) is not on the card’s list. The Art Nouveau Pass covers it, and a visit still has to be booked: see Horta Museum tickets.
- The Royal Palace (€10, online only) is open for about six weeks each summer and is not part of the card: see the Royal Palace.
- The Atomium costs +€14 as an option, against €17 at its own price list, so the option saves €3 and lets you skip the ticket-buying line, not the entry queue. Atomium tickets has the closure from 18 January to 5 February 2027.
- Mini-Europe takes the card only as a 20% coupon. Mini-Europe tickets has the price and the winter closure.
- Trains are not covered, including the airport train.
- The discount coupons are revised each 1 February and the current ones run to 31 January 2027. They include €2 off the Koekelberg Basilica panorama, €10 off Hungry Mary’s chocolate and beer tour and 15% off the chocolate and waffle workshops.
The options
STIB public transport. A contactless bank card pays €2.40 a journey and is capped at €8.50 a day, so the option never wins on one day: €9 against a maximum of €8.50. On two days it is €16.95 against €17.00 and on three days €21.50 against €25.50, and only if you ride four times on each of those days. The option comes as an event code that you swap for a paper ticket at a STIB GO machine, and it starts on its first ride, separately from the card. It includes bus 12 to and from Brussels Airport, which without it needs Airport2City at €7.90 when you leave the airport. Brussels public transport has the fares.
The Merode metro entrance, the nearest station to the Cinquantenaire. Photo: William Murphy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The hop-on hop-off bus. The option is +€22 for 24 hours. Tootbus sells its own 24-hour ticket for €24.75, reduced from €33.00, so the option saves €2.75 against the reduced price and €11 against the list price. The card’s coupon for 25% off a Tootbus ticket gives the same €24.75 on the list price, so the coupon alone is no reason to buy the card. You show the card to the driver, and the bus ticket starts on its first ride. The hop-on hop-off bus compares the routes.
The Atomium. The option is +€14 for an adult, +€12 aged 65 and over and +€6.50 for 17 and under, students and visitors with a disability; children of 115 cm or less go free. It makes sense only on a day when the card already pays.
Families
There is no child price, so two adults and two children pay 4 × €41 = €164 for 24 hours. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the MIM and the Art & History Museum are free for under-18s, Autoworld charges €11 for ages 6 to 12 and Train World €11 for 6 to 17. Autoworld and Train World for two adults and two children aged 8 and 10 come to 2 × €18 + 2 × €11 + 2 × €15 + 2 × €11 = €110 in singles, so the card loses €54. Brussels with kids sorts the sights by age and price.
Which to buy
- Three or more dear museums in 24 hours (the fine arts combi, the MIM and the Comic Art Museum): the 24-hour card.
- Two museums, or a day of the cheap ones: singles.
- A weekend of museums: the 48-hour card, once the singles pass €53.
- The Atomium and Mini-Europe: singles, or the €35 combined ticket on the spot.
- The Horta Museum or the Art Nouveau houses: the Art Nouveau Pass.
- Getting around: a contactless bank card, with no option.
- A short stay built on free sights: no card. Free things to do in Brussels lists what costs nothing.
Best museums in Brussels has the prices the sums use, and Brussels airport to the city shows what the STIB option’s bus 12 replaces.
Common questions
Is the Brussels Card worth it?
Only when your singles come to more than the card. A 24-hour card is €41, and the two big fine arts museums with the Musical Instruments Museum cost €38 in singles, so two museums lose €3. Add the Comic Art Museum (€14) and the day costs €52 and saves €11. Three cheap museums can still lose: the City Museum, the Art & History Museum and the Comic Art Museum come to €34.
How much is the Brussels Card?
The card alone is €41 for 24 hours, €53 for 48 hours and €59 for 72 hours, the same for every age. Options are added on top: STIB public transport +€9, +€16.95 or +€21.50, the Tootbus hop-on hop-off bus +€22, +€26 or +€29, and the Atomium +€14 for an adult.
Does the Brussels Card cover the Horta Museum?
No. The Horta Museum (€14) is not on its list, and the Royal Palace (€10, online only in its summer opening) is not covered either. The Art Nouveau Pass covers the Horta Museum, which still has to be booked.
Is the STIB public transport option worth it?
Not on its own. A contactless bank card pays €2.40 a journey and stops charging at €8.50 a day, so the €9 option for 24 hours never beats it. At 72 hours the €21.50 option is €4 cheaper than three capped days, and only if you ride four times every day. The option includes bus 12 to the airport.
When does the Brussels Card start?
At the first scan in a museum, or at the Atomium if you took that option, and it then runs for 24, 48 or 72 hours. You have a year from buying to activate it, and it is non-refundable. The transport and bus options start on their own first use.
Do children need a Brussels Card?
There is no child price, so a card for a child costs the same as an adult's. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts, the Musical Instruments Museum and the Art & History Museum are free for under-18s, so a family usually does better with singles.
