BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - August 09, 2014: General view of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, one of the most visited museums in Belgium with its large art collection.; Shutterstock ID 586734455; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts POI

Shutterstock / Noyan Poyraz Yalcin

Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts

Top choice in Brussels


This prestigious museum incorporates the Musée d’Art Ancien (ancient art); the Musée d’Art Moderne (modern art), with works by surrealist Paul Delvaux and fauvist Rik Wouters; and the purpose-built Musée Magritte. The 15th-century Flemish Primitives are wonderfully represented in the Musée d’Art Ancien: there's Rogier Van der Weyden’s Pietà with its hallucinatory sky, Hans Memling’s refined portraits, and the richly textured Madonna with Saints by the anonymous artist known as Master of the Legend of St Lucy.

Transportation

  • metro: Gare Centrale, Parc

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Brussels attractions

1. Musée Magritte

0.04 MILES

The beautifully presented Magritte Museum holds the world’s largest collection of the surrealist pioneer’s paintings and drawings. Watch his style develop…

3. MIM

0.07 MILES

Strap on a pair of headphones, then step on the automated floor panels in front of the precious instruments (including world instruments and Adolphe Sax’s…

4. Old England Building

0.07 MILES

This 1899 former department store is an art nouveau showpiece with a black facade aswirl with wrought iron and arched windows. The building contains the…

5. Coudenberg

0.11 MILES

Coudenberg Hill (now Place Royale) was the site of Brussels’ original 12th-century castle. Over several centuries this was transformed into one of Europe…

6. Musée BELvue

0.12 MILES

Take a chronological audio tour through the airy stuccoed interior of this former royal residence to explore Belgium’s history from independence to today,…

7. Église Notre-Dame du Sablon

0.13 MILES

The Sablon’s large, flamboyantly Gothic church started life as the 1304 archers’ guild chapel. A century later it had to be massively enlarged to cope…

8. Bibliothèque Royale

0.16 MILES

The city's striking modern library is a beautifully designed space, containing a small museum about books and printing, and a top-floor cafeteria.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "belgium/brussels/royal-quarter/attractions/musees-royaux-des-beaux-arts/a/poi-sig/1172813/1342454",
      "destination": "Brussels",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Belgium",
      "city": "Brussels",
      "position": "superzone"
    }