A Rainy Day in ....Brussels
With an average of 18 days every month with at least some precipitation, there's a better than even chance that it will rain on any given trip to Brussels. They are prepared for that contingency with plenty of things to keep you entertained indoors out of the weather.
This month we'll get up high in the giant Atomium, a structure shaped like a giant iron crystal. We'll go down deep into the underground archaeological site of the Former Palace of Brussels at Coudenberg. We'll pay a visit to some famous cartoon characters at the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art, and spend some quality time using our auditory senses in the Musical Instrument Museum. Finally, we'll take a side trip with the kids to the largest toy museum in the world, the Flanders Toy Museum in Mechelen.
For more rainy day Brussels alternatives, check out the Brussels Links page.
Kayte Deioma
One of Brussels' most striking landmarks is the Atomium, a giant iron atom that towers over the Heysel Plateu. The 390 foot structure, designed by engineer André Waterkyn, was built for the 1958 International Exposition of Brussels. Like the Eiffel Tower, it was planned as a temporary attraction, but due to popular demand, became a permanent part of the Brussels landscape. A recent renovation, completed in 2006, restored the steel globes to their original splendor.
Although there are temporary exhibits mounted in some of the globes, the main attraction is the structure itself. From an architectural and engineering standpoint, as well as from a purely aesthetic view, to put it in sophisticated terms, it's really cool!
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There's something irresistible about a city as devoted to comic strips as Brussels. There are no less than four museums devoted to the history, the creators and the production of the bande dessinée or comic strip. There are over a dozen stores specializing in comic books and merchandise, and even a comic-themed bar. As if that weren't enough, you can see larger than life comic statues and murals of some of the most popular characters all around town.
The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure," could be the motto of the field of archaeology, where a broken pottery shard, a flint or a chicken bone can elicit more excitement than discovering gold. The archaeologists hit the jackpot in Brussels when new construction in 1995 revealed that the lower levels of the Royal Palace on Coudenberg Hill which burned down in 1731, were left largely intact when they flattened the area in 1774 to build a new royal compound. After a six-year excavation, the restored underground passages were opened to the public in 2001.
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