More from our weekend in Brussels...

After our visit to the delightful 'Hôtel Solvay' on the Saturday of our visit we continued the afternoon as tourist with Denis again doing the guiding.

Some benches from Brussels

 

Brussels Hidden Gem: Hôtel Solvay – Victor Horta's Ultimate Art Nouveau Masterpiece.

 

Nestled on Avenue Louise, the Hôtel Solvay (1895–1903) is Victor Horta's most lavish creation, a UNESCO-listed townhouse built for the Solvay family with unlimited budget and freedom.

Sinuous ironwork, curved facades, exotic woods, custom furniture, and a breathtaking grand staircase (with mosaic murals and stained glass) make it a total work of art. Recently restored (facade unveiled in 2024), it's now open as a museum, we were fortunate to have our hosts bag us timed tickets for the Saturday, as spaces are limited. .

Brussels' secret agent!

After our busy day walking 12 km around Brussels with Dennis and Angela (we had to walk off the frites!) we ended the day by joining our hosts for dinner at a very interesting restaurant in the city where you have to walk through a working newsagents to reach the dining area,handy if you want to play the LOTO en route. 

You walk through Maurice's newsagent to reach his son Olivier's restaurant - thus the name.

The food from the 45 euro set menu was Michelin standard (and size) and delicious. After our dessert we were presented with an interesting end to the evening!

The chef/proprietor was an interesting character who took a wee while to warm up but once he did it made for a lovely experience, all in all a great recommendation from Anne and Denis.

Le restaurant De Maurice à Olivier 

Brussels, a long weekend, a bit of culture and a European perspective.

After our visit to 'Autoworld' inside the southern hall of the massive Cinquantenaire Palace we crossed over the courtyard and peered in the widows of the military museum on the other side to check out what was on display and whether it was worth a visit before going around to our main reason for coming here, the19th century, Belgian Art Nouveau exhibition.

 It was a similar sized 'hanger' to the one for 'Autoworld' and we did not want to commit the time to exploring it so headed off for some Art Nouveau.

The Art & History Museum's new gallery spotlights Belgium's rich Art Nouveau and Art Deco heritage. Art Nouveau takes center stage, having exploded in prosperous Belgium around 1900 with its distinctive stylistic variety.

Highlights include masterpieces by icons like Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, plus works from Paul Hankar, Léon Sneyers, Paul Hamesse, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, and Oscar van de Voorde.

A major star is the fully restored winter garden Victor Horta designed in 1900 for engineer Jean Cousin, dismantled in the 1960s and now dramatically reassembled.

The iconic 1912 jewelry boutique designed by Horta for Brussels' prestigious Wolfers Frères house has been faithfully reconstructed at full original scale inside a dedicated museum gallery showcasing the brand's legacy through a selection of outstanding Art Nouveau pieces.

After the museum we headed down to Place Jourdan and Maison Antoine widely hailed as one of the best spots for the famous Belgian frites. They follow the classic Belgian double-fry method: low-temp first for fluffiness inside, high-temp second for that perfect golden crisp.

Denis had brought Pauline and I here on our first visit to the city and it was only right to bring our fellow travel companions Dennis & Angela here. The ladies queued for the frites while Dennis & I got the beers in - the bars opposite the kiosk allow you to bring your frites to eat along with your beer...Brussels bliss!

After our frites stop we headed up into the heart of the European Quarter (Quartier Européen / Europese Wijk).

The uphill trek after a mountain of frites is a classic Brussels move, nothing powers a political pilgrimage like a full belly of mayonnaise-slathered chips!

Above is the 'Justus Lipsius' building, the main headquarters of the Council of the European Union (the institution where ministers from the 27 member states meet to negotiate and adopt EU laws).

We wandered through their visitors centre which does a great job of making the EU feel approachable and forward-looking, especially with their interactive exhibits on how member states collaborate. Seeing young people there in numbers amplified that impression, it draws university students on field trips, Erasmus folks and curious 20 somethings from across Europe (and beyond). As you can see from the pic above Pauline couldn't quite get to grips withe the ear piece.

After our visit we headed over to Place du Luxembourg for a coffee before headed back to our hosts Anne and Denis to change for going out to dinner later.