Brussels has over 125 museums. Most visitors see three. Knowing which three or four, or five depends on what you are looking for: world-class fine art, surrealist painting, Art Nouveau architecture, Belgian comic strip culture, or the history of musical instruments housed inside one of the city’s most extraordinary buildings. This guide covers the museums consistently worth what to see in Brussels conversations, with the information you actually need before you go: prices, hours, distances and honest advice on how long to spend in each.
The unmissable Brussels art museum: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts on rue de la Régence are home to one of Europe’s most significant collections and it is the Bruegel the Elder room that consistently draws the longest gaze. The Fall of the Rebel Angels and The Census at Bethlehem are among the most important Flemish works in existence. Beyond Bruegel, the collection spans seven centuries of Belgian and international art across the Old Masters Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Wiertz Museum.
Allow three to four hours. Come on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning to avoid weekend crowds.
Practical information
- Address: Rue de la Régence 3, 1000 Brussels, 10 minutes on foot from Hotel Alma and Hotel Aris Grand-Place
- Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10:00–17:00, Saturday and Sunday 11:00–18:00. Closed Mondays.
- Price: €10 adults, book online to avoid queues
- Combined with: the Magritte Museum (separate ticket, same building)
The Magritte Museum: surrealism in its home city
René Magritte was born in Lessines, worked in Brussels, and died in Brussels. The Magritte Museum located within the Royal Museums complex holds over 200 of his works: paintings, drawings, sculptures, advertising posters, photographs and films. It is the world’s largest collection of his output, and it traces his full career from early commercial work to the canonical images known worldwide.
The bowler hat. The pipe. The green apple. The man falling. Seeing the originals their scale, their texture, the particular quality of Magritte’s painted surfaces, is a different experience entirely from reproductions.
Practical information
- Address: Same complex as the Royal Museums, Rue de la Régence 3
- Hours: Monday to Friday 10:00–17:00, weekends 10:00–18:00
- Price: €13 adults · €11 groups (15+) · €6 children 6–11 · Free under 5
- Suggested visit: 60 to 75 minutes
The Musical Instruments Museum: architecture as much as music
The MIM is among the most unusual museum experiences in Europe: 8,000 instruments from around the world, with wireless headphones that play each instrument as you approach it. The technology is simple and the effect is remarkable, a violin plays when you stand in front of a violin, a sitar when you stand in front of a sitar, a Congolese drum when you reach that gallery.
The building is as significant as the collection: a former department store by architect Paul Saintenoy, completed in 1899, it is one of Brussels’ finest examples of Art Nouveau ironwork and glass. The rooftop café alone is worth a visit for the view over the city.
Practical information
- Address: Rue Montagne de la Cour 2, 1000 Brussels, 12 minutes from the hotel
- Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30. Last access at 16:30. Closed Mondays.
- Price: €15 adults · Free for children under 18
- Suggested visit: 90 minutes to 2 hours
The Comic Art Museum: a Belgian institution
Belgium invented the modern comic strip as an art form. Tintin, the Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Spirou, these characters did not emerge from anywhere; they emerged from Brussels. The Comic Art Museum on rue des Sables documents this history across permanent and temporary exhibitions, with a permanent 3D Smurf village that is more impressive than it sounds.
The building Victor Horta’s former Waucquez department store, completed in 1906, is itself on the Art Nouveau pass circuit. The combination of content and setting makes this one of the museums in brussels most worth visiting with or without children.
Practical information
- Address: Rue des Sables 20, 1000 Brussels, 12 minutes from the hotel
- Hours: Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Mondays.
- Price: €14 adults
- Suggested visit: 90 minutes
Plan your museums in Brussels visits: the Brussels Museums pass
Brussels Museums the official platform covering all 125+ museums in the city, publishes an annual guide, updated for 2026, with current exhibitions, nocturnal events (Nocturnes 2026) and the Art Nouveau Pass for visitors interested in the city’s architectural heritage.
For guests planning a stay built around Brussels’ cultural offer, our 2-day itinerary suggests how to combine the best museums with the rest of the city and members of Club Arbany Hotels who book direct benefit from exclusive rates that leave more of the budget for museum tickets.
