Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The building (which stands on the historic site of the town
gallows) serves as a Hall of Justice, where major court cases are
tried. If you pop into the lobby, you may see lawyers in black robes
buzzing about.
• On this square you'll notice a rack of city bikes. Like Paris, Brussels has
a Cyclecity program that lets locals use bikes scattered all over town (note
the map here) for a token €1 per hour. One of the best views of Brussels is
immediately to the right of the Palace of Justice.
I
Viewpoint from Place Poelaert
You're standing 200 feet above the former Senne River Valley.
Gazing west over the Lower Town, pan the valley from right
(north) to left:
Near you is the stubby
clock tower
of the Minimen Church
(which hosts lunchtime concerts in the summer). To the left of
that, in the distance, past a tall square skyscraper, comes the lacy
white Town Hall
spire
(marking the Grand Place).
In the far distance, six miles away, you can see one of the city's
landmarks, the
Atomium.
(No doubt, someone atop it is look-
ing back at you.) The Atomium's nine steel balls (all shiny after a
50th-anniversary restoration in 2008) form the shape of an iron
molecule that is the size of the Palace of Justice behind you. Built
for a 1958 World's Fair, it's now a middle-aged symbol of the dawn
of the Atomic Era.
Next (closer to you) comes the
black-steepled roof
of the
Notre-Dame de la Chapelle church, the city's oldest (from 1134,
w it h a spi re t hat sta r ts
Gothic and ends Baroque).
On the distant horizon, see
five boxy skyscrapers,
part
of the residential sprawl
of this city of 1.8 million,
which now covers 62 square
miles. Breaking the horizon
is a
green dome
—it belongs
to the Basilica of Koekelberg (fourth biggest in the world). And
finally (panning quickly to the left), you see a
black glass sky-
scraper
marking the Midi (or South) train station, where you can
catch the Eurostar to London.
At your feet lies the
Marolles neighborhood.
Once a funky,
poor place where locals developed their own quirky dialogue, it
remains somewhat seedy—and famous for its sprawling flea
market (daily 7:00-14:00, best on weekends). Two of the streets
just below you—Rue Haute and Rue Blaes—are lined with sec-
ondhand shops. An
elevator
connects Place Poelaert with the
Marolles neighborhood (free, daily 6:00-23:00). People who brake
