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Le Parc du Cinquantenaire

Parc du Cinquantenaire

Parc du Cinquantenaire (French) or Jubilee Park (English) is an urban public park with a complex of buildings in the eastern part of the European District of Brussels, Belgium.

The park is dominated by the 1880 triumphal arch in the middle, and the horse-shoe shaped buildings surrounding the park esplanade.

Today the various buildings of the Cinquantenaire host the Royal Museums for Art and History, the Royal Army and Military History Museum and the AutoWorld automobile museum. In the summer, the esplande park is used for diverse purposes, such as military parades and drive-in movies.[citation needed] It is also the starting point of the annual 20 km of Brussels, a run with 25,000 participants, is started in the park.

The Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis

Manneken Pis is a Brussels landmark. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain’s basin.

Also known as the “Ketje de Bruxelles”, the “little boy of Brussels” is one of the city’s most cherished figures. Tourists and Belgians come to visit and laugh at this statue, which is often dressed in one of its costumes (the impressive wardrobe is on display at the “Maison du Roi/King’s House” on the Grand’Place).

Numerous legends have sprung up around this symbolic Brussels figure. The most commonly heard is the one that, by answering his famous call of nature, he reputedly extinguished the burning fuse of a bomb destined for the Grand’Place. In reality, this charming little fountain was put in place during the reign of Archiduke Albert and Archiduchess Isabelle to supply drinking water to the neighbourhood.

Atomium

The Atomium in Brussels

The Atomium is a monument built for Expo ‘58, the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Designed by AndrĂ© Waterkeyn, it is 102-metre (335-feet) tall, with nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

You can discover several exhibitions in the spheres. You will also be able to enjoy the exceptional view on the city of Brussels. Animations, film screenings, a boutique and a restaurant at the top complete your visit to one of the most terrific buildings from the 50s.

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