Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the center of government for the European Union. Although Belgium is one of Europe’s smallest countries, covering 11,580 square miles, it has one of the continent’s highest population densities, with 10 million inhabitants. Belgium is a bilingual country. Although Brussels falls geographically in the Flemish half, it is largely French-speaking.

Belgium’s largest city, with almost one million inhabitants, Brussels is also the most visited, receiving some six million visitors a year although 70 percent of these come for business. Today, Brussels’ excellent communications make it an ideal place from which to explore historic Belgian cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges.

Central Brussels is divided into two main areas, each of which has its own chapter in the guide. Historically the poorer area where workers and immigrants lived, the Lower Town contains the exceptional seventeenth century heart of the city, the Grand Place, as well as the cosmopolitan Place de Brouckere, and the historic workers’ district, the Marolles.

The Upper Town, traditional home o the aristocracy, is an elegant area which encircles the city’s green oasis, the Parc de Bruxelles. Running up through the area is Rue Royale, which ends in the eighteenth century Place Royale, home to the city’s finest art museums.