Private Guided Tour of the Best of Brussels from Zeebruges

Dedicated to St. Michael and St. Gudula (the patron saints of Brussels) this Gothic church was first founded in 1225 but only completed in the 15th century. The facade is impressive, rising majestically above a broad flight of steps and crowned with twin 69-meter-high towers designed by Jan van Ruysbroeck. The beautifully proportioned interior (108 meters by 50 meters) is lavishly furnished and is home to some outstanding stained glass windows created by Bernard van Orley. Head to the transepts to see the finest examples depicting Charles V and Isabella of Portugal (south transept) and the Hungarian royal pair Louis II and Mary (north transept), and then into the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, to the left of the choir, where the window illustrates the story of the Miracle of the Host.

In the afternoon we discover the city on foot : from the fish market over the Halles Saint-Géry to the most beautiful market square of Europe, the "Grand Place".

We close of with a Brussels speciality : Geueze beer, which is beer of spontaneous fermentation, only brewn in the Brussels region, but 60% of what is brewn is exported to USA, Canada, Japan, etc.

Your driver / guide will stick to still water though, and will bring you safely back to your cruise port.

Manneken Pis Along the Rue de l'Etuve is Brussels' best-known landmark, the Manneken Pis, usually besieged by many tourists. Although he can be traced back to at least 1388, nothing much is known about the origin of the figure of a little boy urinating, popularly referred to as "the oldest citizen of Brussels." The Manneken is, however, surrounded by various legends. According to one, the fountain is a memorial to a courageous infant who averted a conflagration, according to another, it commemorates the son of a count who succumbed to a pressing urge while participating in a procession. The present statue was made in 1619 by Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder and has been stolen on several occasions though always recovered. During major celebrations, events, and festivals in Brussels, the statue is famed for being dressed in costume

we will make a stop at the Atomium, the monument considered as the symbol of Brussels and Belgium. Here you will have the chance to take some photos.

A favorite attraction for photo-ops, the most important building on this square is the Royal Palace (Palais Royal), which is used by the Belgian royal family as an official residence. The Belgian flag, flown from the roof, signals the sovereign's presence, and a ceremonial Changing of the Guard takes place every day at about 2:30pm. Surrounding the palace are an ensemble of cultural buildings boasting Neoclassical facades. The Palais des Académies, home of the Royal Academy of Sciences and once the residence of the Crown Prince of Orange, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Paleis voor Schone Kunste) on the west side of the plaza, designed and built in the 1920s by Victor Horta, are two of the finest examples.

The 15th- to 16th-century church of Notre-Dame du Sablon (Onze Lieve Vrouw op de Zavel), generally considered one of the loveliest Late Gothic churches in Belgium, was built as a replacement for a small chapel first erected on the sandy expanse of the Sablon by the Crossbowmen's Guild in 1304. The interior of the church is breathtaking, in particular because of its marvelous stained glass. Also of interest is the burial chapel of the Thurn und Taxis family, partly the work of Luc Fayd'herbe. Kept in the sacrarium is a figure of the Virgin, a copy, so legend has it, of a Madonna brought to the chapel in 1348 by a woman from Antwerp, Baet Soetens, to whom the Virgin had appeared.

The Parc du Cinquantenaire was established in 1880 to commemorate the country's 50th anniversary. Its centerpiece is the monumental Palais du Cinquantenaire, the two wings of which, linked in 1905 by a massive triumphal arch designed by the French architect Charles Girault, house two of Brussels' most interesting museums. The Royal Art and History Museum is home to one of the most extensive tapestry collections in the world, and the Belgian Army Museum and Museum of Military History (Koninklijk Museum van het Leger en van de Militaire Geschiedenis) provides an overview of the development of military technology and the major campaigns fought on Belgian soil.

The Koekelberg district is dominated by the massive Basilique Nationale du Sacré Coeur (Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig Hart), the fifth largest church in the world and brainchild of Leopold II, begun in 1905 to mark the country's 75th anniversary. The building was only completed in 1970. Not surprisingly, it displays something of a mixture of styles, impressive nevertheless by its sheer size (141 meters by 107 meters). Inside is an excellent collection of art and an ongoing exhibition on the history of the basilica. The picture of Christ giving his blessing, which hangs above the altar, is by Georges Minne.

In the European Quarter you could brush up on your EU knowledge at the Parliamentarian, or simply gawk at the shiny glass buildings and modern highrises that house the EU institutions. We love a surprise though, so you’ll get to experience a whole neighborhood which you’d never have known existed.