I would like to recommend an Art Nouveau bus tour operated by ARAU (Atelier de Recherche et d'Action Urbaines), a non-profit local resident's group of architects, designers and interested citizens. The tour takes you to the most extravangant houses of the time around 1900, explaining not only who built it, but also who lived in it and what happened to the building throughout the century. The tour includes visits to the interiors of some Art Nouveau buildings, some of which are not open to the public.
The tour guide we were lucky to join was a very entertaining man, who also told us a lot about city developement and the way Brussels deals with its historical monuments.

The tour takes 3 hours, price is 17 Euro, online reservation possible. For details see: www.arau.org

Google map: tinyurl.com/nmfoha

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Cantillon Brewery is the last of what were once plentiful Gueuze Breweries in Belgium. The family brewery makes Gueuze, a unique beer that depends entirely on windborn yeast to complete the beermaking process, introducing an element of luck that most brewmasters wouldn't dream of accepting. To use the wild yeast the brewery has a number of unique features that cannot be found in any other brewery.

The location is also ideal. Just a fifteen minute walk from Brussels' Grand Place, there is no problem with imbibing as much of this wonderful beer as you would like and then wondering how to get home. The metro public transport system makes this a wonderfully tasty and safe experience.

Gheudestraat 56
1070 Anderlecht, Anderlecht
02 521 49 28
www.cantillon.be

Google map: tinyurl.com/l6jal2

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Only 10 minutes walk from the Gare du Midi, down a (frankly rather unprepossessing) street, is the Cantillon Brewery. This is an independent family-owned brewery producing lambic, one of Belgium's most authentic and original beers. You get a short and enthusiastic introduction, and can then follow the brewing process on your own.

What makes lambic beer unique is that it ferments spontaneously. The wort cools down in a shallow copper tray in the attic where it comes into contact with airborne wild yeasts.

You can wander through the barrel store, with its heady and musty aromas, where it will ferment for up to three years. Tasting is an education. You will be offered the slightly tart Gueuze, a blend of old and new lambics, and the sweeter Kriek beers, blended with fruit.

This is a fascinating and evocative museum, offering a rare insight into traditional brewing methods.

Gheudestraat 56
1070 Anderlecht, Anderlecht
02 521 49 28
www.cantillon.be

Google map: tinyurl.com/l6jal2

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A really fun - and tasty - tour of a unique brewery can be found in the gritty working class Brussels district of Anderlecht, where some of Brussels' best kept secrets are also hidden!

The Musee Bruxellois de la Geuze offers a great tour around the Cantillon Brewery, the last working brewer of Lambic, a strange spontaneously-fermenting beer, that has to be tasted to be believed and once tasted will be craved ever after! It takes Lambic brews from three different years to make a Geuze beer, so it's something pretty special and well worth waiting for!

The Cantillon Brewery opened in 1900 and little has changed since then. It is a great retreat from the modern world to an age when people had more time to sit back and enjoy a glass of beer.

We loved the tour but got a little confused, after tasting and sampling, about all the processes and spontaneous fermentation, so we might have to go again to refresh the memory - hic.

Musee Bruxellois de la Geuze
Cantillon Brewery
Admission: 5euros (includes a cold glass of beer)

Cantillon Brewery
56 rue Gheude
Anderlecht
1070 Brussels
Metro: Gare du Midi or Clemenceau
Tel: +32 (0)2 521 4928
www.cantillon.be
Open Mon-Fri 08.30--17.00, Sat 10.00--17.00

Google map: tinyurl.com/l6jal2

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends