Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

The Royal Museums comprise the Old Masters Museum, Modern Museum, Magritte Museum, and Fin-de-Siècle Museum, as well as the Wiertz and Meunier Museums. Together, the galleries cover more than 500 years of Western art. The focus is largely on artists from Belgium and the southern Netherlands, with works ranging from the Old Masters to surrealist art and modern sculpture.

Explore the museums independently on a self-guided tour, or hire a guide for deeper insight into the art. If time is limited and you want to weave the museums into a wider itinerary, choose a private Brussels tour that lets you combine your chosen gallery with sights such as the Grand-Place. Alternatively, pass the main museums on a food tour, or take a hop-on hop-off tour to slot a museum visit into your own personal sightseeing schedule.

• Admission to the four main galleries is ticketed, while entry to the Wiertz and Meunier Museums is free.

• On-site facilities at the key galleries include a gift shop and café.

• All museums are wheelchair- and stroller-accessible.

The four main museums are all concentrated around Brussels’ Place-Royal and are easily accessible using public transport. Bus and tram stops are nearby, while metro and mainline trains stop at Brussels Central Station, a short stroll away. The Wiertz Museum is a few minutes’ walk from Brussels-Luxembourg station, and the Meunier Museum is served by the nearby Abbaye tram and bus stop.

The principal galleries are open Tuesday–Sunday, with the Magritte Museum also open on Monday. The four main museums can get busy on weekends and weekday afternoons, so it’s wise to get an early start. The quieter Wiertz and Meunier Museums are open Tuesday–Friday.

Roam the Old Masters Museum for works by greats such as Bruegel and Rubens; the Fin-de-Siècle for art nouveau masterpieces; the Magritte to chart the Belgian surrealist’s genius; and the Modern Museum to view pieces from the late 1700s onward. If you have time to spare afterward, explore the Meunier Museum’s collection of paintings and sculptures by Constantin Meunier and the works of 19th-century Romantic artist Antoine Wiertz at the Wiertz Museum.