Horta Museum
Victor Horta'S Own House And Studio Of 1898 1901, One Of Four Major Town Houses Of The Architect Listed By UNESCO In 2000 The Fullest Art Nouveau Interior You Can Walk Through · Saint-Gilles, Brussels-Capital Region
The Horta Museum is the house and studio that the architect Victor Horta built for himself in Saint-Gilles, Brussels, between 1898 and 1901, and it is the most complete Art Nouveau interior in the city that you can actually walk through. Horta was the leading figure of Belgian Art Nouveau, and here every detail is his: the door handles, the radiators, the mosaic floors, the curling ironwork and above all the stairwell, which rises through the house under a glass roof like a stem reaching for light. The house is one of four Major Town Houses of Victor Horta listed by UNESCO in 2000, with the Tassel, Solvay and van Eetvelde houses, and it is the only one open regularly. People come for the light, the flowing lines and the sense of a whole way of life designed at once. The honest caveat: this is a small house with narrow stairs, it opens only in the afternoon, entry is by timed ticket for small numbers, photography inside is not allowed, and you see it on foot and on stairs.
Rue Americaine 25, Saint-Gilles, Brussels, Saint-Gilles, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
The museum is usually open Tuesday to Sunday in the afternoons only, roughly 2 pm to 5.30 pm, with the last entry about half an hour before closing, and closed on Mondays and on some public holidays - check the current schedule, as hours and days change. Entry is by timed ticket for a set slot, booked online on the museum's own website; only a small number of people are allowed in at once, so slots at weekends and in school holidays sell out days ahead - book as early as you can. Walk-up entry, if any, depends on spare places. Getting there: from Brussels-Midi it is roughly a 20-30 minute walk or a short STIB/MIVB tram ride; from the Louise metro station it is about 15-20 minutes on foot along Avenue Louise and the quiet side streets. Parking in Saint-Gilles is scarce and paid, and the whole Brussels region is a Low Emission Zone, so public transport is the sensible choice.