Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Magritte Museum

Belgium'S National Art Museums: Old Masters From The Flemish Primitives To Bruegel And Rubens, And The World'S Largest Collection Of Rene Magritte In Its Own Museum · Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium are the national art collections, set on the hill of the Mont des Arts above the old centre of Brussels. Under one roof, linked by long corridors and stairs, sit several museums: the Old Masters Museum, with Flemish Primitives such as Rogier van der Weyden, Dieric Bouts and Hans Memling, a strong group of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, rooms of Rubens and Jordaens, and Jacques-Louis David's Death of Marat; the Fin-de-Siecle Museum, on Belgian art around 1900; and, in its own building on Place Royale, the Magritte Museum, often described as the largest collection of Rene Magritte anywhere. People come for the Bruegels, for Magritte in his home city, and because this is the one place to see Belgian painting from the 15th century to surrealism in a single visit. The honest caveat: the building is large and confusing, some galleries, especially the modern art, have been closed or reduced for renovation for years, and the Magritte Museum can be crowded and needs its own ticket or a combined one.

Rue de la Regence 3, on the Mont des Arts above the Brussels old town, Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

The museums are usually open Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays and a little later at weekends, and closed on Mondays and on a few public holidays such as 1 January and 25 December - check the current schedule, as hours and closed rooms change. The last entry is usually 30 minutes to an hour before closing. The Magritte Museum and the Old Masters have separate tickets, with a combined ticket also sold (confirm); buy online on the museums' own website to skip the ticket queue, and book a timed slot for the Magritte Museum at weekends, in school holidays and for big temporary shows. Entry has often been free on the first Wednesday of the month from about 1 pm (confirm), which brings crowds. Getting there: about 10 minutes on foot uphill from Brussels-Central station, or by STIB/MIVB metro to Gare Centrale or Parc, or tram to Place Royale. Do not drive: Brussels is a Low Emission Zone and foreign cars often must be registered in advance or face a fine.

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