Musée Old Masters

The Old Masters is the largest of the museums grouped on the Place Royale, and it holds the national collection of painting from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. Flemish and Netherlandish work dominates, which is the point: these pictures were made a short distance from where they now hang.

The Bruegel holdings are what most people come for. This is the second largest collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder in the world, and it is strong enough to justify the trip on its own. Beyond it, the rooms run through Rogier van der Weyden, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch, with substantial Rubens and Jordaens holdings and work by Van Dyck and Teniers. The French and Italian schools are represented too, though the Netherlandish rooms are the reason to be here.

The building connects internally to the Musée Magritte, so the two can be done on one visit if you have the appetite. We would not attempt both in an afternoon; the Old Masters alone is two hours if you are paying attention.

Practical

The museum is closed on Mondays, and on 1 January, 1 May, 23 June, 1 November, 11 November and 25 December. On 24 and 31 December it closes at 15:00.

Entry is free on the first Wednesday of the month from 13:00, which is worth planning around. The museum is also included in the Brussels Card.

Getting there

Walk up through the Mont des Arts from the lower town and you arrive at the Place Royale with the entrance in front of you. It is the same climb as the museums quarter generally, and the view back down the garden is a fair reward on the way.