Fancy a nosy around a royal palace this summer without the Buckingham Palace queues? Brussels has you covered.
After four years behind scaffolding, the Belgian capital’s Royal Palace flung open its doors to the public on July 3 – the first time anyone’s been allowed in since 2022, while the building underwent major renovation works to its façade and windows. In the meantime, would-be visitors had to make do with a virtual tour. Not quite the same, is it?
For a bit of background, the palace has been opening to the public every summer since 1965, usually after Belgium’s national holiday on July 21. It’s the working headquarters of the Belgian monarchy, where King Philippe gets on with the day job (the royals actually live over at Laeken, on the edge of the city), which is why visits are strictly a summer-holiday affair. This year King Philippe and Queen Mathilde turned up in person to reopen the place, presumably relieved to finally see the back of the builders.
A ceiling of beetle wings and a rug from the Shah: What to see at the Royal Palace
The Throne Room is a Leopold II-era stunner featuring four wall sculptures by Auguste Rodin, carved decades before he made The Thinker and became the most famous sculptor alive.
The Empire Room comes with a Persian rug gifted by the Shah himself during a 1900 state visit. But the real showstopper is the Mirror Room, where Belgian artist Jan Fabre covered the entire ceiling and a chandelier with nearly 1.5 million iridescent jewel-beetle wing cases back in 2002. It’s called Heaven of Delight and shimmers green-blue-gold depending on where you stand. There’s a handful of new exhibitions to poke around too, covering everything from Belgium’s first queen, Louise d’Orléans, to sound and music.
How to get tickets
Two things to know before you go. First, this year’s season is shorter than usual as it runs until August 16 only, where a state visit from the Danish royals in September means the palace needs its state rooms back early. It’s also closed on July 15, 16, 20 and 21.
Second, after decades of being free, entry now costs €10 for adults thanks to Belgian budget cuts, although under-13s still go free – but everyone needs to book a timed slot via the palace’s official website in advance.
Getting there is easier than ever too. Brussels is a couple of hours from London on the Eurostar, and the city has just become the starting point of Europe’s newest sleeper train route to Milan. Just make sure you’ve seen the beetle ceiling before you hop on.
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