Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine May 2018 | Page 121
Travel | Brussels
119
2
1 A painting from the
antiques market at Place
du Grand Sablon.
1
2 The façade of the
Musical Instruments
Museum.
No matter when you visit, head inside Grand-Place’s
Town Hall for a dose of neo-Gothic excess and a useful
branch of the city tourist office.
and world music. Also on this month is the
Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Kunsten Festival
of the Arts; May 4–26), which combines
international and Belgian theatre, dance,
cinema and visual arts.
No matter when you visit, head inside Grand-
Place’s Town Hall for a dose of neo-Gothic
excess and a useful branch of the city tourist
office. It’s a magnificent medley of ornate
stonework, sculptures of saints, monks
and the odd cavorting devil, all topped by a
whopping tower. Opposite is the Maison
du Roi or King’s House, another 19 th -century
reimagining of medieval design. It houses the
Museum of Brussels, where you can delve
into the development of the city amid a
clutter of tapestries, pots and paintings.
All around the rest of the square stand
former guild houses of tradesmen such as
bakers, stonemasons and tanners. Many now
house cafés with terraces, ideal for people-
watching and soaking up the sun.
Grand-Place might be Brussels’ most famous
square, but it’s certainly not the only one
worth a look. Place du Grand Sablon is
favoured by posh locals – it has upmarket
antique and shoe stores, as well as a weekend
antiques market. Pop into the church for a
fabulous display of 15 th -century stained glass
aglow in blues and reds. The adjacent Place
du Petit Sablon has a wrought-iron fence
decorated with nearly 50 statues celebrating
the city’s former guilds.
Combine shopping and sightseeing by
heading to the city’s oldest retail arcade, the
Galeries Royales St-Hubert, which looks as if
it was imported in its entirety from Milan.
5 Senses – Sound
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
MUSEUM
Located in a former art nouveau
department store, this museum houses
over 8,000 musical instruments from across
the continents – the world’s largest such
collection. You can put on headsets at the
displays and hear the instruments being
played, from ancient Egyptian pipes to
Tibetan bone flutes and modern synthesisers.
If you’ve ever wondered what a dulcimer
sounds like, here’s your chance to find out.
www.mim.be
Menempati bang unan bekas department
store bergaya art nouveau, museum ini
memiliki koleksi alat musik terbesar di dunia,
dengan lebih dari 8,000 jenis dari seluruh
benua. Anda dapat mengenakan headset dan
mendengar instrumen yang dimainkan,
mulai dari seruling Mesir kuno sampai
seruling tulang dari Tibet dan synthesizer
modern. Jika Anda penasaran seperti apa
suara alat musik dulcimer, inilah kesempatan
Anda untuk mengetahuinya.