The capital of Belgium and 500 million Europeans, Brussels is an international metropolis which is home to the main European Union institutions, NATO and the largest concentration of diplomats in the world. It is also Europe’s leading and the world’s second most important conference city.
But Brussels is much more than that!
Much more than the European Parliament, the Atomium and the Manneken Pis...
Brussels is:
- A city on a human scale – green, open, tolerant, welcoming, renowned for its conviviality.
- A cosmopolitan region, with a patchwork of districts with contrasting atmospheres and populations of diverse origins that make it a global city with a strongly multicultural character.
- An urban landscape blending history and modernity, home to Victor Horta and many others, boasting numerous gothic, neo-classical, art nouveau and art deco masterpieces.
- A place famous for its chocolate, good eating and breweries, as well as for its cartoon heroes.
- A distinctive sense of humour and a certain sense of self-mockery, embodied in particular by its surrealists, including Magritte.
- A cultural melting-pot which delights in the sounds of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, but also of the latest bands and DJs; which hosts some 14,000 events every year; which revels in the spotlight of dozens of performing arts venues...
But Brussels is also:
- Belgium’s main student city, with over 90,000 students and all that they contribute to the city’s vitality; 30,000 live in the municipality of Ixelles alone, where Usquare is located;
- More than 7,500 researchers and a total of more than 10,000 people involved in the research and development sectors, plus almost twice the national average concentration of jobs in high-tech services involving a high level of expertise;
- An economic driver of the country: 18.3% of Belgium’s gross domestic product is generated in the Brussels region, although its inhabitants represent just 10.5% of the Belgian population.
More information: www.visitbrussels.be and www.ibsa.brussels