The old stock exchange, reopened as a beer museum with a rooftop terrace — and its steps are where Brussels gathers.
What it costs
Free from the outside, and the steps are a genuine public space: buskers, protests, and the place the city assembles when something happens.
Inside is now Belgian Beer World, which is ticketed and includes a tasting and a rooftop terrace over the centre. Under the building, the ticketed Bruxella 1238 archaeological site preserves a medieval convent.
.jpg){kind=link}
When to go
The steps at any hour. The museum keeps normal hours; the roof terrace is the part worth timing for a clear evening.
Getting there
On the pedestrianised Boulevard Anspach, two minutes from the Grand-Place. Trams and buses to Bourse/Beurs.
If you only have an hour
Sit on the steps. That is the honest recommendation — it is the best place in the city to watch Brussels be itself. Then walk the pedestrianised boulevard north, which was a motorway until recently and is now the centre’s main promenade.
What people get wrong
The building stopped being a stock exchange in the 1990s and stood mostly empty for years. Its reopening in 2023 was contentious locally — a public monument turned into a paid attraction — and that argument is worth knowing before you decide whether to buy a ticket.
Nearby
Ticketing arrangements and opening patterns as published for 2026 and checked on 5 September 2026. These change without much warning — confirm with the site itself before you travel. More sights, and how they fit together, in Landmarks & Sights.