Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

The cathedral was begun around 1226 on the site of an earlier Romanesque church and took some three hundred years to complete, which shows in the twin west towers and the long nave, and it is one of the clearest examples of Brabantine Gothic, the regional variant with its heavy piers and continuous shafts. The stained glass is the strength: several large sixteenth-century windows survive, including the transept windows given by Habsburg rulers and designed by Bernard van Orley, with donor portraits under architectural canopies. Under the choir are the excavated remains of the eleventh-century Romanesque church, visible through a glass floor and reachable on a ticket. It is the national church, used for royal weddings and funerals.

What you actually see

• Van Orley's sixteenth-century glass - Habsburg donor windows in the transepts.
• Brabantine Gothic nave - the regional variant with heavy piers.
• The Romanesque crypt - the eleventh-century church under the choir.
• Twin west towers - the facade completed over three centuries.

When to go

Year round. One to two hours. It closes to visitors during services and for state occasions. Bright days show the glass properly; the interior is dim otherwise. Mornings are quietest.

Honest expectations

The crypt and treasury are separately ticketed and have limited hours. The interior is dim and the best glass is high up. Services close it without much warning. The hill approach from the lower town is a steep climb.

Nearby

The Grand Place is downhill; the Galeries Saint-Hubert are a short walk.