Mont des Arts

The Mont des Arts is the slope linking the lower town around the Grand Place with the upper town of palaces and museums, cleared in the nineteenth century and left as a temporary garden for decades before being built up in the 1950s with the Royal Library, the state archives and a congress centre around a formal terraced garden of clipped hedges and steps. From the top terrace the view runs down over the garden, across the roofs of the lower town, with the spire of the town hall on the Grand Place rising in the middle distance, and it is the standard photograph of Brussels. A carillon clock on one facade sounds on the hour with moving figures of Belgian historical characters.

What you actually see

• The terraced formal garden - clipped hedges and steps down the slope.
• The town hall spire view - the standard Brussels photograph from the top.
• The carillon clock - moving figures on the hour.
• The Royal Library and archives - the 1950s buildings framing the garden.

When to go

April to October for the garden planting; the view works year round and is best in the early evening. One hour. It is busy with visitors at all daylight hours in summer.

Honest expectations

The garden is small and formal rather than interesting in itself; the view is the point. The 1950s architecture around it is heavy and divides opinion. The steps are the main route between the two towns and are crowded. There is no shade.

Nearby

The Magritte and Fine Arts museums are at the top; the Grand Place lies below.