Former Palace of Justice, Brussels

The Bortier Gallery (French: Galerie Bortier, Dutch: Bortiergalerij) is a shopping arcade designed by Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer. It was constructed in 1847 and opened in the following year. It is situated in the centre of the City of Brussels between the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg and the Grand Place/Grote Markt, not far from the more monumental Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries. Proprietor is the City of Brussels and it is managed by its Land Administration services. The gallery is built in a Neo-Renaissance style and is a fine example of the joint use of cast iron and glass. Originally, the mall was a part of the Marché de la Madeleine/Magdalenamarkt complex, a covered market also designed by Cluysenaer. The facade on the rue de la Madeleine in a Flemish baroque style antedates the construction of the mall behind it. This front dates from 1763 and was recuperated from the Hôtel des Grandes Messageries a town house situated at that site. The gallery owes its name to an investor named Pierre Bortier, who had acquired land between the Rue Duquesnoy and the Rue Saint-Jean/Sint-Jansstraat, made available by the demolition of the former Hôpital Saint-Jean/Sint-Janshospitaal. He proposed to the city of Brussels to build the Marché de la Madeleine/Magdalenamarkt. This covered market had its main entrance at the Rue Duquesnoy. Starting from the Hôtel des Grandes Messageries, located at the Rue de la Madeleine the gallery passed along the rounded southern end of the market hall on the level of its first floor, and ended in the Rue Saint-Jean/Sint-Jansstraat. The Madeleine market was demolished in 1957 and replaced by a modern event hall, leaving only the original facade in place. The Bortier Gallery was thus detached from the market building. Very degraded, it was renovated in 1974 and again around 2010. The place is now well known to lovers of literature and old books, being almost entirely occupied, with the exception of an art gallery, with stalls and second-hand booksellers. Jean-Baptiste Moens, known as the father of philately ran a shop in the Bortier Gallery from 1853 onwards.

The National Archives of Belgium (French: Archives générales du Royaume, Dutch: Algemeen Rijksarchief, literally the "General Archives of the Kingdom") is the main depository of the Belgian State Archives. It is located on rue de Ruysbroeck/Ruysbroeckstraat, next to the Mont des Arts, in central Brussels. This archive repository holds over 70 kilometres (43 mi) of archives.

The Palais de l'Industrie nationale (English: Palace of National Industry), also known as the Palais de l'exposition des produits de l'industrie nationale or simply the Palais de l'Industrie was an exhibition hall located in Brussels, Belgium, which was established for industrial exhibitions in the 1820s.

Brussels Pride is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community in Brussels. It takes place each year around 17 May, coinciding with the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The event brings together associations, institutions, and thousands of participants to promote the values of openness, diversity, and inclusion. The celebration consists of several main components. The Pride March is a festive parade through the streets of Brussels featuring floats, music, and participants dressed in colourful costumes and accessories. The Pride Village gathers public and private organisations that provide information and raise awareness about LGBTQIA+ rights and issues, while the Pride Stage, located on the Mont des Arts, hosts performances by Belgian and Brussels-based artists, many from the LGBTQIA+ community. The Rainbow Village, situated in the historic St James Quarter, unites local associations and LGBTQIA+ venues that organise numerous events in the days leading up to and during the Pride. In addition to the main parade, Pride Week offers ten days of activities across Brussels, including workshops, debates, concerts, performances, and community gatherings. These are organised by artists, activists, and collectives, with projects selected by a cultural council. Over the years, Brussels Pride has become a major cultural and activist event in Belgium, open to both members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies celebrating equality and diversity.

The Equestrian Statue of Albert I (French: Statue équestre d'Albert I, Dutch: Ruiterstandbeeld van Albert I) is a bronze equestrian statue erected in Brussels, Belgium, in memory of King Albert I, third King of the Belgians. It was created by the sculptor Alfred Courtens in 1951.The statue stands on the Place de l'Albertine/Albertinaplein, at the point where the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg joins the Boulevard de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan, and a few tens of metres from the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR). This area is served by Brussels Central Station.

The Mont des Arts (French, pronounced [mɔ̃dɛzaʁ]) or Kunstberg (Dutch, pronounced [ˈkʏnzdbɛr(ə)x] (listen)), meaning "Hill/Mount of the Arts", is an urban complex and historic site in central Brussels, Belgium, including the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), the National Archives of Belgium, the Square – Brussels Meeting Centre, and a public garden. This site is located between the Rue Montagne de la Cour/Hofbergstraat and the Place Royale/Koningsplein in its "upper" part, and the Boulevard de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan and the Place de l'Albertine/Albertinaplein in its "lower" part. It is served by Brussels Central Station.

The Royal Library of Belgium (French: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated KBR and sometimes nicknamed Albertine in French or Albertina in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy. In the second half of the 20th century, a new building was constructed on the Mont des Arts in central Brussels, near the Central Station. The library owns several collections of historical importance, like the famous Fétis archives, and is the depository for all books ever published in Belgium or abroad by Belgian authors. There are four million bound volumes in the Royal Library, including a rare book collection numbering 45,000 works. The library has more than 700,000 engravings and drawings, 150,000 maps and plans, and more than 250,000 objects, from coins to scales to monetary weights. This coin collection holds one of the most valuable coins in the field of numismatics, a fifth-century Sicilian tetradrachm. The library also houses the Center for American Studies, a rich American Studies collection of 30,000 books in open stacks, as well as U.S. newspapers and databases.The Royal Library is open for reference only. Patrons must be at least eighteen years of age and must pay an annual membership fee.

The Palace of Charles of Lorraine (French: Palais de Charles de Lorraine, Dutch: Paleis van Karel van Lotharingen) is a neoclassical palace in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Its construction started in 1757 to serve as the residence of the Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, replacing the Palace of Orange-Nassau. It currently houses a museum, part of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR). Located on what is now the Place du Musée/Museumplein, the palace lies atop the Coudenberg hill, not far from the Place Royale/Koningsplein and the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg, as well as nearby institutions such as the Royal Palace of Brussels and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. This area is served by Brussels Central Station, as well as by the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Trône/Troon (on lines 2 and 6).

Brussels Protestant Church (French: Église Protestante de Bruxelles, Dutch: Brusselse protestantse kerk) is a Brussels-based Protestant Christian congregation formally constituted in 1804 and whose roots go back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

On the afternoon of 24 May 2014, a gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. Three of them, an Israeli couple on holiday and a French woman, died at the scene. The fourth victim, a Belgian employee of the museum, was taken to the hospital but died of his injuries on 6 June. A little less than a week later, on 30 May 2014, a suspect was arrested in the French city of Marseille in connection with the shooting. The suspect was Mehdi Nemmouche, a 29-year-old French national of Algerian origin. A second suspect, Nacer Bendrer, was identified and arrested later. Prior to the shooting, Nemmouche had already spent time in French prisons, where he became involved in radical Islam. After his imprisonment, he also spent more than a year in Syria. It is also in prison where he met Bendrer, who was suspected of having supplied Nemmouche with the weapons used in the attack. Investigators identified a third suspect as well, but the charges against the third suspect were later dismissed due to the evidence against him being considered too weak. Nemmouche and Bendrer were formally indicted in April 2018, and tried before the court of assizes of Brussels in early 2019. After two months of trial hearings, a verdict was rendered: Nemmouche was found guilty of having committed the attack, whilst Bendrer was found guilty of being the co-author of the attack by having supplied Nemmouche with the weapons used in the attack. The theory that Nemmouche was framed by foreign intelligence officials, put forward by Nemmouche's defence, was rejected. Subsequently, Nemmouche was sentenced to life imprisonment whilst Bendrer was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. Both were later also sentenced to pay close to one million euro in damages to the victims' next of kin.

The Jewish Museum of Belgium (French: Musée juif de Belgique, Dutch: Joods Museum van België) is a museum in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the history of the Jews in Belgium.

The Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon (French: Église Notre-Dame du Sablon, Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Zavelkerk) is a Roman Catholic church located in the Sablon/Zavel district in the historic centre of Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Sablon. Built in the 15th century, the church was patronised by the nobility and wealthy citizens of Brussels, and is characterised by its late Brabantine Gothic exterior and rich interior decoration including two Baroque chapels. Its neo-Gothic decorative elements date from the 19th century. The church is located along the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapsstraat, half way between the Place Royale/Koningsplein and the Palace of Justice of Brussels, not far for the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and across the street from the Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare. This site is served by the tram stop Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavel (on lines 92 and 93).