Head down the little streets that radiate off the Grand Place, forming a hallowed ground of evocative names: Pepper, Butter, Butchers, Meat, Bread and Herb Market Streets - a reminder that the Grand Place was an important market in the 12th century. Buy some lace and you'll find yourself in front of the oldest, smallest and most famous of all Bruxellois: the Mannekin Pis.

Take the covered passage ways or the glass arcades that house some of the most prestigious shops to arrive in front of the imposing towers of St. Michel and Gudule Cathedral, one of the jewels of Brabant Gothic architechure.

Since the 15th century, Coudenberg hill has been the sovereign's residence. Today it is Albert II, the sixth King of the Belgians, who inhabits the Royal Palace.

As you go back up Rue de la Régence towards the Court House, you'll discover the Sablon neighborhood, home to antique dealers, where every Saturday and Sunday morning an antique and book market is held in front of Notre-Dame church. Continue down the pedestrian Rollebeck Street to arrive in the Marolles district.

From the top of the Atomium or the Basilica, you'll see color envelopping the whole city. It's found everywhere in the urban fabric, just a few steps from the historic buildings and  modern edifices. Going from one to the other, there are often pleasant shortcuts that pass beneath trees, beside fountains, and along lawns and flowerbeds. No question: Brussels' gardeners know their business. Those are the open spaces... but what about the hidden green space? Your Brussels friends will show you, within every block of houses, the most unexpected gardens and bucolic environments.

How are old facades reinvigorated? By comic strip heros, of course! The city center is enlivened with thirty gables decorated in full size and color. Would the first creators of the Brussels "ligne claire" drawing style - Hergé, Jacobs, Jijé or Franquin - have imagined such a prolific descendance? The little Belgian crucible of 19th century art became a giant cauldron, producing tens of millions of comic books a year. You'll find them from floor to ceiling in specialty shops and in the library of the Belgian Cartoon Centre: 50,000 different titles.

A carpet of flowers bedecks the Grand Place every two years. Begonia bulbs, planted in June, bloom in August. Extending 25 by 75 meters in size, the carpet requires more than a half million flowers. The design, different every time, is (in principle) kept a secret. Photos of the carpet make their way around the world.

The Midi market, certainly the largest, combines exoticism with countless products. From bicycles to dried cod and spiced olives, everyone finds something to please them here. Beginning at dawn, second-hand dealers from Place Jeu de Balle spread out the most amazing objects. Amateur antique hunters come on the weekend, while the connoisseurs come during the week, very early. Much more sophisticated, the antiques market on Saturday and Sunday morning on Place Sablon offers silver and goldplate, engravings and paintings. It's also an occasion to stroll, visit the neighborhood art galleries and have lunch in a local restaurant.

It's impossible to begin your visit without taking the pulse of the Grand Place and its baroque façades. Every stone of the Grand Place was lovingly cut by master artisans. Take along your binoculars to admire the delicate details of the gold and bronze work that adorns these 40 remarkable buildings, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Note the Gothic (15th century) city hall, whose spire supports the archangel Michael, protector of the city, and the house of the Dukes of Brabant and the King's House (where no king ever lived) but which is home to the City Museum.