On a grey Saturday we had the chance to visit Tour & Taxis, the former postal and customs hub in Brussels.
I had been inside the main building (the so-called “American jailhouse”) before, but I was still amazed by the spaciousness of the entire site.
The Gare Maritime has been restored into a spectacular, immense hall, ready to host all kinds of events. And then there are the Sheds—an absolute masterpiece: the vast roof spans the entire structure without a single supporting pillar! Architecture students travel from as far away as Japan to study it. We were even allowed to climb onto the roof to take in the view.
After a pleasant lunch at The Brasserie in the old Stock Exchange, we headed off to visit the Town Hall—whose interior I had never seen before. Inside, we discovered many stunning rooms, each with its own Brussels story to tell.
Our guide whisked us through at “high-speed train” tempo, adding humor along the way with various anecdotes—such as the tale of the Battle of Ransbeke. The Lords of Grimbergen faced off against Brabant, whose soldiers needed a reminder of whom they were fighting for: Duke Godfrey III, still an infant at the time. His cradle was hung in a tree to inspire the troops, but the mischievous Grimbergen men placed a bomb underneath and lit the fuse… only for the “courageous” young Duke’s urine to trickle out and extinguish the flames. And thus, so the story goes, the legend of Manneken Pis was born. Believe it or not—it’s your choice!
