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Further Distractions

Centre Belge de la Bande DessinÉe (Belgian Centre for Comic Strips)
The history of the Belgian comic strip, including its links with silent movies and animation, is displayed throughout the airy and uplifting Grand Magasin Waucquez, designed by Victor Horta. Original drawings by early masters such as AndrÉ Franquin, who created accident-prone Gaston Lagaffe, and Georges Remi (HergÉ) who breathed life into Tintin, are complemented by modern-day cartoons, temporary exhibitions, an exhaustive academic library and a children's library.

Rue des Sables 20
Tel: (02) 219 1980. Fax: (02) 219 2376.
Transport: Train/mÉtro Gare Centrale; or bus 29, 60, 63, 65 or 71 (to Assuat) or 38 (to Pacheco).
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800; (reference library) Tues-Thurs 1200-1700; Fri 1200-1800 and Sat 1000-1800.
Admission: BFr250 (concessions available); BFr50 (reference library).

MusÉe Horta
Victor Horta (1885-1946) worked to produce some 110 buildings, first in neo-Gothic style, famously in Art Nouveau and latterly in sparse Modernist style. Many, such as the Hôtel Solvay on Avenue Louis (tel: (02) 647 3733; admission on appointment only) and Hôtel Van Eetvelde at Avenue Palmerston 4 (tel: (02) 237 1111), are still standing. However, the MusÉe Horta, the architect's former home and studio, is beautifully preserved and open to the general public. Attention to detail sweeps through the building from the vertical letterbox and finely scripted number 25 on the façade, to the sculpted staircase and dining room floor, where a marble mosaic encircles the finest American ash. A theatrical arrangement of secret front doors, allowed the architect to welcome guests from different social and religious backgrounds without their being aware of each other's presence.

Rue AmÉricaine 25
Tel: (02) 543 0490. Fax: (02) 538 7631.
Transport: Tram 81, 82, 91 or 92; or bus 54 or 60.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1400-1730.
Admission: BFr200.

Atomium and Mini-Europe
LÉopold II bequeathed the 202-hectare (500 acres) estate of Heysel to the city of Brussels in 1909. The large exhibition spaces are located here, to the northwest of the centre. Its most famous landmark, however, is the Atomium - a giant model of an oxygen molecule built for the 1958 World Fair as a temporary structure but was never dismantled. The highest sphere gives a panoramic view of the entire region. The science exhibition is of interest only to young children. Nearby Mini-Europe shrinks Europe to a size that can be covered in a short walk, with faithful miniatures of the Eiffel Tower, Westminster and the Berlin Wall in the process of being dismantled.

Atomium
Boulevard du Centenaire
Tel: (02) 474 8977. Fax: (02) 474 8398.
Opening hours: Apr-Aug daily 0900-1930; Sep-Mar daily 1000-1730.

Mini-Europe
Bruparck, Avenue du Football
Tel: (02) 478 0550. Fax: (02) 478 2675.
Opening hours: Daily Apr-Aug 0900-1930; Sep-Dec 1000-1730. Closed Jan-Mar.

Transport to both attractions: MÉtro Heysel; or bus 84 or 99; or tram 23 or 81.
Admission: (Atomium) BFr220; (Mini-Europe) BFr430; (combined ticket) BFr590 (concessions available).



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