Art Nouveau made Brussels famous, but Art Deco gave it depth. FFGR Belgium's architectural circuit covers the city's finest 1920s-1940s buildings — from the Basilica to the Flagey.
Art Nouveau made Brussels internationally famous — Horta, Hankar, Van de Velde. But Art Deco, the style that followed, gave Brussels some of its most imposing and underrecognised buildings. The FFGR Belgium Art Deco architectural circuit covers the decades between the wars, when Belgium's industrial prosperity produced a wave of ambitious civic and commercial construction.
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Koekelberg, 1905-1970): begun in the Art Nouveau era but completed in Art Deco — the largest Art Deco church in the world. The nave's Streamline Moderne detailing, the coppery blue-green dome, and the panoramic terrace make this one of Brussels' most spectacular buildings.
The Flagey building (Ixelles, 1935): the former INR broadcasting building, designed by Joseph Diongre in Streamline Moderne style — horizontal banding, porthole windows, and a curved prow-like corner that has earned it the nickname "the ocean liner." Now a concert hall and cinema complex.
The Palais de Justice: begun 1866 by Poelaert but completed in neo-classical rather than Art Deco style. The architectural transition from the Poelaert era to the interwar period is visible in the buildings immediately surrounding the Palais on the Place Poelaert and the Avenue Louise upper sections.
The Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée (Comics Art Centre, 1905/1989): in a Victor Horta-designed warehouse (Art Nouveau, not Art Deco, but the restoration is among the finest 20th-century Belgian architecture preservation projects), the Comics Art Centre traces Hergé and the Belgian bande dessinée tradition.
Art Deco circuit (half day, Ghost): from €580.