Brussels is the most underrated capital in Europe — a city of extraordinary architectural variety, from the Gothic grandeur of the Grand Place to the Art Nouveau masterpieces of Victor Horta, with a food culture that has been producing the finest chocolate and beer in the world for centuries.

The Grand Place is the finest medieval square in Europe — a space of extraordinary beauty, surrounded by guild houses of Gothic and baroque architecture, with the Hotel de Ville at its centre. Victor Hugo called it the most beautiful square in the world, and it is difficult to disagree. The flower carpet that covers it every two years in August is one of the great spectacles of European civic life.

The Art Nouveau architecture of Brussels is the finest in the world — the houses designed by Victor Horta in the 1890s and 1900s are the most complete expression of the style, and the Horta Museum in his own house is one of the most beautiful museum experiences in Belgium. The Cinquantenaire, the Palais de Justice and the Atomium are all expressions of a city that has always built with ambition.

The food culture of Brussels is extraordinary in its variety — the moules-frites of the Rue des Bouchers, the chocolatiers of the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, the waffles of the Place Sainte-Catherine and the restaurants of the Ixelles and the Saint-Gilles are all expressions of a city that takes eating seriously.

Brussels rewards those who look beyond the obvious and find the city that the European institutions have not yet entirely consumed.