Brussels City Museum

Facing the Town Hall across the Grand-Place, the Brussels City Museum (Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles in French, Museum van de Stad Brussel in Dutch) occupies the Maison du Roi, or King's House, known in Dutch as the Broodhuis, the Bread House. The building on the north side of the square was first erected between 1504 and 1536 and later rebuilt in its present neo-Gothic style by the architect Victor Jamaer in the 19th century. Since 1998 it has been part of the Grand-Place's UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Inside, the museum traces the history and folklore of the City of Brussels from its foundation to modern times. It tells that story through paintings, sculptures, tapestries, engravings, photographs and models. The best known of these is a scale model of the town as it was in the Middle Ages.

The municipal museum was conceived in 1860 and opened in 1887. It suits visitors who want to understand how the city around the square developed.