A Begijnhof comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates. Poor and elderly beguines were housed here by benefactors. Béguinages are to be found in an area roughly corresponding with present-day Northern and North-Eastern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Western and North-Western Germany. The beguines were a religious women's movement. Great numbers of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure the aid of rich benefactors.

The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken are a vast complex of monumental heated greenhouses in the park of the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels and one of the major tourist attractions of the city. The complex was commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium and designed by Alphonse Balat. Built between 1874 and 1895, the complex was finished with the completion of the so-called 'Iron Church', a domed greenhouse that would originally serve as the royal chapel. The total floor surface of this immense complex is 2.5 hectares. 800,000 liters of fuel oil are needed each year to heat the buildings.

The present Castle of the Counts was built in 1180 by count Philip of Alsace. Before its construction, there stood a wooden castle on the same location, presumably built in the ninth century. The castle served as the seat of the Counts of Flanders until they abandoned it in the 14th century. The castle was then used as a courthouse, a prison and eventually decayed. Houses were built against the walls and even on the courtyard and the stones of the walls were used to erect other buildings. At one time it even served as a factory. At the end of the 19th century, the castle was scheduled to be demolished.

The Grand Place is the central market square of Brussels. It is surrounded by guild houses, the city's spectacular Town Hall and the Breadhouse square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels next to the Atomium. The town hall was constructed between 1402 and 1455. The original architect was probably Jacob van Thienen. The gothic tower was designed by architect Jan van Ruysbroeck. At the top of the tower stands a statue of St. Michael, the patron of Brussels. In the 13th century the predecessor of the Breadhouse was a wooden building where bakers sold their bread in a covered market.