Brussels gets a bad rap as a tourist destination, but I have to say I really enjoyed the city and wished I had spent more time there. One reason being is that there are a lot of interesting cemeteries here, and I didn’t have enough time to see them all, as they are quite spread out throughout the city. Brussels cemetery is a huge cemetery and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found here: some really beautiful monuments, lots of big green spaces, and of course, military cemeteries.

There’s a huge monument here to the Battle of Waterloo, and it was pretty interesting from all sides. As with many older cemeteries, most of the older, more interesting monuments are towards the front of the cemetery, but it was really lovely to just walk around and explore here. Because of all the rain and snow that Belgium had been getting, the grounds were quite slippery and muddy if I wandered off the main paths. There are a lot of big open squares here too, making the cemetery big in size, but not necessarily in internments.

Columbarium

Monuments: Nice range of both older and newer monuments. The Waterloo monument is truly outstanding.

Grounds: Quite large, but it’s easy to get around.

Visitors: There were a few while I was here, and also some maintenance workers clearing the grounds of fallen leaves and branches.

Notes: none

DETAILS

Cemetery: Brussels Cemetery

Established: 1877

NotableInternments: the war cemeteries, plus some notable Belgians

Location: Buses 63 and 66 will get you here.

Hours: 08:30-16:00