I’m not even going to talk about how long it has been since I published a local adventure and I’ll just quickly move on to today’s topic: the Atomium.
The Atomium is this huge landmark in the North of Brussels, that can be seen from pretty much any high point in the centre of the city, which is the reason why I had never been there, even though I already spent a year in Brussels: I felt like I had already seen it since I can see it from my office window!
Anyway, last weekend was a special occasion because some of my friends decided to participate in a biking race in Brussels, which ended at the Atomium. To cheer them up on their arrival we decided with other friends to kill two birds with one stone and go there to greet them, while seeing this huge building from below.
Even though it is not in the centre, the building is easily reachable via metro, so it wasn’t complicated at all to get there. The atmosphere was special on this day because of the race, with many people cheering the bikers, some cheerleaders, music and a general enthusiastic vibe, but I loved it!
I wouldn’t say that the building in itself is particularly beautiful, but it is very impressive, especially when seeing it from a new and different perspective. On a sunny day the mirror-like surface of the spheres reflects the sunlight and everything around it.
As you can see it from the pictures, it is a big structure (more than 100 metres high actually) made of nine spheres connected to each other. Imagined by the engineer André Waterkeyn and built on the occasion of the 1958 world Expo in Brussels, it is shaped like a unite cell of an iron crystal, and its purpose was to show the faith in science they had at the time.
It is actually possible to go inside some of the spheres: one of them can be rented for events, the other one hosts a restaurant, others regularly host temporary or permanent exhibits, etc.
This time, I didn’t visit any of these, but the view from there must be amazing, so maybe I will go next time!
Where was your last local adventure?
Check out my other local adventures:
Autumn walk at the park
– Lavender & Sunflower fields
– Poppy fields
I loved visiting Atomium on our Belgium adventure. The weather was cold and rainy yet we had heaps of fun inside. It’s unavoidable icon of Brussels and should be pretty much on any travellers bucket list. The views over the city are amazing. Thanks for sharing. Your photos look absolutely amazing and I would love to go back to Brussels again. Have a good day 😀 Aiva
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I know, it’s crazy that I only went after a year! I am really curious to see what’s inside but the occasion wasn’t right this time, maybe another day I will go! Thanks a lot for reading and commenting 😊
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I went inside, out of curiosity, not much to say about it 🙂 From your photos I have the feeling that the materials have been renovated, they showed signs of ageing at the time.
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Maybe I will try to visit the inside another time! And yes I think it has been renovated recently, depending on when you went last time 😊 Thanks for reading!
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Oh, how fun! Looks a little out of this world.
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I know! It’s such a unique building! 😊 Thanks for reading!
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oh ive heard of this! Looks really super cool!
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Wow, it’s mroe famous than I thought then! Thanks 😊
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You should go inside, they have some fun things inside:) btw what WordPress theme do you use?
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I definitely will next time I go there! I got so curious now ahah 😊 I use the Zuki theme with some adjustements. It’s such a versatile theme!
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Of all the places I visited in Brussels when I went to Europe in 2007, the Atomium was among my favorite. I did go inside and there wasn’t actually much, but the daring architecture and the idea of magnifying an iron crystal to create a monument is just brilliant.
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I agree, the idea behind the Atomium is very interesting, and the monument in itself is really incredible, especially when you look at it from below! Thanks for dropping by 😊
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