Royal Museum for Central Africa (AfricaMuseum)
AfricaMuseum / Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika
A large African museum in the palace grounds of Tervuren. Reopened in 2018 with a critical look at colonial history, it offers excellent exhibits and gardens.
The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, on the eastern edge of Brussels, was built by Leopold II for the 1897 World's Fair colonial exhibition. Its neoclassical palace faces an open French-style garden with a pond. After reopening in 2018 under the name AfricaMuseum, with a new glass entrance pavilion, the displays range from ethnography and natural history to the colonial history of the Congo. They review Belgium's colonial past from a critical perspective while keeping classic exhibits such as the elephant specimen and a giant dugout canoe. Tickets cost about €16. Closed on Mondays, and generally open 10:00–17:00 (until 18:00 on weekends). Take tram 44 from Montgomery station to the terminus. The gardens are free, and the museum makes a good half-day trip.
Opening hours
Closed Mon; 10:00–17:00 (until 18:00 on weekends)
Nearby sights
- Parc du Cinquantenaire
- Parlamentarium & European Quarter
- Royal Palace of Brussels
- Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
- Belgian Comic Strip Center
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium & Mont des Arts
- Sablon & Notre-Dame du Sablon
- Horta Museum