Super cool design. Loved the historical images and information about the Atomium's architect and Sabena's influence. But logistically a big fail. Stairs closed, poor directional signage among other things. Gift shop closed when we came down so no souvenirs. read more

Atomium - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

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The Atomium is a 102 meter tall model of an iron crystal. Such a crystal would need to be magnified 165 billion times to reach this size. For those who care about materials science (puts up hand, waves it frantically, I do! I do!) iron has a body centred cubic structure, meaning that eight atoms sit at the corners of a cube and a ninth sits at the cube's centre. In The Atomium, the nine spheres are 18 m in diameter and are clad in shiny stainless steel. They're connected by stainless steel tubes that are 3 m in diameter. Inside the tubes there are escalators, stairs and an astonishingly fast lift - these connect the five spheres that you can go inside and walk around in. These five spheres hold exhibits about the atomic age and the design and construction of The Atomium. There's a sphere for workshops for kids and there are some pretty psychedelic art installations. There's a viewing platform at the top sphere, as well as a restaurant (which we sadly didn't visit because restaurants at the top of landmarks are traditionally extortionately expensive). Apparently they also do events like film screenings and concerts, which must be one of the most bizarre and wonderful experiences. From the viewing platform you can also see Mini Europe. I enjoyed the reflection there, sitting in an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, looking down at a 1:25th model of Europe. Someone has a sense of humour. read more

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2 stars for the Atomium. 5 stars for the Rene Magritte exhibit. The Atomium is a very cool structure, but going to the top doesn't really do anything. The only reason you should consider going up is to learn more about the structure and its history, to which I'd recommend you reading the Wiki article. Additionally, the Magritte exhibit inside was interactive and explained some of his more famous works, which was an unexpected surprise. Being a fan of his work, this saved the Atomium experience for me. Views from the top are unfortunately boring. read more

Honestly I'm not sure I would go back here, once you've seen it you've seen it. But it was pretty cool to go even standing in line with 3 kids. Parking seemed to be along the street so be grabbed a spot when we saw one. There was a line for tickets that we stood in for probably 25 minutes. You can buy tickets online and I was actually going to buy them online while I was standing in line, but I wasn't sure how they sent them so was worried I would have to print them or something and wouldn't be able to. Online you pick a time and go in then, but that doesn't mean you avoid the line to get in the elevator, you just enter the building then I guess. The tickets bought on-site could be used immediately. We went in and got in line for the elevator. Their posted signed said about 40 minute wait, but we only waited about 25 before we got on the elevator. You first go up to the top and can walk around and look out the windows on all sides. If you are into souvenirs they have a few pressed penny type things up there but towards the place that you get back on the elevator they have a bill worth nothing, but in purples/blues and featuring the Atomium. It's probably one of the coolest souvenirs I've ever seen and only 2 Euro each. After you go up you come all the way back down and then can wander into about 4 other balls through stairs and escalators. They have different displays in each. This was probably my favorite part. Overall this cost us 30 Euro since our 3 kids under 6 were free. Kind of high, but worth the experience and photos I guess. They do have another gift shop you have to walk through before you exit that has lots more things inside. We didn't look or buy from here. If you need to go to the bathroom I suggest waiting until you are at the top ball. Down below they charge .50 Euro but up top there is no charge and no line. There was at least one place to eat here that looked like it had hamburgers and similar fare. We didn't eat there. read more

Atomium - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

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Okay, this is more a review of Atomium's surrounding area and as a landmark more than an inside adventure. We took a boatload of photos outside this thing. Honestly, wasn't even sure I'd get to see this prior to the trip, but when our guide/friend was (semi-aimlessly??) taking us around via metro we came upon it. I think she meant to come here all along which is cool! It was rather enjoyable and fun to see. It's definitely really touristy. Tons of photo ops. Was in an open area, so enjoy those cold blasts of wintery wind too. The building/structure is made of stainless steel and is super shiny. Easily seen as an art installation and is one of the more unexpected structures I'd figure to see in Brussels. Visitors can go to the top where there is a restaurant and museum or I think you can explore parts of the structure. We were tourists on a budget so we opted for plenty of cute photos in front and behind Atomium... anything from jumping in front of it to just getting wacky selfies in the reflected steel. Nearby, there are several decent restaurants and a Quick. Some other tourist attractions like Mini Europe. So we scoped that out. There are a few combo tickets involving some of the attractions. If we had been more prepared they definitely were appealing. Our guide mate wasn't particularly ready to shell out money for such things and given we had barely gotten any euros ourselves made it for such a poor adventure. However, despite that... I think it's still a nice trek and adventure. I certainly don't regret having seen it once. Hoping if I ever return I'll be better prepared and able to actually climb up instead of just spend several hours looking up at it with a camera. Ha. read more

Built for the World Fair, the Atomium was supposed to be taken down after the event (similar to the Eiffel Tower), however, Bruxelles decided they didn't have anything else rather extraordinary and kept the Atomium in place. I don't know if the last part of that sentence is very accurate, but whatever. It is a cool place to visit if you're a tourist but it's not anything spectacular. However, if you have time wander over here and you can see other sights such as the Japanese and Chinese palaces and the King's palace as well. read more

Honestly, this place is probably not worth it at all. Okay, it is probably Bruxelle's version of the Eifel Tower, but I'm not actually a huge fan of that particular Parisian monument myself, despite all of the hype that goes into it. It is probably one of those places where you go, look around, take a photo of yourself in front of it, and then go and look for something much better to do. Inside isn't all that great, unless they have an expo on. Basically they have a couple of levels about the design and construction of it, a viewing platform at the top, and a light and sound extravaganza, which is cool, but certainly not worth the money to go inside. If there was actually more in here it would be worth it, but there isn't. See it if you must, but don't make it a priority. read more

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It's so big and so crowded even the -3° weather!!! It's very convenient that you can use the tram to go so close but it's not in the center of the city :( it's kind of far and our assess literally freeze until we get there. Having photos and walking around was so much fun and totally worth to freeze in this weather. I recommend you to go before sunset so you can see the city read more

Atomium - Atomium in -3° weather! Totally worth to freeze :) - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

Honestly, this attraction is extremely overrated. I came here on my second trip to Brussels because I was absolutely gutted that I missed it the first time around. I bought a ticket at the hotel I was staying in to go into the actual musuem (and was over charged and cheated out of 10€, but that's another story and I am not including that consideration as part of my review). Located on the outskirts of the city, near the stadium, it takes a bit of effort to get to using public transportation and there's not much else around it. I visited during the week, in the middle of the day, so crowds were minimal. Of course, I took a selfie outside with the structure in the background before going up inside, and in retrospect, I could have just done that and been equally as satisfied. The best part of the whole afternoon was the Marguerite exhibition, which is only a temporary attraction. Other than that, I was pretty underwhelmed. There are a number of artifacts and photographs from the World's Fair when the structure was originally built, which were enjoyable in their own kitschy way but... Again, really nothing to write home about. I'd suggest to others that they go see the structure, snap a selfie, and save their time/money for other sight-seeing in the city. read more

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The Atomium is a landmark symbol in Brussels that was originally constructed for the 1958 Brussel's World Fair. The top floor, which features a restaurant/cafe/bar offers a place to rest and panoramic views of the city. The ticket also allows entrance to the museum or you can bundle the ticket with the other nearby attractions. The building is unique and historic. read more

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I enjoyed going here. The lines to get in were long but bearable. We first got our tickets and waited in a small line, then waited in the long line across the way to enter the atomium. I enjoy the historical pictures inside and the dark room with the strobe lights. The location is in a good place and very easy to get to. We took the hop on hop off bus to get there. Overall great experience on our trip to Brussels. read more

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Please note this is a review about the waffles only not the Atomium. There's a little food truck near the Atomium that makes this stop spectacular. The waffles in Brussels, Belgium are heavenly especially the ones from this little truck (I don't remember the name of the food truck) I purchased a handful of waffles for only $4! Oh my gosh, it was so warm and sweet, syrup not needed! The waffles literally melted in my mouth. I wish I could find a replica in LA, sigh. Still day dreaming about it, that's how delicious it was! read more

Atomium - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

As a structure it's certainly fairly impressive, if a little incongruous. It's only a few minutes walk from the metro and close to Mini Europe so you can do both in quick succession if you really want to conform to the tourist stereotype. We didn't bother to go inside, a wander around the bottom was enough to satisfy my curiosity. There is a restaurant at the very top, if you eat there then you don't have to pay to ascend to the top. It's popular though, we tried to make a reservation once we were already in town and the whole weekend was already fully booked, so if you want a table then plan ahead! read more

Atomium - Iron (not actual size) - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

This was really cool and did not cost much to enter. I don't recall how much the exact ticket was as a student but for both the atomium and mini Europe it was not more than €30. I took the train from the city centre and was a short walk from the station. The rooms were cool but extremely hot inside. I spent a total of an hour in all the rooms. This isn't something I would visit again but was a nice day trip from the city center. read more

After seeing this structure as a keychain I had to come and check it out. Took the bus there from the city which was a rather Tivoli quick ride. It is an amazing structure, quite impressive actually. Got here early so there wasn't a line, elevators and escalators to get around. A lot of history to be learned, was part of the World Expo which is interesting and I could say I've been here. I was looking forward to exploring all the spheres, but that's not an option, just an illusion. read more

Fun for kids, but adults can skip. A very weird place that hasn't really aged well. On busy days, you must wait an hour to go to the top. The other exhibits aren't anything to write home about. Note that you can buy your tickets online ahead of time. Not worth the schlep our here unless you have relatively young children. I preferred mini-Europe which is nearby. read more

This place was just fantastic. When you come out the metro, walk up then right back on yourself. You see this in the distance. Giant when you stand in front of it. The tourist part is cool, sells cool stuff. The restaurant was nice, but when down with one rude French waitress. The lift shaft was so cool. You can walk up to other parts of it too. I think it was €11 to get in. I could be wrong, but I'm sure it was. You can buy a special Atomium coin for €2. Great as a gift. Worth a visit. read more

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Worst thing ever! $54 for myself, spouse, teen and child to enter. There was nothing in the balls! There was one ball that had lights in it and that was it! The kids museum ball was for schools only and it was locked! Useless space! Escalators go up to an empty ball with three frames on the wall and then you go into another! Biggest waste of time and money! You can't even get a picture of the view because there's no windows!! Scam! read more

This place is totally touristy but fun. The atomium is basically a giant atom you can walk inside. We took the Hop On/Hop Off bus and made sure to stop here to check out this tourist attraction. It's within walking distance to mini europe (also a cool tourist attraction we definitely checked out) and you can see most of mini europe (looking even tinier) from inside the atomium. Within the atomium there are a series of stairs and escalators taking you through the history and building of the attraction. From the 'balls' you can see out to nice views around the area. If you've got the extra time on your Brussels adventure, stop on by! read more

Whenever somebody comes visit me from abroad I get asked: "Can we go to that Atom thing." And my answer basically corresponds to the review below. The Atomium is literally Brussels' Eiffel tower. It was built for a World Expo and became the symbol of the city. With one main difference. The Eiffel tower is in the very middle of Paris. The Atomium is in the last tram stop of the city. Is it worth it? Frankly, the inside, including the panaroman, doesn't offer anything that would justify the expensive entry fee It's a beautiful piece of architecture which you can admire from the outside, but the inside is pretty dull. It's practically empty. It needs to be revamped. I'm sure it could have a lot of potentials. read more

To eat the restaurant you get in free. Just check in at the cafe downstairs first. The view is spectacular and the food, while not great, was not bad either. I probably won't go back often because of the price but when someone is in town visiting, it makes for a memorable afternoon out. I had the duck with Kriek sauce, a semi-candied carrot and whipped potatoes. Not bad. The staff was courteous and well trained. Didn't really see the wine list. But I think it was adequate. Too bad they aren't open at dinner time. The night view would be awesome. read more

This a great place to view a very important and beautiful building. Unfortunately the lines and waiting for simply a great view at the top and not much more make it a good spot to visit and take pictures of, but not much more. read more

Atomium - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

If you are staying in the heart of Brussels, the Atomium is a little out of the way. I would say that it is worth the trip and provides great views but it is a tourist area where prices are high, crowds are rampant, and actually time spent there is pretty low. Its very large and its size is hard to capture on camera, which makes the experience memorable. There are also modern sculptures recently put in place beneath the Atomium. These are free to wander around and provide great photo ops! read more

Built in '58, my first visit was in '65. Cool science exhibits. Visited again with son in '84. Same tired but worn exhibits. Visited today with son's son. No exhibits. It's been recently polished up outside; but inside is only a unsophisticated light show. Pretty boring, really. Passing of an era, I suppose. read more

Atomium is quite far from the city centre, it even took some time to get to this place, but I can surely tell you, it's totally worth it! I wanted to visit this place for years already, now finally paid the visit. I was simply amazed when I got here. This feeling just grew stronger and stronger when I was exploring inside. Lucky for me, when I was there it was the time during the sunset, so my partner and I went to the top of Atomium, it was pretty awesome view. After the sunset, we took the lift back to the other ball alike rooms and keep exploring. There were serval exhibition in different areas. First of all was the history of the Atomium itself, from the concept through the construction to the finish work. It was very nice to read it. After that we took the escalator to the other area. That's was pretty awesome experience. From the area was the temporary exhibitions, when I was there they had the exhibition about age of plastic. I have seen a documentary movie about this, which was really cool, to see the actually thing with my eyes, brilliant. There were serval areas not open to visitors. After we check out all the exhibitions, we decided to go back to the top and have a 360 degree view of Brussels again, but at night. What a great view, it was so beautiful and romantics. I think we spent around 2 hours here, I am so happy I did come, I like it a lot. This surely became one of my favorite place in Brussels. The staff here were really friendly and nice, the price of the entrance ticket was totally acceptable. If you have a Brussels Card or a student card it will be even cheaper. Their souvenir shop got cool stuff as well, just some of them cost way too much. There is one part I think that was a bit too much, they printed out the pictures of visitors, which they took it when we all first walked in, into different gifts and they sell it back to the visitors. The idea of this is really nice and cool, but 7 euro for one pictures and without digital copy. (By the way, it that even legal print them out without the permission of the person.) I got just one of the picture, cuz the picture was good, but the rest of the stuff they just took it back. Hopefully they just trash them well, that was kind waste of resource. Anyway, we both had a great time here! What a great place! I am sure will come again if I visit Brussels one day again. read more

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Amazing! Super interesting structure with tons of historical images, clips and pieces of art. Definitely worth a visit as it is also conveniently located close to a metro station. The view is breathtaking and you will take LOTS of pictures for sure! read more

There's a building in Brussels that's supposed to look like an atom. It's the atomium and it was built for the 1958 World's Fair. Apparently, it was so popular, that they didn't tear it down like originally planned, but kept it standing and now you can go inside it. It's a building made up of big balls to be honest. Balls with long supports connecting them. We did. You get to ride an elevator to the top ball and see a panoramic view of Brussels. That was pretty cool. There's even a restaurant there. The smell of waffles came wafting down from there into the main bit. We didn't go, but I imagine it's like eating at the Space Needle or the Eiffel Tower (or the fake Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas). Then you get to take an escalator up into the lowest ball. And see some stuff. I think it was a big architecture exhibit. Like a history of architecture or the history of this one guy. I don't know. That bit wasn't that interesting to me. But then you get to take escalators and stairs up into the other balls. So you travel from ball to ball. The coolest bit was the kids area that you can apparently rent out. There are smaller balls there that have openings on the side and beds in them. I'm disappointed that we didn't try to rent this place for our overnight accommodations. That would have been cool. There's a gift shop at the bottom. You can buy your own mini-Atomiums to go. There's also a chocolate shop with a large chocolate model of the Atomium (and the Mannekin Pis). There were also Atomium t-shirts and other things that you would expect from some sort of tourist attraction. It was pretty cool, but a bit of a pain to get to. I'd recommend it if you had a few days in Brussels, but I feel like we missed a lot by spending so much time getting there and back on our short visit. read more

The view of the structure is pretty dramatic. Ita great for photos. The exchibits inside are okay. The views from the top of the Atomium are beautiful. Waiting in line to get in was disorganized. Many people cut in the line and the employes don't care. The effect is that the people waiting in line have to wait longer as the people who cut get in the elevator. There is also an option to skip the line and go up the stairs to the second and third levels. Only the locals know this as there is no signs indicating this option. read more

Don't get me wrong but this is an awesome structure to come visit in Brussels. However, I don't see the point of paying €11 to take an elevator to the top of it where there are plenty of other views in this city that are free... If you really have money to waste, you can pay €23,50 to go to the top if the Automium and visit Mini Europe, the biggest waste of money on the continent. It's a model scale of Europe! That's it. Save your money, come see it just for the fact that it's a really cool structure then explore the gorgeous surrounding parks. read more

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Unfortunately owe missed the ride to the top, but the structure and grounds around it were wonderful! It is such a unique piece of architectural you can't stop staring at it! When you are able watch it all lit up! read more

Atomium - Right before the night fall as the structure is lit up! - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

We came here on a really nice day. The sun was shining, it was Car-free Sunday, so no cars were allowed in town. There was a festival going on for bikers and food stands everywhere. We couldn't have picked a better day to visit. read more

Atomium - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

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Really cool to look at. Awesome place to take photos. Bring a selfie stick!

The place and the view are AMAZING but the food SUCKS. The organic chicken is in a stew and it was undercooked. They took that back and I ordered a steak very well done but I guess they tried to rush my order and it was undercooked as well. The view is amazing but I would definitely not recommend this to anyone. read more

Atomium - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Brussels, BRU

The coolest thing about this place is the elevator you take up to the top floor. It's fast n has a glass ceiling so you can see how fast you going up or down. The rest is boring n unrelated to science. They have art inside of the structure which doesn't really make sense. When you go to the top floor you can see the city but that's about it. Kids under 6 are free and I'm not sure how much it is for adults. We paid 50 Euros for 2 adults but we bought the package deal entry to mini Europe too. You can go there take a picture in front and leave. You won't be missing much. read more

pretty cool odd looking thing to stop and take pictures. we didn't go up it, cost 27 euros.

The landmark itself is a masterpiece, but the inside is simply a tourist trap. Sure you get some nice views, but this coupled with the exhibitions is not really worth the 12 EUR price tag. The escalators were cool though. read more

Great architecture and great view from upstairs. As it is very famous you probably will have to stand in line for getting inside for quite a while. At the time of my visit it was possible to slide down the Atomium on a zip-line. Didn't try it, because I am not good with heights, but definitely something you would remember if visiting the Atomium. read more

This is the tourist place, after the Grand Palace. We took the train from the Basilica after church on Sunday and enjoyed the trip. There were lots of folks visiting and the lines were long in late September. Other suggest going up to the restaurant. We had great beers and light plates, salads and etc with them and loved that the most. Fun, interesting and pretty. read more

Hi! I visited the Atomium when I was 10-11years. And it was really great. the point that they offer is very original. One different thing in each bubble. And sometimes, the bubble is only temporary. It's very impressive. I think that you have to visit the Atomium at least once. It is really interesting. It's like La Tour Eiffel. When you go in France, you visit this tower. It's the same in Belgium. Go to visit this huge landmark. it is worth it. read more

Better than I expected. I thought I would look at it and bail. Nope, you go inside and go to all the levels (balls). Lots to see. The restaurant was packed so we could not even get a coffee... The tram drops you close by but you have to walk. read more