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Three people on a city street with storefronts and a no entry sign. 1
A group of people standing in a cobblestone square with historic buildings in the background. 2
A group of people posing in a cobblestone square with historic buildings in the background. 3
Three people standing in front of a historic building with arches and columns. 4
A group of people posing in a cobblestone square with historic buildings in the background. 5
By WW2 Occupied Brussels | Walking Tour
Free cancellation available
Price is RM 283 per adult* *Get a lower price by selecting multiple adult tickets
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Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 2h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
  • Multiple languages

Overview

  • This is the official Occupied Brussels walking tour, created as part of an independent historical project dedicated to making the city’s Second World War occupation history more accessible to visitors.

    During this 2 hour, intimate and easy-paced walking tour, you will learn:

    • How the Belgian government responded to the invasion.

    • How ordinary people adapted to survive: the Belgian exodus, black markets, bombings, and resistance movements.

    -How the Jewish population was discriminated against, persecuted, and targeted for deportation.

    -How Brussels managed to regain its freedom and peace once more.

    The Guide

    Héctor Martínez is a fiction writer inspired by the complexities of war. Drawing on research and storytelling, he created Occupied Brussels to make the city’s hidden wartime stories accessible, connecting documented events to the streets where they happened.

Activity location

  • Royal Palace (Palais Royal)
    • Place des Palais
    • 1000, Brussels, Belgium

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Fillette à la Coquille
    • 1000, Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

Check availability

Brussels WW2 Walking Tour: Life in Occupied Brussels

  • Activity duration is 2 hours2h
    2h
  • English
Starting time: 15:00
Price details
RM 283.23 x 1 AdultRM 283.23
Total
Price is RM 283.23

What's included, what's not

  • Inclusions
    Visite guidée

Know before you book

    • Service animals allowed
    • Public transportation options are available nearby
    • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Activity itinerary

Royal Palace (Palais Royal)

  • 15m
The official palace of the King of the Belgians. At this stop, we will explore how the population first reacted to the German invasion in May 1940, and examine the complex role played by the monarchy and the Belgian government before and during the occupation.

Rue de Ruysbroeck 35

  • 15m
Now a high school, this building once housed a printing shop that became world-famous for a bold act of resistance against Nazi propaganda during the occupation.

Great Synagogue of Europe

  • 10m
  • Admission ticket not included
At Belgium’s most important synagogue, we will reflect on the experience of Brussels’ Jewish community during the occupation: daily restrictions, persecution, arrests, deportations, and the systematic violence of the Nazi “Final Solution.”

Place Poelaert

  • 15m
Here, we will visit the monument honouring Belgian infantrymen of both World Wars, before turning to two major sites of occupation history: the Palais de Justice, occupied by the Nazis and set on fire during their retreat, and Avenue Louise, where the Gestapo headquarters became the target of a daring act of resistance by a Belgian pilot.

Place du Jeu de Balle

  • 10m
In the heart of the Marolles district, where black markets once flourished under occupation, this lively square conceals an almost forgotten wartime secret beneath its cobblestones.

Rue des Tanneurs

  • 10m
Along this old street, a visible reminder remains of the Jewish people deported during the wartime roundups. At the end of the street, a nearly century-old women’s organization that courageously helped hide Jewish children from deportation continues its work to this day.

Rue Haute 60

  • 5m
In April 1945, Hitler killed himself in his Berlin bunker. But in Brussels, the news gave rise to rumours, disbelief, and one of the city’s most unusual acts of public satire.

Tintin Mural Painting

  • 5m
World-famous cartoonist Hergé continued publishing Tintin during the occupation in Le Soir, a newspaper controlled by the German authorities. After the liberation, he was accused of collaboration, raising difficult questions about art, compromise, and survival under occupation.

Grand Place

  • 5m
In September 1944, as local authorities regained control of the city, twice-occupied Brussels could finally celebrate its liberation.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Royal Palace (Palais Royal)
    • Place des Palais
    • 1000, Brussels, Belgium

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    Fillette à la Coquille
    • 1000, Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

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