Brussels
Photography Conditions

One of the most photographed squares in Europe, and for good reason. The Gothic Hôtel de Ville tower and the ornate guild houses create a perfectly enclosed space that captures golden and blue hour light in exceptional ways. Shoot from the northwest corner at blue hour for the tower catching the last sky color. At night the LED illumination system shifts color — blue hour is the window when ambient and artificial light are balanced. The square is pedestrian-only but fills with tourists by mid-morning.

The fifth-largest church in the world by floor area sits on a hill in the northwest of Brussels. The dome terrace at 52 m gives the best elevated westward view over the city toward the setting sun. Looking east from the terrace, the Grand-Place spire and the EU quarter are visible in the skyline. The lantern terrace at the top of the dome (104 m) requires advance booking but gives a 360° view that no other point in flat Brussels can match.

The 1880 triumphal arch in the Cinquantenaire park gives a long compositional axis from the park entrance through the arch toward the EU quarter. At sunset the low sun comes from the west and illuminates the arch and the park lawns from behind the shooter (standing east). The arch's curved wings frame the setting sun on clear evenings. The Royal Museums of Art and History flank the arch and catch warm light on their stone facades at golden hour.

The Ardennes plateau in southeast Belgium and the Haute Fagnes moorland near Eupen are the best dark sky within reach of Brussels. The open heathland and spruce forests give unobstructed southern horizons for Milky Way core shots May through September. The Signal de Botrange (694 m, Belgium's highest point) is surrounded by open moorland and gives Bortle 3–4 skies on clear nights. Drive 120 km in about 90 minutes from Brussels.