A city of one million inhabitants, Brussels is divided into 19 communes (local government districts). Brussels's commune, the heart-shaped inner city, roughly 2.5km (1 1/2 miles) in diameter, within the inner ring road that follows the line of the old city walls, is where most of the city's premier sightseeing attractions are located. Still, the 18 other separate, self-governing communes that comprise Brussels Capital Region offer many sightseeing attractions of their own. Most communes don't have as distinct a character as Paris's arrondissements or London's boroughs, and from a visitor's perspective, the communes and their boundaries are less useful than a geographic and social consideration of the city. Around 14% of the total area of 160 sq. km (63 sq. miles) is occupied by parks, woods, and forest, making this one of Europe's greenest urban centers.
The city center, once ringed by 14th-century fortified ramparts that were demolished in the 19th century, is now encircled by broad boulevards known collectively as the Petite Ceinture. Brussels is flat in its center and western reaches, where the now-vanished River Senne once flowed. To the east a range of low hills rises to the upper city, which is crowned by the Royal Palace and has some of the city's most affluent residential and prestigious business and shopping districts. The Grand-Place (Grote Markt in Dutch) stands at the very heart of Brussels, and is both a starting point and reference point for most visitors. An excellent railway network runs almost directly through the middle of the city, with Gare du Nord (Noord Station) just across the northern rim of the Petite Ceinture, Gare Centrale (Centraal Station) in the city center not far from the Grand-Place, and Gare du Midi (Zuidstation) near the southern rim.
Brussels sits smack dab on Europe's great continental divide, the oftentimes edgy interface between its Latin south and Germanic north. You'll hear both French and Dutch (along with a Babel of other tongues) spoken in its streets. It is bilingual: Bruxelles in French and Brussel in Dutch, and street names and places are in both languages. Grand-Place is Grote Markt in Dutch; Gare Centrale is Centraal Station; Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie is Koninklijke Munttheater. For convenience and to save space, we use only the French names.
Street Maps -- Go to Brussels International Tourism and pick up its Brussels Guide, which has a fairly detailed street map of the inner city, with principal tourist attractions marked. If you need a comprehensive street map, you can buy the Géocart Bruxelles et Périphérie at most news vendors and bookstores.
Finding an Address -- Wherever possible in this book, I've attempted to locate the addresses given by adding the name of a nearby square, a major thoroughfare, or a well-known sight. In French, the primary local language in Brussels, rue means "street," place means "square," and both avenue and boulevard (shortened to av. and bd., respectively) mean "avenue."
