Atomium & Mini Europe - Hallmark of Brussels

Atomium is universally recognized as the symbol of Brussels. This monument was originally built for a world fair in 1958 and the structure soon became a part of the Brussels skyline.

I have seen the Atomium many times from afar but I wanted a closer look. I went to the Atomium and the adjacent Mini-Europe park on a lazy saturday a few weeks ago.

Atomium looked just the same to me but just a little bit bigger - more like gigantic. It represents the 9 atoms of a molecule magnified 165 million times. The balls are interconnected by escalators and visitors have a panoramic view of the city from the top.

Atomium and the neighboring Mini - Europe are popular venues for special events in Brussels.
Mini-Europe is a carefully designed park with miniature models of the popular landmarks in Europe. Like the name suggests, the park has all the scaled models of monuments in Europe such as the Eiffel tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Colosseum and much more.

This park is a wonderful mix of history, geography, architecture and leisure. Most of the displays are fun and also interactive.

You can play with the remotely controlled boats in the canals (modeled like the ones in the English Channel)...The ground beneath you trembles with a loud bang if you activate the button on the volcano. The Spanish bullfighters move around in the ring amidst the roar of the spectators at the touch of another button.

While Atomium is a symbol of Brussels, Mini-Europe introduces the visitors to the marvels of the European continent.

Visiting this side of the city was a complete learning experience for me. Atomium and Mini-Europe are two attractions that one should not miss while in Brussels.