Museum Van Buuren

Charming, elegant Art Deco house museum
Noteworthy for: The Museum Van Buuren is best in June, when its rose garden is in full bloom.

Word to the wise: The museum is only open in the afternoon.
The Art Deco house of Dutch banker and art collector David Van Buuren is a place of real beauty. The final resting place for David and his wife Alice's art collection, it is filled with four centuries of art, wonderful 1930s furniture and some of the most psychedelic carpets ever woven.

Art-wise, there are some real gems here, from Brueghel's "Fall of Icarus" to paintings by Van Gogh and surrealist Max Ernst, while the place also provides an interesting window into sophisticated Belgian family life between the wars.

Outside the house, the gardens are another draw, laid out with little heart-shaped knots of bushes and flowers and shady pergolas to sit under in hot weather. Manageably sized, its one of the more personal and charming places Brussels offers to visitors.