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This monument dates from the Exhibition of 1958 and has become the Eiffel Tower of Brussels. The Atomium is the visual representation of the concept of an "atom", and symbolizes an elementary iron crystal with its 9 atoms, magnified 165 billion times. It was built to honour the metal and iron industry and the new belief in the atomic power.
The monument is coated with aluminium and is 102 meters high. Each sphere has a diameter of 18 meters. It has recently been restored and makes for very striking photos especially when the sky is blue.
We stopped here on our “hop-on, hop-off” city tour, and in retrospect should have limited ourselves to taking those photos, but instead we decided to go inside. For this we paid 9 EUR. The main point of going inside seemed to us to be to go to the top, so we queued for about 40 minutes (it was a busy Saturday afternoon and this seems to be a popular outing for local families as well as tourists) for the lift that takes visitors to the uppermost sphere. To be honest we wished we hadn’t bothered. The views were OK but not spectacular as the city is rather distant and it was hard to pick out any landmarks apart from the infamous Heysel Stadium which lies just at the foot of the Atomium. I think we spent about 10 minutes looking at the view, if that, and then waited a further 20 minutes in another queue to descend. There is a small restaurant in this sphere, so a visit to that might justify the ascent – otherwise I would say don’t bother.
The lower spheres can be visited by means of escalators and stairs, and I enjoyed this a bit more as you get a better sense of being inside this strange monument. There were several small temporary exhibitions in these, including a slightly surreal collection of Barbie dolls. Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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 The Village by filipdebont
When you enter the Village, it is as you have entered an old Belgium Village, all the houses look like old buildings; there is a great atmosphere here.
There are plenty of restaurants, like Spanish, Mexican, fast food, Italian, Ice cream, . . .
So there is something for everyone. Leave a Comment Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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If you ever visit Brussels, you should pay a visit to Atomium; the centrepiece of the 1958 World Expo has become the Eiffel Tower of Brussels but some may consider, it is the white elephant of Brussels and initially it was supposed to be destroyed after the Expo.
The 102 meters high and 2,400 tons weight Atomium is a structure, which represents the concept of an "atom". It symbolizes an elementary iron molecule with its 9 atoms and magnified 150 billion times. It honored the metal and iron industry and the belief in the atomic power.
The Atomium stands on the outskirt of Brussels in the Heysel Park contrasting with the Gothic architecture in the town center. It has nine spheres representing the nine Belgian provinces, made of steel (earlier it was made of aluminum) connected by tubes along the twelve edges of the cube.
You can take a lift, once the fastest in the world, to the top for a view of the city. To the other spheres including restaurants and shops you can take slanting elevators. There is also an exhibition of the Atomium in comics from 1958 to the present, and a film on the building's construction.
Next to it locates the Mini-Europe park, which has miniatures of the famous monuments of EU at a scale of 1:25. Hungary is represented by the maquette of Széchenyi Bath building!!
Entrance fee € 7, however, free entrance for all people born during the period of the Expo 58 (from April 17 till October 19, 1958) on the day of their birthday.
Open daily from 10am till 7pm Phone: +32 2 475 47 75Directions: Located next to Mini-Europe park, beside the King Baudouin Stadium. Metro: Heizel/Heysel metro 1aWebsite: http://www.atomium.be
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The Atomium was designed for the International Exhibition of Brussels, that was held in 1958. It was supposed to be demolished after this, but proved too popular.
It is part sculpture and part architecture, and is based on the molecule of an atom, magnified millions of times.
There are 9 spheres joined by tubes, made from steel and covered in shiny aluminium.
It is now a top attraction in Brussels, used for temporary exhibitions and there is a great view from the top! Leave a Comment Phone: +32 (0) 2 475 47 77Directions: Metro: Heizel/HeyselWebsite: www.atomium.be Other Contact: info@atomium.be
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 by belgianchocolate
It certainly is sort of the symbol for belgium
and the least you can say is that it is a
weird monument , building whatever...
The Atomium is located a little bit
outside the city center but easy to reach.
Take the underground , line 1A , Heysel.
Het atomium is the molecule iron but
165 000 000 000 times larger.
It is constructed in steel and Aluminium after
a design of 'André Waterkeyn'
for the world expo in 1958.
Ok , it might just be Belgiums most famous
monument. It is also really bad maintained.
At least Belgium should try to keep up
appearance.
When I was a kid I was always told that the
9 globes where a symbol for the nine
provinces in Belgium. Nowadays Belgium
has become a federale state and province
Brabant got split up in a Flemish and a
Wallon part.
Here you can find
a nice site also in English about this building
and the events that take place there.
Often there are temporary exhibits or... Leave a Comment
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 by night by filipdebont
Especially the Atomium is lightened very beautifully. Leave a Comment Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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 Bruparck map by filipdebont
There are several activities that you can do here.
There is the big cinema complex Kinepolis with 24 (I think) halls and an IMAX theatre.
There is the Oceade, a tropical water paradise.
There is Mini-Europe, where you can see Europe’s most important buildings and Landmarks in scaled models.
There is the Village, a complex of cafes and restaurants, built as an old Belgium village. Leave a Comment Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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 The Brussels Landmark by filipdebont
It is one of the remains of the World Expo of 1958. It is designed by the engineer A. Waterkeyn.
It symbolise an iron molecule, 165 billion times enlarged.
Many years ago, when I was a little schoolboy, we visited the Atomium on a school journey. I can not remember a lot of this visit, the only thing I can remember is the splendid view over the city from the highest ball. Leave a Comment Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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 BBB : Big Balls of Brussels by filipdebont
The big Atomium monument has nine big balls. Each Ball has a diameter of 18 meters.
Inside there is a museum (of medicine), and on the top level there is a restaurant.
The price to visit :
- adults : 6 euro
- children (up to 12 year) : 3 euro
- children smaller then 1.20 m : free Leave a Comment Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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 closer look on the Atomium by filipdebont
With a digital camera it is really easy to experiment and to try different angles.
You can make as many pictures as you have storage room on your memory card(s).
More close-ups in my Atomium by night Travelogue Leave a Comment Directions: Metro: Heizel/Heysel
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