Brussels has more museums per square kilometre than almost any other European capital. From Flemish Primitive painting to postmodern architecture, from dinosaurs to steam trains: the cultural wealth is overwhelming. Fortunately, the majority of Brussels museums have worked on wheelchair accessibility in recent years. In this guide we review the most important museums where you can soak up culture without worry — including practical info about metro access, disabled parking, EDC discounts and peak times to avoid.
Want to combine several museums in one weekend? Then check out our Brussels city trip for wheelchair users — 2 days for a complete schedule including accommodation and dining.
Art houses on and around the Mont des Arts
The Magritte Museum on the Place Royale is fully wheelchair-accessible via a separate side entrance. Lifts connect the four floors that chronologically unfold the surrealist's work. Adapted toilets are present in the hall and on the third floor. Beware: at peak times (weekends and school holidays, between 11am and 3pm) the lift is busy. So preferably reserve a time slot early in the morning (opening at 10am) or late in the afternoon (after 4pm) via musee-magritte-museum.be. Visitors with a European Disability Card receive free admission, together with one companion. For an extended audio experience in NL/FR/EN/DE, audio guides are available at the desk — see also our context on audio guides for blind and visually impaired visitors.
Nearby you will find the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, with masterpieces by Bruegel, Rubens and the Flemish Primitives. The different buildings (Old Masters, Fin-de-Siècle, Magritte) are accessible via underground connections. All rooms have lifts, and wheelchair rental is available at the desk. Reservations via fine-arts-museum.be. Note: the complex is in the middle of a multi-year renovation (see sub-section below).
The cultural palace BOZAR, designed by Victor Horta, is fully accessible thanks to thorough renovations. Raised places for wheelchair users are provided in every concert hall, and there are adapted toilets on every floor. Tickets with a disabled seat must be ordered in advance via the accessibility desk of bozar.be. For hard-of-hearing visitors: several halls are equipped with an induction loop — details in our guide on induction loops and sign language in Belgium.
Music and dinosaurs
The Musical Instruments Museum is housed in the iconic Art Nouveau "Old England" building next to the Place Royale. Lifts take you to all floors, including the rooftop terrace overlooking Brussels. Visitors receive an audio guide that automatically plays music at each instrument — a marvel of universal design. Adapted toilets on floors zero and three. The MIM participates in the European Disability Card scheme: holder + companion free admission. Preferably avoid Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons when school groups pass through the museum.
A little further on, in the Leopold Park, is the Museum of Natural Sciences with its world-famous Iguanodon gallery. The museum is fully wheelchair-accessible: a lift connects the floors, the wide paths between the skeletons allow ample manoeuvring, and interactive stations are placed at a low height. For children there is an adapted "Dinokids" zone, also accessible for young wheelchair users. People with a disability receive one free companion; with a European Disability Card the visitor themselves is also free. Reservations via naturalsciences.be. Weekends are very busy — preferably come on a weekday after 2pm.
History and comic strips
The Art & History Museum at the Cinquantenaire Park is an immense building with collections from all civilisations. A recently renovated accessible entrance on the north side avoids the historic stairs of the main entrance. Lifts connect all wings. Due to the enormous surface area, it is advisable to plan a visit around one specific section.
The Belgian Comic Strip Centre in another Horta building is almost entirely accessible: a lift reaches all exhibition halls and there is an adapted entrance to the left of the main portal. Permanent exhibitions on Tintin, the Smurfs and Lucky Luke make the museum popular with all ages. A free audio guide in four languages leads you through the collection.
Brussels identity
The BELvue Museum, right next to the royal palace, tells the story of Belgium and its democracy through seven thematic rooms (democracy, prosperity, solidarity, pluralism, migration, language and Europe) with more than two hundred objects. The building is fully accessible via a separate side entrance with ramp and lift. On Wednesday afternoons (from 2pm) and on the first Sunday of the month, entry is free for everyone. EDC holders + companion always enter free of charge. Reservations via belvue.be. Below the museum lies the archaeological site Coudenberg, where the remains of the former palace of Charles V are located — this site is also (partially) accessible via a lift departing from the BELvue entrance.
Technical heritage: trains and cars
Train World in Schaerbeek is one of the newest and best-accessible museums in Brussels. The route takes you past real historic trains and is completely flat, without thresholds. Even some carriages are accessible via ramps and lifts, a unique feature in the museum world. Adapted toilets in several places, spacious disabled parking at Schaerbeek station.
Another gem for technology enthusiasts is Autoworld in the southern part of the Cinquantenaire halls. The gigantic building with its historic metal roof structure houses more than two hundred vintage cars. The museum is completely flat and accessible, with a lift to the mezzanine. Disabled parking right at the entrance.
Stars and Art Nouveau
The Planetarium of Brussels on the Heysel plateau has an adapted entrance with lift to the dome hall. In the dome, four seats are reserved for wheelchair users with a perfect view of the projection. The surrounding exhibitions are also fully accessible.
Finally, the Horta Museum in Saint-Gilles — the former home of architect Victor Horta. Here we have to be honest: the historic building is only partially wheelchair-accessible. Only the ground-floor rooms (dining room, salon, winter garden) are reachable without stairs. The upper floors with the famous staircase are unfortunately not feasible. However, the museum has an extensive virtual tour available, as an alternative to what you cannot visit on site.
Status 2027 — big museums
The Brussels museum landscape has shifted considerably in recent years. Below is a brief update on the most-visited houses:
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts (MRBAB). The complex is in a large-scale phased renovation. According to the Buildings Agency, phases 5 and 6 run between 2026 and 2028, with a full expected reopening around 2030. The Old Masters, Fin-de-Siècle wings and the separate Magritte Museum remain open in the meantime, but parts of the "Extension" wing are being emptied for the works. Check shortly before your visit which rooms are actually accessible.
- Magritte Museum. Simply stays open, even during the MRBAB renovation. The audio guide is available in NL, FR, EN, DE, ES and IT. For groups you can book a separate guided tour through the museum.
- BELvue Museum. The permanent collection has been redesigned in recent years around seven democratic themes and counts over two hundred objects. Combine with the Coudenberg site for half a day of history on one ticket.
- MIMA (Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art). Important to mention: MIMA closed its doors definitively on 5 January 2025 after a sharp decline in visitor numbers. Mentions elsewhere on the web are no longer current — plan no more visits here.
- WIELS (contemporary art centre). Still active in Forest with a strong international programme. In 2026 exhibitions include "Burning the Days" (28 March – 9 August 2026) and "Ali Cherri: Pray, Lips of Clay" (5 September 2026 – 3 January 2027). Reservations via wiels.org.
- Kanal — Centre Pompidou. Contrary to earlier announcements, the renovated Citroën building only opens on 28 November 2026 — not in 2025 as originally planned. From then, Brussels will have one more major museum for modern and contemporary art and architecture.
Under-the-radar museums
Alongside the great classics, there are two accessible alternatives less prominent in travel guides:
- WIELS (Forest). A former brewery converted into a centre for contemporary art. Wheelchair users use the entrance at the rear near the parking; lifts take you to all major exhibition floors. One small room on the fourth floor is not accessible due to the historic character of the building — the rest is. Reservation link and current exhibitions on wiels.org/en/practical-info.
- Kanal — Centre Pompidou (from November 2026). According to its own accessibility page, the building has four threshold-free entrances with automatic doors, several lifts between the five floors, and free manual wheelchairs in the "Welcome room" on the ground floor (preferably reserve in advance via tickets@kanal.brussels). There are also low-stimulus zones — useful for visitors with autism (ASD).
Both houses are a good complement to the classic Mont des Arts route and usually much quieter.
Practical tips for museum visits in Brussels
Metro access. The Brussels metro is partially accessible: stations such as Arts-Loi, Trône, Hankar, Schuman and Heysel have lifts. Not all lines have a lift at every station, however — use the metro map with accessibility labels on the STIB website to plan your route in advance. Tram and bus lines are almost all level-accessible, with automatic entry ramps.
Disabled parking. Around every major museum cluster you will find reserved disabled parking spaces: near BOZAR and Magritte in the Grand Place or Albertine car park, near the Cinquantenaire in the Kortenberglaan car park, and near Train World in the station car park. The European parking card gives you free access everywhere, including in paid zones.
Free companion tickets. Almost all Brussels museums work with the "Museum PASS for people with a disability", whereby a companion can enter free of charge. Enquire at the till or reserve online — the discount is automatically applied on presentation of a European parking card or a CIM certificate.
European Disability Card (EDC). The most important tool for disabled visitors in Brussels. With the free European Disability Card you and your companion get free admission to an ever-growing list of museums, including the War Heritage Institute, Museums of the City of Brussels, Fashion & Lace Museum, KBR Museum, Sewer Museum, Musical Instruments Museum, Train World, Royal Museums of Art and History, Planetarium, Meise Botanic Garden and the AfricaMuseum. Since 2025, Brussels Museums also applies the EDC during Nocturnes and Museum Night Fever. You can apply for the card via VAPH (Flanders), PHARE (Brussels) or AVIQ (Wallonia) — processing takes an average of 4 to 6 weeks.
Brussels Card + EDC combination. The Brussels Card (24, 48 or 72 hours) gives access to 47 museums plus public transport (in the "Brussels Card + STIB" variant). The card itself offers no disabled discount. In practice, the combination is usually not attractive: if you are an EDC holder, you already enter most of the above museums for free, and then the Brussels Card is only useful for the non-museum benefits (discounts at restaurants, boat tours, other attractions). Calculate beforehand which of the two works out cheaper for you — for a classic two-day city trip with five to six museums, the EDC route is almost always the cheapest.