Design Museum Brussels
Brussels
1.53 Km 00:04
Atomium
An ideal visit for those who enjoy iconic places, reimagined industrial history and cultural experiences that blend memory, architecture and contemporary creation, in the heart of Brussels.
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Information
The Atomium, a monumental icon that tells Belgium’s story in a different way
It is impossible to miss the Atomium, a futuristic silhouette that has become a national symbol since the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Originally designed as a temporary pavilion, this giant steel structure has endured through the decades to become a lasting icon, instantly recognizable in the heart of Brussels.
An engineering masterpiece born from Expo 58
Behind its monumental spheres lies a story deeply connected to the optimism and bold vision of the post-war years. The Atomium embodies a time when innovation, science and progress inspired great hope. Built to leave a lasting impression during Expo 58, it quickly became much more than a pavilion: a symbol of Belgian industrial expertise and of the country’s forward-looking spirit.
A spectacular rebirth and a modern visitor experience
After two years of renovation, the monument reopened in February 2006, brighter and more impressive than ever. Today, the Atomium shines both through its striking architecture and through the experience it offers inside. The visit provides one of the most beautiful panoramic views of Brussels, a wide and inspiring perspective that reveals the full scale of the capital.
Inside, the journey continues through a permanent exhibition retracing more than 65 years of history, from the original Expo 58 pavilion to the contemporary icon it has become today.
Digital art and immersive experiences
The experience continues with a programme that embraces the present. More than half of the visitor route is dedicated to temporary exhibitions focused on digital art. Sound, light and immersive installations transform the visit into an unexpected sensory experience. Some works—such as digital installations and the elevator enhanced by monumental artistic creations—invite visitors to look up, listen and truly feel the space.
Extending the experience
Just about 150 metres away, the entrance ticket also includes access to the Design Museum Brussels, dedicated to design from the 20th century to the present day and its evolution. It’s a perfect way to extend the discovery, continuing the same spirit of creativity and innovation just steps from the Atomium.
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Car park
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Coach park40 parking spots
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Maestro
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Reduced mobility visitors
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7 Heysel / Heizel
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6 Heysel / Heizel
Opening times
Every day from 10.00 to 18.00 • Also open on 24/12 and 31/12 from 10.00 to 16.00 - on 25/12 and 1/01 from noon to 18.00.
Price
Design Museum Brussels included: • adults (18-65 years): €17 • seniors (65+): €15 • children (> 115 cm): €9 • students (< 18 years): €9 • children (< 115 cm): free of charge • disabled: free of charge • Combined ticket with Mini-Europe available
Guided tour
The Atomium and its history are made up of thousands of little anecdotes, one more astounding than the other! Make the most of your visit by enjoying the company of a professional certified tour guide who will allow you to discover all the secrets of the symbol of Brussels. Guided tour exclusively on request and prior reservation [at least 3 weeks prior to your visit, otherwise we cannot guarantee the availability of the guides]. Contact Rukiye Yildiz booking@atomium.be
Tour length
1h to 1.30 hrs
Group
Price Group rates start from 20 people. • Adults : €15 • Seniors (65+): €13 • Children (> 115 cm), children (< 18 years) and students: €7 • Children (< 115 cm) and disabled: free of charge • Combined tickets with Mini-Europe available
Guided tour The Atomium and its history are made up of thousands of little anecdotes, one more astounding than the other! Make the most of your visit by enjoying the company of a professional certified tour guide who will allow you to discover all the secrets of the symbol of Brussels. Guided tour exclusively on request and prior reservation [at least 3 weeks prior to your visit, otherwise we cannot guarantee the availability of the guides]. Contact Rukiye Yildiz booking@atomium.be
A gigantic work of art built for the 1958 Brussels Universal Exhibition, the Atomium represents an iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times. Don't miss this main attraction in the heart of the capital, which has become a national symbol.
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Experience this Belgian escapade by train at a unique price: buy your tickets for the Atomium and get a 50% discount with the Discovery Ticket!
Buy your e-ticket at https://www.atomium.be/home/Index and add a free Discovery Ticket voucher to your shopping basket.
Look out for the Discovery Ticket code on your Atomium e-ticket: it's a 16-character code.
Order your Discovery Ticket here.
Print your Discovery Ticket or show the PDF on your smartphone screen when you check in on the train.
Enjoy your journey to the Atomium!
Take advantage of the Discovery Ticket offer!
Weather in Brussels
Events
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Opening times
14/02/2026 - 14/02/2027: * monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday and sunday: from 10:00 to 18:00
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Price
Normal: 16,00 € - Seniors: 14,00 € - Etudiants: 8,50 €
Nimbus is a new artwork created by Visual System to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Atomium’s renovation. It extends the unique dialogue the collective has been cultivating for several years with this iconic architectural landmark and with its audiences from all over the world.
The work plays with and disrupts geometry: the monument’s original tubes are reconfigured into gigantic columns that give rise to a living, inhabited space, while the building’s characteristic mirrored spheres multiply across the surfaces, unsettling spatial and temporal references.
Nimbus shapes a suspended environment in which light and sound, carried by an original musical composition by Thomas Vaquié, form a vibrating halo, a protective sphere. The audience engages in dialogue with an evolving artwork, creating a singular, plural and universal experience through movement and individual sensibility.
In this way, Nimbus celebrates the architecture of the Atomium, revealing a monument in perpetual transformation, where diversity, contemplation and the collective imagination converge.
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Opening times
14/02/2026 - 14/02/2027: * monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday and sunday: from 10:00 to 18:00
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Price
Normal: 16,00 € - Seniors: 14,00 € - Etudiants: 8,50 €
Supply Chain combines mirrors, mobile LED screens, light beams and sound installations to create a choreography of light and reflections. The artwork is composed of hybrid modules installed on structures derived from industrial assembly tables, and is complemented by LED tubes, a central luminous circle and graphic matrices. It transforms the space while evoking the production and supply chains that underpin contemporary technologies.
Through this poetic and dynamic staging, the work reveals the connections between material, industry and the digital realm, inviting audiences to experience an immediate sensory immersion while questioning the invisible infrastructures that shape our technological societies.
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Opening times
: * monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday and sunday: from 10:00 to 18:00
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Price
Etudiants: 8,50 € - Normal: 16,00 € - Seniors: 14,00 €
ROTONDE is a permanent light and sound installation situated around the lower dome of the Atomium.
A circular structure of LED lines follows the architecture of the rotunda, while a down-lighting system projects vertical beams toward the ground, structuring the space in a full 360-degree experience.
The installation unfolds in a cycle of approximately twenty minutes. Light movements, vertical descents and variations in intensity are fully synchronized with an original sound composition, composed of subtle rhythms, spatial textures and finely crafted transitions.
Certain sequences are deliberately minimal, almost motionless; others introduce greater movement and contrast. The programming is designed to evolve calmly throughout the evening, establishing a continuous and lasting presence.
The project is conceived as a spatial composition, developed specifically for this part of the Atomium and for the visitors’ journey. Light structures the space, highlights the building’s lines and amplifies its nighttime presence, offering a new way of experiencing the architecture through movement and rhythm.
The installation is designed to accompany the life of the Atomium every evening. It gives the monument a nocturnal identity, presenting it as a place that remains active, visible and inhabited after dark.
It forms part of a broader ambition to animate architectural heritage through contemporary digital creation.
Designed for a minimum duration of twelve months, the installation offers a contemporary interpretation of the Atomium while placing its architecture at the very center of the experience.
