[129][130] Some of Brussels' municipalities, such as Schaerbeek, Etterbeek, Ixelles, and Saint-Gilles, were developed during the heyday of Art Nouveau and have many buildings in that style. Reference rates for all the official currencies of non-euro area Member States of the European Union and world currencies with the most liquid active spot FX markets are set and published. [123], Brussels has a large concentration of Muslims, mostly of Moroccan, Turkish, Syrian and Guinean ancestry. In French, Bruxelles is pronounced [bʁysɛl] (the x is pronounced /s/, like in English, and the final s is silent) and in Dutch, Brussel is pronounced [ˈbrʏsəl].

Geographically and linguistically, it is a bilingual enclave in the monolingual Flemish Region. Spanish Netherlands 1556–1714 Brussels has a large concentration of immigrants from other countries, and their children, including many of Moroccan (mainly Riffian and Berber) and Turkish ancestry, together with French-speaking black Africans from former Belgian colonies, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Serving as the centre of administration for Belgium and Europe, Brussels' economy is largely service-oriented. Coordonnées GPS : Lat: 40.6827800 / Lon : 46.3605600. In 2000, it and eight other European cities were named European Capital of Culture. [40] Also, the interiors of some metro stations are designed by artists. [117] Nevertheless, about three out of four residents are Belgian nationals. [168] The King Baudouin Stadium is also home of the annual Memorial Van Damme athletics event, Belgium's foremost track and field competition, which is part of the Diamond League. The Brussels sprout, which has long been popular in Brussels, and may have originated there, is also named after the city.[152].

[146] The International Fantastic Film Festival of Brussels (BIFFF) is organised during the Easter holidays[147] and the Magritte Awards in February. Brussels has had a distinguished artist scene for many years. [172] Its GDP per capita is nearly double that of Belgium as a whole,[14] and it has the highest GDP per capita of any NUTS 1 region in the EU, at ~$80,000 in 2016. There is much controversy on the division of 19 municipalities for a highly urbanised region, which is considered as (half of) one city by most people. This language shift, the Francisation of Brussels, is rooted in the 18th century and accelerated after Belgium became independent and Brussels expanded past its original boundaries.

[29] The Brussels metro is the only rapid transit system in Belgium. In the Brabantian dialect of Brussels, they are called Brusseleers or Brusseleirs. Regions are one component of Belgium's institutions; the three communities being the other component. as decimal separator (such as UK or US format). The Kunstenfestivaldesarts, an international performing arts festival, is organised every year in May in about twenty different cultural houses and theatres throughout the city. The current major buildings are the Berlaymont building of the commission, symbolic of the quarter as a whole, the Justus Lipsius building of the Council and the Espace Léopold of the Parliament. [176] In addition, Brussels holds more than 1,000 business conferences annually, making it the ninth most popular conference city in Europe.[177]. The scheme was subsequently taken over by Villo!. Its status is roughly akin to that of a federal district. The 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region are divided into six police zones,[205] all bilingual (French and Dutch): The Brussels Fire and Emergency Medical Care Service, commonly known by its acronym SIAMU (DBDMH), operates in the 19 municipalities of Brussels. Through the marriage of his daughter Mary of Burgundy (who was born in Brussels) to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Low Countries fell under Habsburg sovereignty.

[100], Since the founding of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830, Brussels has transformed from being almost entirely Dutch-speaking (Brabantian dialect to be exact), to being a multilingual city with French (specifically Belgian French) as the majority language and lingua franca. The Jazz Station in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is a museum and archive on jazz, and a venue for jazz concerts.[142]. Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Brussels contains over 80 museums. In 2006, a public bicycle-sharing programme was introduced. The Brabantine Gothic Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula remains a prominent feature in the skyline of downtown Brussels.