'Brussels' is synonymous with the European Union and the city wouldn't be complete without an EU-themed tourist attraction.Parlamentarium is the official visitor centre and gift shop, and it does what it says on the tin. Expect a multi-million pound utopia celebrating the Eastward march of the EU following its creation in the aftermath of the second world war. The depth of analysis is limited to colours spreading on a map; this is a world of progress without consequence.It appears to cater to all languages although one soundbite featuring the UK appeared only to play in French.There's a large room that allows you to walk over a map of Europe, positioning yourself over various cities to see a video describing how they owe their success to Brussels (York, for example has record low unemployment because of an EU grant - although I'm sure being outside the Eurozone certainly helped). There's another room with a wall showing you the the unrecognisable, smiling faces of the several hundred MEPs currently serving their time. You can listen to a 30-second soundbite from each of them. You can write your own policy suggestion and drop it in a postbox, although if one of these has ever become law I'll lick a shrimp.Of course, the experience all depends on your outlook - if you're more open minded you'll probably quite enjoy it - and the city of Brussels owes so much to the EU that it would be incomplete without this sort of attraction.Around the corner there's a guided tour of the parliament building itself, operating once or twice a day. Although we turned up on time, the tour was already full. Of the 500 million or so citizens of the EU, only about 20 at a time are permitted to visit. If you're not one of the chosen ones, you might as well tour Parlamentarium instead.
An excellent place to learn about Europe and the construction of the European Union from WWII until the present. There is nothing like it. Anyone who visits Brussels must go to the Parlamentarium.
Our daughter enjoyed the visit to the parlamentarium. She enjoyed finding out about how politics work and really enjoyed the role play game, this is not a tour for very small children
Lovely modern building with so much information via audio and visual letting you know what actually happens in the European Parliament, great souvenir shop
I was disappointed by the Parlamentarium, didn't particularly enjoy it or find it interesting or informative. We did it in conjunction with the European Parliament tour which I found far more interesting.
We visited the Parlamentarium on a Sunday so it was not that easy to find the entrance. But once you find it you are very well received and can chose the language for your audio guide.I'm not too fond of politics, and as Swiss I'm not a big fan of European politics but the exhibition is well organized and covers the history of the EU (very interest) as well as the law making process in the European Parliament (which also affects Switzerland in the end) on a 360-degree digital surround screen. It's a great place to learn about politics, and it's worth a short visit. Go there when you visit the European quarter anyway or if you are really interested in European politics.
I went on a Saturday and with all other surrounding buildings closed the area was very quiet and the museum was not that clearly signposted as open. We nearly gave up but glad we didn't. Very impressed with the helpful staff and interactivity. A timeline of the formation of the European union comes to life with your own navigation using a handset and earpiece and the processes and procedures of the European parliament are well explained through different visual images and participatory screens. Whilst being educational and propagandist it had all the young people visiting quite engaged in a practical and realistic way. All styles of learning and taking in information are catered for. It is well worth a couple of hours of visiting time with a cafe and shop at the end. I would put it in the top 10 of places to visit in Brussels. It is modern and thought provoking - even if you don't support the political messages it conveys.
Interactive museum, you need like 2 days to visit the entire place and see It all... very very long exhibition. After one hour we left the place, exhausted!Not sure you learn lot of things after all...It seems your brain is flooded by all those informations
We were here a couple of times with student groups. It takes about 45 minutes to go through. Worth going if you are an EU citizen.
We left a couple of hours spare to do the Parlamentarium, but to do everything they have to offer it would take a lot longer than this. It is exceptionally entertaining and I learnt an awful lot in such a short amount of time. I truly recommend a visit but leave enough time!