This is The Atomium. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it is their number one tourist attraction. It was the main pavilion for the 1958 Worlds Fair. It is an extremely well-loved icon by the Belgian people and was built to represent the "democratic will to maintain peace by all nations."
We happened upon it on an Easter Sunday that was also the first day it re-opened after it had been refurbished. There was a live band playing at the base and crowds of people eager to see it after it's facelift.
It now houses a restaurant at the top of the eighth sphere and beautiful views of Brussels. When we were there, the viewing area had not been re-opened yet and they had a very temporary cafe set-up with belgian waffles and snacks.
There are exhibitions inside the Atomium and when we were there, there was an exhibition of cars. You can also learn all about it's history. And next door is Mini-Europe, which is Europe in miniature that you can walk around and take the shortest tour of Europe in history. We didn't visit Mini-Europe as we were off to find an Easter meal.
Have you ever heard of or been to the Atomium?
Photo credit : all photos taken by the youngest Unpaved Road child
I'm linking up with www.walkingontravels.com for Friday Postcards!
I have never heard of this but it sure looks cool! Thanks for linking up today! - Keryn from Walking On Travels
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this place, but it sounds like something that my family would enjoy. I had a hard time figuring out the photo with the backs of people. At first, I thought they were on a spiral staircase, but on second glance, I think that they are perhaps in a tunnel moving to another sphere?
ReplyDeleteYes, Michele that photo was taken at the bottom of an escalator looking up - moving from the main floor up into the first sphere.It was quite an unusual place and great to take kids!
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