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All 234 Brussels Attractions »

Musical Instruments Museum (Musee des Instruments de Musique)

Rue Montagne de la Cour 2, Brussels 1000, Belgium
32 (02) 545-0130
Ranked #16 of 161 attractions in Brussels
4.0 of 5 stars 210 Reviews
Type: Specialty Museums, Architectural Buildings
Activities: Dining, City walk sightseeing
Owner description: As soon as it opened at the end of the 19th century, the luxurious Old England department store earned an excellent reputation for its highly...... more » Owner description: As soon as it opened at the end of the 19th century, the luxurious Old England department store earned an excellent reputation for its highly distinctive building. The entrance to the building is a jewel of the Art nouveau style while the rest is in perfect harmony with the neoclassical ensemble on the Place Royale, and just around the corner from the Grand Place and Central Station, no less! It's here in this architectural gem that the MIM took up residence in June 2000. The museum's reputation is mainly built on its extraordinary collections. With a wealth of some 7000 instruments, the MIM is currently an internationally renowned instrumental museum. Once inside, you'll embark on a true tour of the musical world. After your trip past the some 1500 pieces on exhibit, the instruments and their history will no longer hold any secrets: from viole da gamba from the Court of Brussels to the 20th century theremin, and even including the African kora! And be sure not to miss our area devoted to the instruments of Adolphe Sax. The MIM is nothing other than a place to experience music. An infrared headphone system allows each visitor to explore the thematic tours to the tune of the melodious sound of the instruments presented. Translation is no problem. Everyone knows that music is a universal language. « less
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210 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
Borsbeek
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 22, 2012 NEW

The building itself is wonderfully restored and houses a huge number of instruments. You can hear most of them through the device that guides you through the museum. On top of the building there is a nice restaurant with a magnificent view of the city. More

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Brussels, Belgium
Contributor
14 reviews 14 reviews
Reviews in 14 cities Reviews in 14 cities
18 helpful votes 18 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 22, 2012 NEW

If you stay in Brussels, you MUST visit the Grand-Place ! Even although I live In Brussels, I can’t get enough of it. The architecture is stunning, history is everywhere. But you will also like this place for the food and the Belgian beers. If I were a tourist, I would stay at the Novotel Brussels off Grand'Place or another... More

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N. California
Senior Contributor
47 reviews 47 reviews
Reviews in 26 cities Reviews in 26 cities
16 helpful votes 16 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 21, 2012 NEW

An extensive collection of musical instruments, ancient and modern. Unfortunately, the experience is marred by the fact that the museum is *very* poorly lit and that most information is available in Dutch and French only. The "audio guides" allow you to hear sounds from the instruments, but no audio presentation of information. Personally, I have a fairly extensive knowledge of... More

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See 6 more reviews by W0nka for Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
2 of 5 stars Reviewed May 21, 2012 NEW

Bit boring for me,But sure you will enjoy if you like to see old instruments with a good polish More

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See 3 more reviews by steve w for Brussels
Washington DC, District of Columbia
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 18, 2012

The museum has a very interesting collection of instruments. Seeing really early versions of instruments that are quite familiar was a good way to understand how music has evolved. At many of the cases you can plug in and listen to music being played by various instruments. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that at some of the cases with ancient or... More

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Adelaide
Contributor
18 reviews 18 reviews
Reviews in 16 cities Reviews in 16 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 14, 2012

This museum was quite good if you're interested in musical instruments, but you won't find out much if you only speak English. Also too many of the audio facilities for listening to the instruments needed repair. More

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Orlando, Florida
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 5, 2012

Very nice display of ancient musical instruments, particularly keyboards, stringed instruments, and also early brass (including info on the Sax family, "inventors" of the saxaphone! Audio "tour" pretty lame, as was mostly for the sound of the instruments. Very poor/non-existant English translations of signs. Very interesting none the less! Worth a visit! More

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See 3 more reviews by larrythecomputerguy for Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 5, 2012

I recommend to take the guided tour so that you can maximize your knowledge on instruments! More

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See 5 more reviews by JohVan for Brussels
Alameda, California
Contributor
16 reviews 16 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 4, 2012

The art deco building is very lovely and the rooftop cafe is worth the visit but I can't say the exhibit is fully realized. We were given a headset with a plug to "plug into" the different musical instrument exhibits. More than 50% of the "plugs ins" had awful audio quality and it was unclear which instrument we were hearing... More

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See 3 more reviews by SFBayAreaIntrepid for Brussels
Raleigh, NC
Senior Contributor
28 reviews 28 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
21 helpful votes 21 helpful votes
2 of 5 stars Reviewed May 4, 2012

Housed behind an amazing exterior, this museum was supposed to be one of the highlights of our trip. We're a very musical family and were looking forward to the exhibits, but it suffers from two significant problems: 1. The exhibits, which consist of antique instruments and an audio jack to let you hear what they sound like, are not all... More

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See 6 more reviews by Cokead for Brussels

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