Give us a swirl

Big windows, great streams of light, swirling wrought iron, striking combinations of metal and glass: Brussels is an outstanding city for Art Nouveau architecture. At the turn of the 19th century the city was buzzing, not unlike it is now. At that time the effervescence and spirit of innovation resulted in the building of a number of superb properties commissioned in the new style of the day by middle-class merchants and artists, hoteliers and also civic authorities.

One of the greatest exponents of Art Nouveau was the brilliant architect Victor Horta. Born in Belgium, he moved to Paris as a young adult and there, much inspired by the emerging Impressionists, he became an interior designer. After his father's death in 1880 he returned to Belgium and enrolled as a student at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. He then became an assistant to his former professor, the architect Alphonse Balat and together they designed the royal greenhouses at Laeken, the project showing dextrous use of steel and glass. With that, Horta's architectural career got off to a flying start, and he never looked back. He became an enormously respected figure, influencing many other architects from Charles Rennie Mackintosh to Frank Lloyd Wright. He was created a Belgian Baron in the 1930s and died in 1947 before completing his last building, the art decoBrussels Central Station, which was finished by his pupil Maxime Brunfaut.

You could spend at least a day revelling in the Art Nouveau sights of the city. Autrique House at Chaussée de Haecht 266 was Horta's first major work. It was designed as a dignified, private home for his friend Eugène Autrique in 1893. Today it has been meticulously restored and serves as a museum celebrating the remarkable buildings of Brussels (www.autrique.be; open Wednesday to Sunday from noon until 6pm). Horta's best known, and probably most admired, work is the house he built for himself between 1898 and 1901. This magnificent residence on Rue Américaine 25 is now preserved as the Musée Horta. With its glorious twirls of ironwork, its bright airy rooms and stained glass windows it is sublime place to visit (www.hortamuseum.be; open daily except Mondays, from 2pm to 5.30pm).

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Other great Horta works include the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée that Horta originally designed as an amazing textile warehouse and the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Bozar).

Horta was by no means the only Art Nouveau architect at work in Brussels. One of the most beautiful of the city's buildings of this period was designed in 1905 by the painter, decorator and architect Paul Cauchie. It was devised and decorated by Cauchie and his wife Caroline Voet to serve both as their home and as a showpiece to encourage architectural commissions. Maison Cauchie at Rue des Francs 5 (www.cauchie.be; open the first weekend of each month from 10am until 1pm and then from 2pm until 5.30pm) is an all-encompassing work of art. Behind its wonderful façade, the house holds even greater treasure. Its rooms are fabulously designed on the concept of what Cauchie and his wife termed "total art", the paintings, sculptures, wall hangings and furnishings carefully orchestrated to create an overall effect.

Quite apart from visiting these private residences you can take in some of Brussels' Art Nouveau glories at a variety of cafés and brasseries. Restaurant Falstaff, for instance, at Rue Henri Maus 19 opposite the Bourse, is resplendent with turn-of-the-century stained glass. The tea room and brasserie La Porteuse D'eau at Avenue Jean Volders 48, is a splendid place to sip a coffee or order traditional Belgium dishes amidst lacework iron and wonderful glass. While at Rue Royale 316, De Ultime Hallucinatie bar, with its jaw-dropping interior of curving wood and iron and its magnificent scrolls of stained glass, is a stunning place to sample Belgian beers.

HAPPY FAMILIES

Girls and boys, mothers and fathers, take cheerful note: Brussels is as welcoming to young people as adults – and the city presents a wealth of choice for fun activities and sights to absorb the entire family. Discover your sensations at Scientastic – by Bourse metro station, two minutes walk from the Grand Place (www.scientastic.com; open daily 2pm to 5.30pm Wednesdays and weekends, and 10am until 5.30pm all other days). Here you can turn your voice into that of an alien, dance with shadows and more – and through lively hands-on experiments learn about touch, smell, taste, sound. You can even step into a gigantic, interactive kaleidoscope.

Currently there's more colourful entertainment on offer at the Children's Museum at Rue du Bourgmestre 15 (www.museedesenfants.be). You won't find any glass cases here, visitors between four and 12 years old learn about themselves (and life ) by participating in games and play. The current "exhibition" is about the colour red. Interactive workshops and role plays take place to explore associations with the colour, from alarm signals and real hearts to red hearts and Valentine's Day.

Over at Parc du Cinquantenaire you can walk around lovely gardens and take in ponds and waterfalls. And you'll also find Autoworld which shows the evolution of the car through a wonderful collection of more than 400 vehicles including a great range of vintage machines (www.autoworld.be; open daily from 10am until 5pm). For another take on the mechanical world head over to the enchanting Toy Museum at Rue de l'Association 24 (www.museedujouet.eu; open daily from 10am until noon and 2pm until 6pm). Here you can ride a merry-go-round, visit a schoolroom from 1900 and board a tram, along with looking at the amazing range of toys, the oldest of which dates back to 1830.

Meanwhile, you will almost inevitably be amazed by the Museum of Natural Sciences at Rue Vautier 29 (www.naturalsciences.be/museum; open Tuesday to Friday from 9.30am until 4.45pm and weekends from 10am until 6pm). Europe's largest dinosaur exhibition is staged in a stunning new gallery that also offers interactive displays and a geological laboratory for children. Elsewhere, this dynamic museum presents absorbing exhibits on minerals, evolution (exploring the life of the first human being in Europe) and biodiversity (how is a sea shell made? what is an axolotl?) as well as a host of temporary workshops and shows.