The futuristic architecture of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Brussels is a city of architectural contrasts, of majestic medieval splendor but also of sleek modern marble palaces where the whirling wheels of the European Union carry on spinning 24 hours a day. Placed right at the heart of modern-day Europe, the European Parliament Visitor Centre in Brussels enables visitors to understand the political and cultural legacy and achievements of the EU.
The European Quarter lies to the east of Brussels’ imposing and ornate Gothic Grand-Place, and forms a gleaming mini-Gotham City of offices, meeting rooms, great conference halls, apartment blocks, hotels and restaurants that has seeped slowly outwards since the European Parliament arrived there in 1992. With 751 members serving the 503 million – often very disparate – citizens of the EU, the whole district overflows with 25,000 Eurocrats, journalists and officials from 28 different countries working for a political union that stretches from Portugal in the west to Romania in the east, covering an area of over four million sq km (1,544,409 million sq miles).
A visit to the European Parliament Visitor Centre – nicknamed the Parlamentarium – is the best way to understand how this creaking megalith works; entrance is free of charge and it is remarkably family friendly, with routes through the multimedia presentations and interactive information points designed specifically for children.
The permanent exhibitions in the Parlamentarium opened in 2011 at a cost of more than €21 million and showcase the lengthy integration process of the European Union since its inception in 1950. The highlight of the visit is a clever 36-degree surround-screen simulation of the European Parliament in session discussing and amending laws; there are touch-screen biographies of various Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and interviews with several EU officials in which they explain what the Union means to them. Hand-held guides are available in the 24 official languages of the EU and lead visitors through an hour’s self-guided tour of the two-floor exhibition.
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