Mini‑Europe in Brussels: Top Highlights From Our Experience

While it’s certainly not a high-tech experience, Mini-Europe offers a lot of fun exploration through many of Europe’s sights, sounds, and its storied past.

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Traveling to Mini-Europe

We booked our tickets online as a combo ticket for visiting both Mini-Europe and the Atomium. That cost us €35/adult and €21.80/child. Note that Mini-Europe is closed annually between early January and mid-March, so best not to expect to come through most of winter.

Getting ourselves over to Mini-Europe is pretty easy if using the metro. It’s only €2.80 per paper ticket through most of the network (not the airport). Children under the age of 6 are free, while those aged 6-12 can get a J pass (we heard it costs €5) to travel anywhere for free after. Given we only intended to take one roundtrip on the metro, we didn’t bother getting a J pass and just got regular metro tickets for our kids.

You’ll want to make your way to the Heysel/Heizel metro stop.

From there, just follow the signs to head over to Mini-Europe.

And once the kids saw it, they were off! That giant orb structure in the background is the Atomium, which we’ll get to separately.

Get your guidebook

After showing the employee your tickets. you can grab a handy guidebook that provides more detail about everything you’ll see while at Mini-Europe. There are guidebooks in many different languages, so just ask if they have yours in stock when you arrive.

There’s also a sign right at the front of the experience that talks about how to make the most of your visit to Mini-Europe. Consider it the real brief Cliff’s Notes version of the guidebook.

You’ll get a tour across Europe

As you would expect from a place called “Mini-Europe”, all the exhibits are based entirely on European cities. You might immediately ask if there’s anything you can get out of it as a non-European. We’ll say two things to that:

It’s a lovely summary of the places we’ve been to.
We can always get ideas of where we’d love to visit next.

It’s not just all the major cities that are honored here; some exhibits contain smaller cities that you might not have heard of. Let’s walk through some of the more notable exhibits we saw.

Copenhagen, Denmark

One of the first exhibits you’ll come across is of Copenhagen, Denmark. We loved our visit to Copenhagen, and being here immediately brought back memories of it. Naturally, Alex doesn’t remember coming here, but we’ll forgive him since he was only a 1-year-old at the time. They have an impressive replica of Nyhavn that almost makes you feel like you’re there.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The kids will of course remember Amsterdam because we just came from there. It’s nice seeing a city and then coming here to get the brief summary of it. If your trip allows it, it’s probably nicer to end your visit to Europe here than to have this be the start.

They even had lots of people staring at hundreds of wheels of cheese. Seems accurate.

United Kingdom and its Brexit dilemma

It’s actually cute that they put in a (fake) customs check as you move along your visit to Mini-Europe. As you probably know, traveling between the European Union and the United Kingdom will require a passport check at a minimum. Up to this point, we’ve just been visiting northern Europe, but this is the transition to the rest of Europe.

They even have dotted lines on the ground to let you know you’re entering a new region.

Alex enjoyed posing as the King’s Guard (or the Queen’s Guard, depending on who holds the crown).

There’s even an interactive exhibit that depicts the infamous Brexit movement, where the UK voted to isolate itself from the rest of Europe. They show scenes of public discontent, the voting results, and the aftermath.

Naturally, since “Brexit” is Britain’s exit, they also show their “Bregret” being Britain’s regret over Brexit. Wait, you mean it’s possible that voters think the grass is greener on the only side only to realize the mistake they made? Funny how that works.

The true UK exhibit includes Big Ben and Westminster Hall. The amount of detail they have on these miniature exhibits is quite impressive. Alex was in London when he was 1 but again he doesn’t remember it (and, no, just passing through Heathrow doesn’t count as visiting).

Or, check out Bath, which was similarly impressive.

And, yes, geographically, they accurately stuck Ireland over here. While we’ve only visited Dublin and parts of Cork up to this point, there’s a lot more we’d love to one day see of the Emerald Isle.

Paris, France via the Chunnel

I’m sure you know the “Chunnel”. You know, that train tunnel that runs underneath the English Channel that connects the UK and France? It’s rather cute they have a miniature version of the Chunnel as you move out of the UK and back to Europe. Say what you want about Mini-Europe, but they did a good job with the ordering of the exhibits.

What’s the most recognizable landmark in the world? Arguably, it’s the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Seeing it made the kids reminisce a bit about our travels there.

Not-so-small version of the Eiffel Tower

Of course, another famous Parisian landmark has to be the Arc de Triomphe, which has been hit with the shrink ray here. All of those scenes carved into the side of the monument have been recreated here. That had to have been a painstaking process to copy.

Don’t forget about Spanish bullfighting

Our adventures so far have only brought us to Madrid in Spain and we have yet to visit Sevilla. There is some crowd noise pumped in that brings the bullfighting stadium to life.

This one is interactive, and you’ll get to make the bull run around at the sight of the red muleta. Thankfully, no bulls or bullfighters are harmed in this child-friendly exhibit.

Italy’s lengthy history

If you’re a big Italy lover, several of Italy’s most famous cities are on display here. Who could forget the awesome Leaning Tower of Pisa? While we’ve been to Pisa before, the kids have yet to visit. Perhaps one day they’ll get to see it with us.

And, of course, there’s the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Jenn and I have been here before–back when it was free to visit for all. I have to admit we found it a bit overrated and kind of reminds us of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. And when you’re trying to copy the thing that’s copying you, well that leads to a weird place.

Also here is the beautiful city of Venice, Italy and Piazza San Marco. The one thing they’re missing is the Basilica, but otherwise it almost feels like you’re there.

Berlin, Germany

Because the exhibits at Mini-Europe are a celebration of the history of Europe, naturally the Berlin Wall is on display. This historic separation of East and West Germany has been transformed into an interactive exhibit where you can witness the collapse of the wall.

And immediately next to it is this segment proudly identified as “real piece of the Berlin Wall”. Didn’t think you were going to get a museum vibe here, huh?

Ukraine

While Ukraine is still not a member of the European Union, they do have a rather small exhibit here at Mini-Europe. We’re not going to get into the horrors of what the Ukrainian people have been through for years, but everything is calm here at the miniature version. There’s also a small bit of information about the situation and a blurb that the scenes were created in collaboration with the Embassy of Ukraine.

There are many interactive exhibits to explore

We touched on a few of the interactive exhibits already, but there’s more to do here than just walk around and see the displays. There are buttons all over the place that make the scenery come to life, whether it’s making characters move or adding music.

There’s also an exhibit where you can make the Dutch windmills turn. Alex tried his hand at it. Unbeknownst to him, someone behind him was trying to film the windmills and he stopped right in the middle of her filming. Oops.

Turning the windmills in the Netherlands

There are some European-based planes here for aviation fans. It’s not as impressive of an exhibit as Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany but it’s still fun to see.

Or you can race up the ladder to see if you’ll make it before the dragon gets to the princess. If you’re quick enough, she’ll give you a kiss. Lose to the dragon and her hair becomes frazzled from its fiery breath.

All in all, we have to appreciate the level of humor the team at Mini-Europe has regarding their exhibits. To be candid, it would be boring if it was simply a smaller version of major cities. The staff here did a good job mixing in some humor into the figurines. Take this blacksmith, for example. You’ve got a barbarian with a battle axe and the Reaper both wanting to get their weapons sharpened. I wouldn’t want to be the lucky guy standing in between them.

More at the ending of the experience

Some of the more interactive stuff is waiting for you at the end of the experience. Once you’re done visiting Ancient Greece and a giant rocket (as you do in Europe), head past the “Spirit of Europe” sign.

Once inside, you’ll find plenty of informative screens that will give you more detail about what you’ve seen and stuff you might not have known about Europe.

The kids really enjoyed this farming simulator. Maybe it’s less of a true simulator because you can just run through all the fences. There’s supposed to be a lesson in here about balanced decisions and policies but the kids just want to collect icons. Kids will be kids.

There’s also a very tough quiz at the very end of the section. I’d imagine that this is supposed to be easy for children because children are the likely ones to visit Mini-Europe. But as an American, I found the quiz extremely difficult. Many of the questions centered around Europe and covered topics that only Europeans might know. Which country won the World Cup in a given year? When did said country enter the European Union? When was a certain law enacted in a given country? If it was based on the stuff we just saw, maybe we would have a chance.

A very tough EuroQuiz — *The host looks as dumbfounded as I was trying to answer the questions*

Dining at Mini-Europe

Sure enough, you will have the opportunity to eat at the end of your visit. There isn’t too much variety here from the items shown on the menu:

Hamburger
Cheeseburger
Veggie Burger
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Panini

If you get the combo, it will include fries, dipping sauce, and a drink. Here is where I’ll say the prices are actually pretty reasonable. I’ve been to many theme parks and the like over the years, but pricing is decently affordable here. Only €4 for a cheeseburger at a mini theme park (is that what you call Mini-Europe?) isn’t bad.

There are plenty of bottled drinks, including alcohol. I helped myself to a Chouffe, which wasn’t bad at €4.90 for a bottle. I’d rather have that than water at €3.30/bottle.

We shared two meals: a cheeseburger meal and a chicken nuggets meal. Pretty much every meal we’ve had in Brussels included fries (even breakfast), so it’s only natural to have them here too. The food honestly isn’t all that bad. We were expecting McDonald’s quality and it’s in the ballpark of what we thought it would be. It works for a pick-me-up.

The kids also gave their stamp of approval for the food.

Recommendation: It’s worth a visit

Let’s go through what this experience at Mini-Europe isn’t:

This isn’t a theme park with roller coasters and rides
There isn’t a need to stay here for hours
It’s also not an indoor experience, so if the weather isn’t good, you’ll need to plan accordingly

But all that said, the kids came away and enjoyed it. In fact, they still talk about it. Mini-Europe does a great job at giving kids exposure to all the variety of Europe. It offered a great summary of where we’ve been to, stuff the kids could relate to, and what might be in store for them in the future. The level of humor and interactive exhibits felt just about right for our kids. We probably wouldn’t come here multiple times, but it’s absolutely a nice stop at least once.

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