Brussels is well known as a dynamic, active and pleasant city for its visitors and inhabitants. Its main market square, a UNESCO heritage site bordered by 15th century corporation houses is considered among the most beautiful places in the world. Brussels also owes its attractiveness to its quality of life: half of the territory is covered by green spaces.

Beyond the tourist vision, Brussels Capital Region is an urban centre made up of 19 municipalities with approximately 1.1 million inhabitants. This city-region is a dense urban area of 162 km² located within a larger metropolitan area of 2.5 million inhabitants. Brussels has a dense, cosmopolitan and ever-growing population in part because of its role as the capital of Europe. The city population is made by 74% of Belgians and 26% of foreigners (in fact, 46% of foreign origin). Many workers and service users live outside the city borders and commute daily. The city is made up of three zones: the city centre, a series of historical dense areas, and residential suburbs. The housing stock is composed of 50% of apartments, 31% of individual houses and 16% of houses divided in flats. The city combines the roles of European capital, Belgian capital, Flemish community capital and French community capital. Indeed among many other languages, French, Flemish and English are commonly heard in Brussels’ streets. A striking social feature of the city is the asymmetry between the considerable wealth produced in the area and a relatively low average income of its inhabitants which is 18% below the national average (12 750€ per year). The unemployment rate is quite high (17.4%) and a quarter of the population is living under the poverty line. The Brussels Capital Region is characterised by a significant presence of the service sector with a dominant administrative function.

Food is one of the reasons why tourists enjoy visiting Brussels. The “Made in Brussels” label gathers many excellent products: the famous chocolates (pralines) are exported all around the world; biscuits such as “speculoos” (close to gingerbread)… Products such as fries, Brussels’s waffles, beers, honey, are recognized for their quality and taste.