Parlamentarium
Parlamentarium
4
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
FREE ENTRY. Experience the European Parliament in Brussels like never before. At our Visitors' Centre, children and adults alike get to discover what the European institutions that represent them are all about in a refreshingly new way: the Parlamentarium. Our Portable Media Guides take our visitors through an interactive journey of European integration, revealing the impact this process has had on the everyday lives of Europeans. As the first ever citizens' exhibition to do so, the Parlamentarium caters to all 24 official languages of the European Union, and is completely free! Our facilities and multimedia guides have been designed to be fully accessible to those with special needs.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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- Maelbeek • 6 min walk
- Troon • 7 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
3 518 reviews
Excellent
1 722
Very good
1 170
Average
451
Poor
112
Terrible
63
The P's
Southampton, England, United Kingdom23 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
To qualify just how bad this was I want to explain that as a family we are interested in politics, we had already visited the Dutch parliament and European parliament on this trip and the Dutch parliament trip in particular had been excellent. On previous holidays we have toured every parliament in the UK (∋), so it's not that we weren't interested in the topic. We also often visit museums and galleries, several good ones on this trip, love an audioguide and have done since the children were little (now older teenagers).
Having said all that ....
This is the worst museum and most inaccessible exhibition we have ever been to. EVER!
I have never come across a poorer execution of an idea than here. It was completely inaccessible to those with autism/adhd and dyslexia in our party. There were no warnings on the website when booking that there was no consideration of ND needs here. Most of it is just randomly placed text in small writing, in any of the EU languages, on coloured backgrounds and there is no clear flow or organisation to help navigate the displays. There are random lighting experiences and colours all over. To make matters worse we were asked to share an audio guide/headphone as there weren't enough to give out (yet the experience was time ticketed and we booked months ago so you would have expected them to have enough for everyone). This alone made it almost impossible as without all having a guide in your own language you couldn't independently access any of the exhibition.
Even for the non ND members of the party it was a pretty horrible experience trying to understand the point of the museum. I left with the start of a headache thanks to the weird lighting. I'd recommend everyone take the informative parliament hemicycle audio tour and just ignore this place.
And final word to our Euro-phile son "if this is what it's like working at the European parliament, no wonder Farage was so desperate to leave"
Having said all that ....
This is the worst museum and most inaccessible exhibition we have ever been to. EVER!
I have never come across a poorer execution of an idea than here. It was completely inaccessible to those with autism/adhd and dyslexia in our party. There were no warnings on the website when booking that there was no consideration of ND needs here. Most of it is just randomly placed text in small writing, in any of the EU languages, on coloured backgrounds and there is no clear flow or organisation to help navigate the displays. There are random lighting experiences and colours all over. To make matters worse we were asked to share an audio guide/headphone as there weren't enough to give out (yet the experience was time ticketed and we booked months ago so you would have expected them to have enough for everyone). This alone made it almost impossible as without all having a guide in your own language you couldn't independently access any of the exhibition.
Even for the non ND members of the party it was a pretty horrible experience trying to understand the point of the museum. I left with the start of a headache thanks to the weird lighting. I'd recommend everyone take the informative parliament hemicycle audio tour and just ignore this place.
And final word to our Euro-phile son "if this is what it's like working at the European parliament, no wonder Farage was so desperate to leave"
Written 14 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ogol17
Joshua Tree, CA980 contributions
Oct 2022
While I found a lot of interest in this museum, I don't think that it is well organized. Some exhibits (like the round room with 360-degree movies explaining about the parliament) are superb and very informative, but others are too tedious and hard to follow (e.g. hundreds of pictures on the walls each telling a piece of history of the EU - it would've been better to highlight the important ones as it was hard to follow that many). Overall I would recommend this for a 1-2 hour visit for whoever is interested in history.
Written 18 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear ogol17,
Thank you for your review, we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience from the Parlamentarium.
We are always looking for new ways to make the visit to the European Parliament more interesting and your feedback will help us to improve.
Best Regards,
Elena
European Parliament Visitors Team
Written 31 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MissCLane
London, UK76 contributions
Jul 2020
This place offers a wealth of information regarding how and why the EU was formed as well as it's function in today's society. It's incredibly interactive and forces the visitor to actively engage with its content and facts. Very visually stimulating and masses of information to digest. Worth a visit if history and politics tickles you...
Written 14 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Missy L,
Thank you for your review, we are glad to hear that you enjoyed visiting the Parlamentarium and we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
We hope to see you soon again at the European Parliament.
Keep up to date with the latest news by checking our visitors’ website, and following us on social media on Instagram @visit_ep and on Facebook @visitEuropeanParliament
Best Regards,
Manuel, European Parliament Visitors' Team
Written 28 July 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Buffy252008
London112 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
Some quick points
Not one for kids. They will be bored. Teenagers with an interest in politics will enjoy it.
Allow about an hour and a half. A bit more if you want to read and listen to everything possible!
Don’t attend hungry because it’s not a place where you have options of food or drink.
The tour is one where you guide yourself on a headset in an exhibit type facility. This is not a tour of the parliament.
It’s well done - but for international visitors beyond Europe it won’t captivate as much.
There are lockers once past security screening where you can leave bigger bags so you can enjoy your time more
It’s a walking exhibit but chairs and benches available to sit down and lifts for those that require them to travel between floors.
Not one for kids. They will be bored. Teenagers with an interest in politics will enjoy it.
Allow about an hour and a half. A bit more if you want to read and listen to everything possible!
Don’t attend hungry because it’s not a place where you have options of food or drink.
The tour is one where you guide yourself on a headset in an exhibit type facility. This is not a tour of the parliament.
It’s well done - but for international visitors beyond Europe it won’t captivate as much.
There are lockers once past security screening where you can leave bigger bags so you can enjoy your time more
It’s a walking exhibit but chairs and benches available to sit down and lifts for those that require them to travel between floors.
Written 1 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Buffy252008,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
We hope to see you soon again at the European Parliament. In the meantime, you can keep up to date with the latest news by checking our visitors’ website and following us on social media #VisitEP.
Best Regards,
Claire
European Parliament Visitors Team
Written 31 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lucian M
Constanta, Romania2 477 contributions
Jun 2022
The entrance to the Parlamentarium is from the Esplanade of the European Parliament. Visitors' access is free of charge. I should have signed up online for the visit, but I was admitted without this – I filled out a paper with my name and the country where I come from, then I went through the security check identical to the one at the airports. I have received a personal multimedia guide (PMG) that can be set to one of the 27 languages of the member nations of the European Union. It has an earphone that can be attached. PMG guides you throughout the exhibition and next to the exhibits/installations you can activate detailed information about the topic, comments, or short clips. Very modern, effective and very interesting! In the space allocated to temporary exhibitions was an exhibition dedicated to ... doesn’t sound really well, but I can't find another word now... war in Ukraine. A young woman, probably from Ukraine, was doing the guide tours there. She spoke beautifully, without fervour, about the significance of the exhibits and their connection to the horrors that are happening now, there.
Written 31 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael Castellano
Brooklyn, NY102 contributions
May 2022
The Parlamentarium was one of the best activities in my recent trip to Brussels. It was so educational and informative, and I left with a deeper appreciation of the European system of governance. Best of all, it is completely free! The museum makes incredible use of technology to create an interactive and immersive experience that is well worth a visit.
Written 3 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A_Rantos
Athens, Greece387 contributions
Aug 2022
This is a must visit for every European citizen - you get to learn so much about the creation of the EU!
I liked the system with the electronic device that you can actually get explanations in every EU language when you scan the exhibits. The personnel is super-friendly and helpful at all times in case you need to ask anything.
The visit is free but your entry is faster when you register online before your visit!
I liked the system with the electronic device that you can actually get explanations in every EU language when you scan the exhibits. The personnel is super-friendly and helpful at all times in case you need to ask anything.
The visit is free but your entry is faster when you register online before your visit!
Written 13 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CTD
18 contributions
Apr 2024 • Family
A waste of effort. You start with a completely disorganised and chaotic entry and then it gets much worse. The staff have a unique blend of incompetence and deliberate rudeness designed to make your visit as horrible as possible. The “cafe” is a couple of vending machines offering high sugar products. As to the place itself, utterly forgettable. On a rainy day with nothing to do it still is a waste of time.
Written 2 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elijah K
Vienna, Austria25 contributions
Aug 2024 • Friends
This experience is surprisingly free of charge, and absolutely worth it. With a digital audioguide, the exhibition explains the history and development of the EU, goes into detail about the admission of every member state and provides facts and information about every member of parliament of every member state. We spent almost 3 hours walking through the exhibition because it was such an interactive and entertaining activity. You should also be fine just spending an hour or so, it really depends on how invested you are into politics.
For everyone even slightly interested in politics, the EU or visitors trying to learn about the history of Europe this is an absolute must see, especially because it's free!
For everyone even slightly interested in politics, the EU or visitors trying to learn about the history of Europe this is an absolute must see, especially because it's free!
Written 11 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kufunda
Harare, Zimbabwe344 contributions
Sept 2022
Although I came out suffering from information overload, the interactive experience made it worth my while. Much research went into multilingual sharing, and I liked the additional information provided on Ukraine, musicians and writers of Europe. Sometimes the arrangement of the sequence of events was not always apparent. There was also some malfunctioning, e.g. the 'robots' on the map of Europe and access to information on some individuals about the benefits of EU membership. The staff were accommodating and controlled the numbers for this popular event. It is worth booking the free slots in advance.
Written 7 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ich möchte gerne Tickets für mich und meine beiden Kinder für das Parlamentarium und den Plenarsaal buchen. Welche zeitliche Abfolge macht mehr Sinn? Zuerst das Parlamentarium, dann den Plenarsaal?
Und noch eine Frage zum Zeitmanagement - wieviel Zeit sollten wir für beide Besuche zusammen einplanen und sollten wir eine Pause dazwischen lassen?
Zum Beispiel: von 12:30-14Uhr Parlamentarium
Ab 14:30 Plenarsaal
Wäre das beispielsweise zu knapp?
Herzlichen Dank!
Written 16 February 2024
Hi
I looked on the site and it states that you need an ID card or a passport.I hope this helps.
Written 27 August 2019
I would like to visit the Parlamentarium while visiting Brussels, I know the entrance fee is free but is it first come first serve ticket system or are tickets limited to number of visitors per day? Can I reserve ticket ahead or just show up on day of expected visit? Thank you!
Written 29 April 2019
Visit European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium
Thank you for your question, and thank you for your help Marilyn!
Indeed, there's no need for booking for groups less than 10 people, you can just show up on day of expected visit.
Don't forget your id card to enter the European parliament buildings.
Have a nice visit!
Written 29 April 2019
Io e mio marito visiteremo Bruxelles, devo prenotare per poter visitare il parlamento europeo o la prenotazione vale solo per i gruppi numerosi?
Written 13 October 2018
Bisogna stare attenti alle giornate ed agli orari di apertura, perché non è sempre aperto.
Contattate il servizio di accoglienza in piazza, stazione Europa mi sembra si chiami.
Written 13 October 2018
Visit European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium
Si!
Orario di apertura sabato/domenica: 10h - 18h.
Written 25 September 2018
DaisyDaisyDaisy2018
Greater London, United Kingdom
Hello,
Will the Parlamentarium be open on March 30-April 2 2018?
Many thanks,
Daisy
Written 26 February 2018
I think its open every day, but really not sure about this. 😊
Written 17 March 2018
Le fonctionnement d'autres institutions telles que la commission, le Conseil ou encore le Conseil européen est-il abordé au sein du musée ?
Le musée se concentre-t-il uniquement sur l'organisation du parlement européen ?
Written 9 November 2017
Buenos días. He de decirte que en este museo te ofrecerán información tanto sobre la Comisión Europea, como del Consejo Europeo y el Consejo de la Unión Europea, en cualquiera de los 24 idiomas oficiales de la UE. Además de la información general que se ofrece, es posible obtener una información más específica sobre un asunto determinado para grupos de un mínimo de 20 personas. Encontrarás más información en la página web del Parlamento Europeo.
Respecto a tu segunda pregunta, como ya digo en la opinión que he publicado no solamente se centra en la organización del Parlamento Europeo, sino también te explican la historia de la UE, así como la organización, funcionamiento y actividades del Parlamento y los demás órganos de la UE.
Es una visita muy interesante y te recomendaría que la hicieses. Espero haberte ayudado en algo y que puedas entender la respuesta en español. Prefiero utilizar este idioma por ser este mi idioma nativo.
Written 10 November 2017
Hej!
Ska på en mindre gruppresa (14-15 pers) till Bryssel i maj.
Vilket område ska jag leta hotell i om man vill bo så nära EU-parlamentet som möjligt?
Någon särskild rekommendation på hotell rentav?
Prisläge: Max 1500 kr/natt per dubbelrum
Med vänlig hälsning
NinaB, Luleå
Written 3 January 2017
Place de luxenbourg, närmare än så kommer ni knappt men i och med det ligger ju hotellpriserna lite högre,
Renaissance Brussels Hotel ligger precis runt hörnet men nog i överkant avseende priset.
Written 11 January 2017
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