Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula stands on the Treurenberg slope in central Brussels, dedicated to the two patron saints of the city and built in Brabantine Gothic. A chapel to Saint Michael probably occupied the site as early as the ninth century, at the crossroads of two trade routes, one running between Flanders and Cologne and the other between Antwerp and Mons. Henry II, Duke of Brabant, ordered a Gothic collegiate church in 1226. Rumbold's in Mechelen. Monday–Friday 08:00–18:00; Saturday 08:00–17:00; Sunday 13:00–18:00. No regular weekly closure day is listed. Tourist visits are suspended during religious services.

Three parts of the building are treated as separate visits by the cathedral itself. The Treasury occupies the Gothic Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and holds reliquaries, including the Dhramal reliquary cross, along with monstrances, chalices, ciboria and liturgical vestments, Michel Coxcie's Legend of Saint Gudula and a Virgin and Child by Conrad Meit. The Romanesque remains are the preserved front section of the older church, reached separately. The bells belong to two towers. No regular weekly closure day is listed. Tourist visits are suspended during religious services.

Allow an hour. The cathedral publishes no suggested length for a free visit, so the hour is this guide's judgement, but it is built from durations the cathedral does publish for its own tours. Its self-guided route with QR codes comes in two formats, thirty minutes and forty-five minutes. The tower visit is a separate commitment of about two and a half hours. Thirty minutes is enough for the nave and the west window and nothing else. The cathedral declares access for people with reduced mobility. The step-free entrance is through the shop door on Place Sainte-Gudule, on the right-hand side when facing the cathedral.

The cathedral is open to visitors Monday to Friday from 08.00 to 18.00, Saturday from 08.00 to 17.00 and Sunday from 13.00 to 18.00. Visits are not permitted during services at any time. Through July and August the eleven o'clock Sunday Mass carries a visiting choir. Mid-morning on a weekday is the widest clear window. Monday–Friday 08:00–18:00; Saturday 08:00–17:00; Sunday 13:00–18:00. The cathedral declares access for people with reduced mobility. The step-free entrance is through the shop door on Place Sainte-Gudule, on the right-hand side when facing the cathedral. Ring the bell at the shop door for staff to open the accessible entrance.

Entering the cathedral costs nothing. Four things inside it are charged for, all in cash on the spot. The Romanesque remains are 2 euros per person and are open during cathedral hours. Guided tours by the volunteer team are free. The shop sells guide booklets at 4 and 7 euros, and a children's activity booklet free. General admission to the cathedral is free. Optional areas charge adults €3 for the Treasury, €2 for the Romanesque remains, and €4 for the crypt; the crypt requires an appointment. On-site payments for these areas are cash only.

The cathedral stands on the Parvis Sainte-Gudule, the wide forecourt on the Treurenberg slope above the lower town, east of the Boulevard de l'Imperatrice. What the cathedral publishes about arriving is limited to one line and it concerns access rather than transport. Gare Centrale/Centraal Station is served by metro lines 1 and 5 and buses 29, 38, 52, 63, 65, 66 and 89. Use the lift-equipped Exit 0 at Putterie/Putterij for step-free street access, then continue toward Place Sainte-Gudule/Sinter-Goedeleplein. Parc/Park, also on metro lines 1 and 5, is another nearby option and is fully step-free with four lifts.

This is a working church before it is a monument, and its published rules of conduct are specific. Silence and a respectful attitude are expected, dress is to be correct and decent, food and drink must be consumed outside, and animals are not admitted apart from dogs accompanying visitors with impaired sight. The practical traps are four. The cathedral declares access for people with reduced mobility. Ring the bell at the shop door for staff to open the accessible entrance. Guide dogs accompanying visually impaired visitors are permitted; other animals are not.

The rules of conduct the cathedral publishes cover silence, dress, food and animals, and say nothing at all about cameras, so there is no published photography policy to quote and none is invented here. What follows is geometry. The Last Judgement window sits above the main west door, which means it is lit from behind and is a picture taken from inside the nave looking back west, best in the afternoon when the sun has come round to that face. Guide dogs accompanying visually impaired visitors are permitted; other animals are not.