Magritte Museum

If you are an art fan and specifically a surrealist fan, this is the right place for you! The famous "This is not a pipe" by Rene Magritte is in there and many other interesting paintings. If you have 3-4 hours to spend, I suggest taking the double ticket for Magritte Museum and Fine Art Museum which is right next to it.

René Magritte?? This museum is a complete disappointment and does not do justice to his name. It consists of just four small half-floors with very few original works, mostly small prints with minimal information. There are no major masterpieces on display, it feels more like a commercial gimmick than a true tribute to Magritte. It gives the impression they simply printed on A4 whatever they could find and hang it on the walls. My honest advice: don’t waste your time or money, stay away.

Really good exhibition, depends obviously on the taste but very well crafted and chosen. Its 3 floors and a Museum shop, you get in for cheaper as a Student and you have locker for your stuff. We were during the week, no waiting time at all. Bought the tickets directly there. But might get more crowded during the weekend.

A place "must visit" when coming to Brussel. The museum is large and has many floors There are many works of famous artists. We will understand much about European history through these works. This is a very special, wonderful place for visitors, students and researchers to see, study. You should spend a half day to one day to visit. I had a chance to visit this when going on business and maybe this was the final time to come here. So regret!!!

A great museum with free lockers and great views from the top. The artworks are all displayed in chronological order, with a timeline of his key life events also shown at the entrance of each room. I purchased my ticket at the Royal Museum of Belgium’s office, where it cost me €15 to visit both museums. I would recommend seeing both as they complemented each other quite nicely.

Magritte is my favourite artist and this museum allowed me to discover him from the different perspectives, a lot of works which were not published in books. Also very cheap to go, tickets for adults is only 10 euros, children go free.

This is a lovely art museum focused on Rene Magritte, a pioneering surrealist artist. The exhibition spans 3 floors. The starting point is the 3rd floor, continuing down to the 2nd and 1st floor in chronological order. The 2nd floor probably has his most mature works including "The Harvest" and "The Treachery of Images". Worth the visit if you like the whimsical nature of surrealist art.

Take your time to explore each exhibition, every floor, and every corner of the museum. There are countless wonderful pieces of art to study. The museum is magnificent and well-organized, showcasing masterpieces that will keep you engaged for hours. Here are my personal highlights that I’m eager to see, which I’ve learned about from books. It would be an added pleasure to view them in their museum house.

First, some background. I had visited this museum once before almost 14 years ago. At the time they did not allow photography inside and so I don't have photos of what I saw. I remember seeing quite a number of representative works by Magritte at the time here, though. On that occasion, I had also purchased a combo ticket which got me into the adjoining general art museum. However, they had staggered opening times for different parts, so I did not get to see any modern works (1600s and forward) on that visit. Fast forward to 2024. Our trip involved Brussels, so I definitely wanted to revisit the museum with my family. I purchased tickets a few months in advance for they day and time we wanted (I opted for when the museum opens at 10 a.m.). The tickets included an audio guide. The layout of the museums are 2 separate buildings. The Magritte Museum is on the right (facing them) and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium is larger and on the left. These are connected via an underground hallway. We initially tried to use the Magritte-specific entrance. However, to obtain the audio guides, the staff sent me around to the main museum entrance where I was able to get the guides from a nice elderly staff lady. However, I could not then exit back out to the first entrance - I had to instead descend to the connecting passage to the Magritte Museum. There, they have another entrance where you can also scan tickets. I explained that I needed to enter and go fetch my family, but was told that once in I would not be able to easily reach the other entrance... At that point, I put my backpack and the audio guides into one of the complementary storage lockers (where you'll need to store anything larger than a purse, basically). I retraced my route to the Fine Arts Museum and out to the street, and then back to the first entrance. I retrieved the others and we finally all went in the main entrance and got back to the lockers. My advice would be to just use the main entrance and save yourself a lot of trouble. To paraphrase The Emperor's New Groove - "Why do they even HAVE this entrance?" So at that point we could actually begin our tour of the Magritte Museum. From the basement near the lockers, you get your ticket scanned. You then take a large elevator up to the 3rd floor and work your way down. The works are presented in a series of galleries and you progress through Magritte's life as you move forward. To be fair, they do have a large number of his works on display, including several well-known paintings. However, there were some major works missing (which I'm almost certain had been here when I last visited). They also had a lot more photos of the artist and his friends, as well as some works by some other contemporary artist who is 'inspired' by Magritte. The audio guide was okay, but not great; I found the user interface annoying as well - you had to hit the play button twice after selecting the number corresponding to a given painting. I kept thinking that there would be more of his famous works in a subsequent gallery, until finally I ran out of galleries. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing. As I had not purchased a combo ticket this time, we had no access to the rest of the museum, so we were done then. I subsequently searched a bit online to try to confirm if the museum's collection had changed in the last decade or so, but I could not find any relevant info about that. If you are a fan of Magritte's work (as I am), then I'd say the museum is worth visiting just to see a concentrated selection of his works and to get some background on the artist. However, you should temper your expectations based on what they do and do not currently display. I doubt that I'd return for a 3rd visit unless the collection changed markedly.

I'm biased because this was a bucket list experience for me. I have always loved the work of Rene Magritte so this was amazing for me. I highly recommend this museum if you're interested in surrealist art.

This was the first place I wanted to go to in Brussels and it was awesome. Learn about Magritte and see a lot of his work, in all forms, not just the paintings. I have been to Magritte exhibits at other museums before. This museum had stuff I had never seen and had a lot of personal writing and memorabilia. The really famous works were not part of this museum. I suspect they are either on loan or belong to other museums. There were a few different lighted places on the walls that were blank, some had a sign saying the area was under construction. So I think several were out on loan. Getting tickets was not obvious. If you have a Brussels Card, you still have to go to the ticket line, which is not even in the Magritte building. Follow the signs outside for Tickets. There, ask someone who works there where you should stand in line to get a Magritte ticket with Brussels Card. The reason why is because you then get told to go to a secret line that is not marked and can skip the entire main entrance line. Then when you get your ticket, you can either start at the other museum (the building you are in that has Dutch Masters and whatnot) or follow signs and go to the Magritte building, which is connected to where you got the ticket.

In early December,I spent about three hours enjoying this thorough study of the life of Rene Magritte and his marvelous very inventive paintings.Paintings that especially captivated me were the following Magritte Paintings;"Black Magic","Pebble","The Blaze",and"Secret Player".This art museum is very popular,so it might be advisable to visit it on a weekday.Like the Old Masters Art Museum and the Fin de Siecle Art Museum ,there is labelling of the artworks in English as well as French.I also improved my knowledge of Surrealism from this delightful experience.

Start at the top and work your way down the stairs and through the exhibits that document Rene Magritte's life and art works. The rooms are dark and the light is all on the art, which makes for an interesting and unique display of a single artist's paintings. Magritte's art is surreal. It's designed to challenge the viewer's perception of reality. Some of the art is very, very strange and I'd say that my perception of reality was definitely challenged. If you're familiar with Magritte's work, you'll enjoy the exhibit. If you're new to Magritte, go slow. It will grow on you.

Enjoyable museum, it's organized in chronological order starting with Magritte's earliest works (on the 3rd floor) and then continuing downstairs with later works. It was interesting to see some of his graphic designs (for advertising), different paintings, and also photos of him and his wife. It's important to note that his significant works are not here. They are mostly owned and displayed by other museums, so his paintings here weren't as intriguing.

It was all an experience going to Magritte's museum. I really liked his art, I thought it was very interesting to follow chronologically his growth as an artist. I'm not an art expert but some of his paintings really touched me, specially 'The traveller'. It is the first time I get such a feeling from a painting. I strongly recommend it!

This was absolutely a highlight of our Brussels visit. Loved the chronological, storytelling nature of the exhibition and learning more about one of my favorite artists. Do note that not all your favorites are housed here, but that its a must-see for fans (a la Starry Night not being at the Van Gogh Museum, "Son of Man," the infamous bowler hat/apple surrealist self-portrait isn't here -- so sad that it's privately held).

If you are interested in a very comprehensive retrospective on the life of Rene Magritte this is the best museum in the world to visit. It has photos, newspaper clippings, paintings, drawings and so much more. Plan on spending a few hours.

The novice art aficionado in me had to visit this museum. It was certainly worth the 30 mins it took me to even find it. The "ce n'est pas un pipe" post card casually left on the ground was a fun hint and a bit of a tease along the way. I love Magritte- back in the day, his the work influenced the paintings I did in my senior painting class. Little did I know I would eventually get to see his art in real life one day. The museum was also laid out so that you could see how his paintings evolved from via time period and style. Surrealism was obviously the most painted style, however Magritte dabbled in a little more than that. He also used many reoccurring images in his paintings. It's like each was a in a different dimension than the former. My favorite painting (l'entree en scene) was unfortunately absent but at least the empire of light was there... The downsides of this museum is that it was pretty dark and a little "engrishy". A ton of things (such as letters, little doodles and words) were in french and of course were not translated. I couldn't understand it for the life of me. Silly dumb American I am, assuming that everything would be in English.

I first came across Magritte's work in 2000 or so (give or take a year), when an exhibit of his came to San Francisco's MOMA. I had always appreciated art in varying degrees, but never found an artist that I loved. Until then. My teenage self just LOVED Magritte's art. So when I finally came here, I was pleased. The gallery is indeed dark - black walls with focused lighting on the paintings - but I found it elegant rather than annoying. From what I understand, the selection is updated and rotated now and again, so subsequent visits aren't always the same. I liked the way the art was interspersed with photos and writing from Magritte's life, adding a super personal element. I guess museums like this, with a focus on one artist, plus some extraneous stuff from his or her friend/intellectual circle, are what I enjoy most (Van Gogh also comes to mind). My main complaint is that there wasn't enough. I was in and out in 30, maybe 45 minutes, and I know there is way more art available, so I wish I could have seen it. All the more reason to return, I suppose.

When our second day in Brussels included rain in the forecast (and a weirdly huge fire that clouded the city with smoke and hard-to-breathe air), we decided to make our way to the Magritte museum. While I'm not a huge art nerd, I recognized some of Magritte's work and thought the exhibit focused on the long-time Brussels-based surrealism pioneer. The exhibit did not disappoint and was time well spent. This was organized in chronological order spread across three floors. You start on the third and work your way down (which was not abundantly clear at first). Throughout the floors, there is a significant number of artifacts -- newspaper clippings, advertisements, sketches, photographs and, of course, paintings -- that provide a rich view into the artist's life and evolving style. This was an incredibly thorough and interesting museum and a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Magritte's passing. One surprise about the museum itself: one you buy a ticket, you have access to a free coat check and lockers -- a nice break from lugging around a bag and camera all day. Another important fallout, though, is that you cannot pass through security with a large backpack, so leave the luggage at the hotel or hostel. Definitely worth the visit!

One of my favorite museums as far as content. Magritte was so incredibly talented so it is obvious that any exhibition containing his art will be a success. The layout of the art was a bit confusing however, as there are 3 sections that you can chose from to visit, and you kind of have to bounce from one angle to another to avoid missing any of his pieces. The museum was a fairly reasonable price and is located in a very central area, meters away from the MIM museum and the royal library.

We loved this museum. It was our favorite of the Fine Arts museum cluster. Traveling with my sister, who is an artist, provided some much appreciated insight to the works of Magritte. I wasn't aware of how many of Magritte's paintings I had seen in other places. The guy in the bowler hat? The nude painted in different pieces? Both done by him. I really liked how Magritte took into account the impression of the viewer with his "this is not a pipe" painting of a pipe. Things that make you go hmmm.

I expected a lot mo' from this museum tour. Please understand that this review is not a reflection of Magritte's art, which is marvelous. I'm reviewing the place itself. For one, it's dark. Needlessly dark. Do you know how the Harry Potter books got progressively dark as the story went on? This is a bit like that, but all at once and without Hagrid for comedic relief. All visitors had to lean forward and squint to make out the names of certain pieces, while bumping into other folks because, um, it's dark in there. While a museum doesn't have to be as bright as an Apple Store, I would have appreciated some tasteful illumination so that I could determine the name of something that is otherwise brilliant. The selection of art itself is fine. There were a few critical pieces missing, but that's surely not the fault of the museum. To recap: The art is great. The space is dark. You will squint. You will bump into folks.

A friend was in town and planned on visiting the Musee Magritte so I decided to tag along. I quite honestly had no idea who this Magritte fellow was or what he did/was famous for but hey, time to get cultured! It is pretty confusing to know where to go to buy tickets (coming from someone living in Brussels and who has passed this place countless times but never ventured in)...we went to the last building, only to see that we had to go all the way back to the first building we passed. Then, which line to go to purchase the tickets?? Finally, we had that figured out and it took no time at all to purchase the tickets (8 eur per person, a bit high, in my opinion). Then we had to figure out where to go in the huge building to get to the Magritte part...that was also a bit of a maze. As a note, you have to leave all your belongings (jackets, bags, etc.) in a locker, which you pay 1 or 2 eur for but get your money back. Now, the museum! You go through a gate, take an elevator up to the floor you should start at. I believe it was 3 floors total filled with Magritte's works, you start at the top and work your way down. Each floor starts with a timeline of his life and then shows work, typically, in chronological order. Rooms are dark and sometimes it's hard to look at the works with the way the light is positioned (or this could just be short girl problems)... Now, as I mentioned, I didn't know what Magritte's works were all about. I found out soon enough when in the museum: c'nest pas une pipe=surrealism. Although not one typically interested in surrealism and modern art in general, I did find his works pretty awesome. Funny enough, I liked his impressionism phase the best (a lot of color, positive feelings to offset what was going on in the world at that time--WWII). In any case, his works are pretty interested and mostly confusing. For some, it would have been nice to use the audio guide to hear the explanations behind what is going on. My favorite surrealist paintings were those where the sky is daylight and the rest of the painting depicts nighttime--I found this truly brilliant. He also uses a lot of themes, naked women (only naked women and mostly those who were modeled after his wife), birds, clouds, words, nature... Although I wasn't in love with this museum, again not into modern art, I still thought this place was nice. Once was enough for me though, I don't plan on returning again..

I very much enjoyed the Magritte museum. I couldn't care less for some surrealist work, but the museum was a good experience. I do find it inconvenient & odd to buy tickets in one spot and then go back outside to start the museum journey. The interior is dark. I think it lends to the surrealist works, so it was not a big deal to me and probably more of a plus. I took a guided tour and found some of the information boring, but other bits fascinating. Additionally, letters written in French are largely meaningless to those who don't know the language. I guess most Dutch speakers in Brussels know enough French, or just don't give a damn about those artifacts from Magritte's life. Still, a number of people visit Brussels and so too the museums. If I get back to Brussels, I'd certainly consider visiting again.

I've been to many museums around the world, and this one is my favorite. Strolling from exhibit to exhibit is like getting happily lost in the pure magic of imagination.

First review in English, woo hoo! I went to the Magritte Museum when I was studying abroad in Brussels, and we were able to do an after-hours guided tour with our class group. The museum is very nicely put together and contains a very large collection of Magritte's work. They also have some video and audio of Magritte, which really gives you a broader picture of who he was. I was not a fan of Magritte before this visit, but the museum really changed my mind. If you get a chance, definitely go on a guided tour. The guides are very knowledgeable and give a lot of insight into Magritte's life, his philosophical and artistic aims, the meaning of his work, and surrealism in general. Not to mention that the museum is in a wonderful location within walking distance of the Parc metro stop, the Royal Palace, Warande's Park, and Sablon (where, on Sundays, there is a wonderful antiques market).

The Magritte Museum was my whole motivation for visiting Brussels. Ok, I lied, beer was also a motivation, but this was at least 70 or 80% of the motivation ;) Anyway, the new museum is beautifully arranged in a modern way that makes it a very nice SPACE to move around in....it's not quite as awesome as the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, but for a single-artist museum they've done a good job. As others have mentioned, it can be incredibly dark. I know that some media like watercolors or pastels can be very light-sensitive, but he mostly worked with oil paint, so I don't know that it's necessary. The ART: They have a great selection of his work. If you're a fan, they have many that you're hoping to see like Treachery of Images/"Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (This is not a pipe) and the Empire of Lights. There are a few beautiful works you didn't know existed (like The False Mirror), and even a very humorous and slightly shocking one called "faire la pipe". In this one the stem of his famous pipe is replaced with an erect penis. Alas, you will find this one neither in postcard form in the gift shop, nor on Google. Please message me if anyone ever finds a print of this...it's delightful. One thing you will not find is his most famous work, The Son of Man. This is the iconic image of a man in a bowler hat with a green apple floating in front of his mouth. That is, alas, in private collections. ADMISSION will run you 8 Euros...yay, state-funded museums. I was super-disappointed with the rest of the Royal Museum. What was not closed for renovation was rather underwhelming. Definitely worth a visit!

Nice museum with really a lot to be seen with 3 floors dedicated to Magritte. You will be able to enjoy paintings but also a lot of posters and writings... Plan a lot of time...

There is no significant art work to view. It's a shame because I admire this artist. I can read his biography elsewhere. I was very disappointed to see only a few paintings. This visit was not worth my time.

Very bad visit, museum badly organised... never again! Poor Magritte!... Avoid it as much as you can (there are Magritte's paintings at other places...fortunately...)

Great exhibit. Magritte's works are very clever. Depending on how long you spend on each exhibit, it'll take about an hour and a half. Definitely one of the more worthwhile things to do on a visit to Brussels. As a note, you have to buy separate tickets for each museum. I believe it was 8 euros for each museum.

I'm 18, qualified for a child's ticket, and got to visit the museum for free. It was absolutely wonderful, Magritte's work delights and bemuses and I'd definitely recommend a visit.

An amazing place when you visit it in february. Overrun by turrists in high summer. It is really recommended to use the internet reservation system for the tickets. Tickets were affordable (8 Euro). Attention young customers: form the group, the group-ticketts are real cheap ;)

I'm not a museum person, but this one was very nice! Not to many people, nice paintings, not to big not to small, nice view over brussels at the top. Nothing extraordinary in the architecture of the place but very nice experience...