Belgian Military History? Better believe it!

Although you certainly may not expect it, Brussels has a world-class military museum. The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History houses an awesome collection of uniforms, aircraft, weapons, and displays which recount the military history of Belgium and its neighbors from the Napoleonic era through the 20th century. An entire hall is devoted purely to firearms, uniforms and various pointy weapons from the 19th Century while others include expansive World War I exhibits, tanks from several nations, and a comprehensive World War II exhibit.

The highlight of the museum must certainly be the immense aviation hangar which houses dozens of early and modern aircraft. Owen declared that he could spend an entire day in this area and I can't argue with that assessment. We spent the better part of three hours at the museum and could easily have spent another three taking more time to inspect exhibits and examine the array of history on display there.

Oh yeah, and the gift shop was nothing to sneeze at either (and it was all FREE!!).




The 19th Century hall of uniforms and weapons.



World War I hall



The aircraft hangar