Laeken or Laken is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the Belgian postal code: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a separate municipality.
The Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three premetro lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 with some shared sections, covering a total of 39.9 kilometres (24.8 mi), with 59 metro-only stations. The premetro network consists of three tram lines that partly travel over underground sections that were intended to be eventually converted into metro lines. Underground stations in the premetro network use the same design as metro stations. A few short underground tramway sections exist, so there is a total of 52.0 kilometres (32.3 mi) of underground metro and tram network. There are a total of 69 metro and premetro stations as of 2011.
Brussels-Central railway station, officially Brussels-Central, is a railway and metro station in central Brussels, Belgium. It is the second busiest railway station in Belgium and one of three principal railway stations in Brussels, together with Brussels-South and Brussels-North. First completed in 1952 after protracted delays caused by economic difficulties and World War II, it is the newest of Brussels' main rail hubs.
Arts-Loi (French) or Kunst-Wet (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station. It is located in the City of Brussels, Belgium, under the intersection of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and the Avenue des Arts/Kunstlaan, the latter street being part of the Small Ring.
Sainte-Catherine (French) or Sint-Katelijne (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station. It is located at the Place Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplein, between the Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai and the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai, in the municipality of the City of Brussels, Belgium. It is also situated near Saint Catherine's Church, which gives the station its name.
The Rue de la Loi or Wetstraat (Dutch), meaning "Law Street", is a major street running through central and eastern Brussels, Belgium, which is famous due to the presence of several notable Belgian and European Union (EU) governmental buildings. The road runs from the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat, in central Brussels, to the Robert Schuman Roundabout in its European Quarter. It forms the first (westerly) part of the N3 road that runs to Aachen, Germany.
The Avenue Louise or Louizalaan (Dutch) is a major thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium. It is located in the southern part of the City of Brussels, on the border with the municipality of Ixelles, where it runs south–east from the Place Louise/Louizaplein to the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, covering a distance of 2.7 km (1.7 mi). It is named in honour of King Leopold II's eldest daughter, Princess Louise (1858–1924).
The Small Ring inner ring road, formally R20 and N0 is a series of roadways in central Brussels, Belgium, surrounding the historic city centre. The city centre is usually defined as the area within the Small Ring; this area is called the Pentagon due to its pentagonal shape. The pentagon forms the core of the City of Brussels municipality.
Porte de Hal or Hallepoort (Dutch) is a rapid transit station in Brussels, Belgium, consisting of both a metro station and a premetro station. The metro station opened on 2 October 1988 and the premetro station opened on 3 December 1993.
Hôtel des Monnaies (French) or Munthof (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the southern segment of lines 2 and 6. It is located under the Small Ring, near Saint Peter's Hospital, in the municipality of Saint-Gilles, south of the City of Brussels, Belgium. One of its entrances is on the Rue de l'Hôtel des Monnaies/Munthofstraat, after which it is named, and where Belgian currency used to be minted.
Porte de Namur or Naamsepoort (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the southern segment of lines 2 and 6. It is located under the Small Ring and next to the Chaussée d'Ixelles/Elsense Steenweg, in the municipality of Ixelles, south of the City of Brussels, Belgium.
Trône (French) or Troon (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the southern segment of lines 2 and 6. It is located under the Small Ring at the Place du Trône/Troonplein, near the Royal Palace of Brussels, in the municipality of the City of Brussels, Belgium.
Botanique (French) or Kruidtuin (Dutch) is a Brussels Metro station on the northern segment of lines 2 and 6. It is located under the Small Ring at the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in the municipality of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, north of the City of Brussels, Belgium. It opened as a premetro station on 18 August 1974 and became a full metro station on 2 October 1988.
Paul van Haver, better known by his stage name Stromae, is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer. He is mostly known for his music blending hip hop and electronic music. Stromae came to wide public attention in 2009 with his song "Alors on danse", which became a number one in several European countries. In 2013, his second album Racine carrée was a commercial success, selling two million copies in France. The main singles from the album include "Papaoutai" and "Formidable". Stromae also has a series of “leçons” that show how he makes his songs.
Line 2 on the Brussels Metro is a rapid transit line in Brussels, Belgium operated by STIB/MIVB. It exists in its current form since April 4, 2009, when the section between Delacroix metro station and Gare de l'Ouest/Weststation was opened, which allowed to close the loop from and to Simonis/Elisabeth. The configuration of the Simonis/Elisabeth metro station though does not allow trains on the line 2 to be able to perform the loop several consecutive times in the same direction, i.e. a train running clockwise from Elisabeth will have to run counterclockwise from Simonis. The two termini of line 2 have thus received different names: originally Simonis (Elisabeth) and Simonis , changed in November 2013 to Elisabeth and Simonis. Between the Yser/IJzer metro station and the Porte de Hal/Hallepoort station, the line runs under the small ring road of Brussels, which is itself built on the former Second walls of Brussels.
The Hotel Brussels is a four-star hotel in the Louise/Louiza district of Brussels, Belgium, owned and managed by the Swedish hotel group Pandox AB. A landmark building, it originally opened as the Brussels Hilton in 1969. Pandox AB purchased the building in September 2010, assumed management in February 2011 and commenced a complete renovation of the 27 floors. The renovations were completed after a two-year period.
"Formidable" is a song by Belgian singer Stromae. The song was released as a digital download in Belgium on 4 June 2013 as the second single from his second studio album Racine carrée (2013). The song entered at the number 1 spot the week of its release in Belgium and reached number 1 in France. It was his most financially successful single since "Alors on Danse" in 2009.
Racine carrée is the second studio album by Belgian musician Stromae. It was released digitally on 16 August 2013 and three days later physically in France and Belgium. Stromae expressed his desire to incorporate Caribbean and African musical influences along with his signature 1990s-inspired dance beats. The album, recorded in an attic, explores themes as diverse as alienation from social networks, relationship issues, discrimination, cigarettes and lung cancer, AIDS and absent father figures. Prior to its official release and afterwards, Racine carrée received critical acclaim for its thoughtful lyrics and gained comparisons to fellow Belgian recording artist Jacques Brel.
The ING Arena formely known as Palais 12 (French) or Paleis 12 (Dutch) is an indoor arena in Brussels, Belgium, used for concerts and spectacles. With a capacity of roughly 15,000 it is one of the largest indoor venues in the country. Located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau, it was originally built in 1989 but was redesigned and reopened in its current form in 2013.
Entrance to the station
Another entrance
La Terre en Fleur by Edmond Dubrunfaut
