Tour and Taxis - Brussels - Things To Do Reviews

In it's own words: "Tour and Taxis is a unique place in Brussels. It brings together exceptional architecture, a huge variety of different occupants, astonishing events, various shops, delicious restaurants, together with services and city projects to the benefit of the entire district."

This is the place in Brussels to see a show or event. In the past, it has for example hosted many cirque du soleil shows, and this year in August the Cavalia show and the Couleur Café festival take place.

The TOUR&TAXIS site owes its name to the ‘von Thurn und Tassis’ family, who founded the European postal service. The von Thurn und Tassis family owned the marshy area which bordered the Port of Brussels. It used this land as grazing land for its famous ‘Horse Post’ horses. As the centuries moved on, the name of the family and of
the associated site took on the French form of « TOUR&TAXIS ».

In history, Tour&Taxis has played an important role, e.g. when the Brussels port was created. The TOUR&TAXIS site immediately became the first site in history to bring together complementary activities: customs collection, merchandise warehousing, and its transport by rail, water and road. This dynamism brought new impetus to the surrounding districts such as Laeken, Molenbeek… and transformed the right bank of the canal into a veritable economic and industrial zone. TOUR&TAXISreached its peak during the 60’s, with more than 3,000 workers on the site. But then, the place started to be neglected for many years.

A new future began in December 2001, with the purchase of the site by ‘Project T&T’. The mission of Project T&T is to develop and manage the TOUR&TAXIS site.

The renovation of the existing buildings, undertaken in consultation with the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites, is now complete.

As said, Tour and Taxis is now one of the most important places to go in Brussels and even Belgium, for culture, events and shows - in combination with great dining and shopping experiences.