These four houses are some of the finest city residences in Europe, and in my view the finest works of the Art Nouveau movement. The main problem is that the incredible interiors are mostly out of bounds for mere mortals. The exception is Musée Horta, which is my ‘Must See’ sight in Brussels. It is a fairly small museum but the incredible detail of design can be seen on every surface, even the most functional aspects of the interior, such as the door handles have been laboured over. The canopy at the top of the staircase is incredible.

Though they may look twee and escapist the buildings were actually at the forefront of technological advancement, using iron as the frame of the buildings and actually exposing it, as it was a revolutionary technique at the time.

Of the façades that can be seen Hotel Van Eetvelde is perhaps the finest, Hotel Solvay has some great details the ornament of the door and the numbers are great. Hotel Tassel from the outside looks pretty uninspiring, however inside lies perhaps the finest piece of Horta’s work, the mosaic floor and painted walls of the staircase are sublime. On two occasions I have even chosen to stand outside having a cup of coffee in the hope that the owner would walk by, take pity on me and allow me a quick glimpse, needless to say this has never happened.

There are many great Art Nouveau buildings in Brussels, my favourite is the Old England Building which now houses the Museum of Musical instruments. If you are keen on this style it is worth looking at ARAU.org as they run tours of the main buildings in both French and English, which sometimes allow you to see the impressive interior of Hotel Van Eetvelde.

There are many cities with great Art Nouveau flourishes; (Paris, Vienna, Chicago, Prague) however Brussels is the finest and it is right that Horta’s major works should be highlighted by their place on the list, hopefully this broader heritage can receive the same protection and attention, including the incredible Palace Stoclet which is on the tentative list but is facing the threat of its interior being broken up and sold.

I really love these buildings and a trip to Brussels would really not be complete unless you get to see something of these incredible works of art.