Although many of the main sights and museums in Brussels (the Manneken Pis, the Grand-Place, the Musée d'Art Moderne) hold little interest for kids, worry not - Brussels can be child-friendly.

In the centre, the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée museum, Scientastic , and the Théâtre de Toone are the main attractions for younger and older children alike. Elsewhere, the Musée des Sciences Naturelles is host to an impressive display of dinosaur skeletons and is ideal for pre-teens, whereas the Musée du Jouet , with its huge collection of toys throughout the ages, seems to be a hit with everybody regardless of age.

Out of town, Heysel gives the impression it was specifically designed for the under-12s, and is home to both Mini-Europe and Océade , as well as the excellent Planétarium which holds regular exhibitions. Further afield, the brand-new Six Flags Belgium amusement park and attached Aqualibi water park offer enough roller-coasters, amusement rides and water slides to make a day of it.

Most of the city's parks have playgrounds - the most popular one is at the lovely Bois de la Cambre. The city also has a summer fun fair - Foire du Midi - which is held near the Gare du Midi from mid-July to mid-August. Here you'll find the usual riot of candy floss, amusement arcades and rides, including a large Ferris wheel.

Full listings of children's exhibitions, shows and fairs can be found in the "Jeunes Publics" section of Wednesday's Le Soir supplement.

Activities
City Kart Sq des Grées du Lou 59 (tel 02 332 36 96, www.citykart.com . Tram #52. Childrens' sessions aged 4-16: Wed noon-5pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am-3.30pm. Wed ?37.20 for all-day course, Sat ?8.70 per 15min, Sun ?12.40 per 15min.) Kids...
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Cinema
UGC De Brouckère Pl de Brouckère 38 (tel 0900 10 440. Métro: de Brouckère. Sat 9.30-11.30am. Children ?1.50.) Screens children's films - mainly animation - every Saturday morning. Moreover, you can leave your kids in the hands of the supervisors,...
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Museums and sights
Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée Rue des Sables 20 (tel 02 219 19 80. Métro: Botanique or Rogier. Tues-Sun 10am-6pm. Adults ?4.45, under-12s ?1.50.) As popular with adults as it is with children, the comic museum documents the illustrious history...
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Parks
Bois de la Cambre At the intersection of av Louise and bd de la Cambe. The capital's largest and most popular inner city park, including lakes and woods. There's plenty of room for the kids to go crazy, and when they get bored of that, you can take...
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Theatre
Théâtre de Toone Petite rue des Bouchers, impasse de Schuddeveld 6 (tel 02 511 71 37. Métro: Bourse or de Brouckère. Call for times and shows. Adults ?9.90, children ?6.20.) World-famous puppet theatre housed in a seventeenth-century building a few...
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