The Tour & Taxis site has reinvented itself several times over the centuries. It once belonged to the von Thurn und Tassis family and consisted of marshy horse meadows. At the end of the 19th century, the largest freight station site in Europe was created here, strategically located between the canal and the railway, with an impressive customs building, a monumental post office and the Royal Warehouse.
After years of prosperity, the buildings gradually fell into disuse until new projects, from 2001 onwards, brought the site back to life. Today, Tour & Taxis is a multifaceted Brussels landscape where industrial heritage, urban renewal, nature and public space meet. The Gare Maritime has become a small city with offices, shops and horeca, while the restored quays, park, pond, vegetable gardens and Parckfarm give the estate a strong green dimension.
New buildings such as BEL and the Herman Teirlinck building, housing, artworks and event spaces add further layers to this former freight hub. Tour & Taxis has thus become a living place where Brussels’ past, present and future can be experienced in concrete form.