Tour Anneessens
Tour Anneessens
3.5
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Plan your visit
The area
How to get there
- Anneessens • 7 min walk
- Beurs • 8 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
4,161 within 3 miles
Attractions
836 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
3.5
33 reviews
Excellent
6
Very good
9
Average
14
Poor
3
Terrible
1
Brad
Hong Kong, China175,372 contributions
Oct 2022
Anneessenstoren is a wall fragment of the old city fortifications and watch tower that date back to the 13th century. It is situated just off Blvd de l'Empereur. When I passed by recently, I found that the historic ruins were under scaffolding in what appeared to be restorations efforts that obstruct views at the moment but that is fine as long as the works help preserve the structures for future generations to see.
Note: You can find other old wall and tower including Tour de Villers nearby along Rue des Alexiens as well as Tour Noire at Place Sainte-Catherine. Each are interesting to see if you are interested in history and want to see some of the original city wall fragments that surrounded the city during the Middle Ages.
Note: You can find other old wall and tower including Tour de Villers nearby along Rue des Alexiens as well as Tour Noire at Place Sainte-Catherine. Each are interesting to see if you are interested in history and want to see some of the original city wall fragments that surrounded the city during the Middle Ages.
Written 11 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brad
Hong Kong, China175,372 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
Tour Anneessens (Anneessens Tower) is a structure which formed part of the defensive First Wall around the city of Brussels in the 13th-century. It is located on Emperor Boulevard between Place la Chapelle and Grand Palace and is convenient to pass by and see for those sightseeing in the Lower Town area of the city.
Surrounded by modern buildings, what you find is a corner tower with fragments of the First Wall on either side. You can make out battlements upon the wall and speculate what the rest of the wall might have looked like many centuries ago.
The tower and First Wall ruins are closed off but you can get quite close to view and take pictures if you like. It is a neat place to pass by and enjoy for a few minutes if you enjoy seeing building ruins and ancient fortification structures during your travels.
Surrounded by modern buildings, what you find is a corner tower with fragments of the First Wall on either side. You can make out battlements upon the wall and speculate what the rest of the wall might have looked like many centuries ago.
The tower and First Wall ruins are closed off but you can get quite close to view and take pictures if you like. It is a neat place to pass by and enjoy for a few minutes if you enjoy seeing building ruins and ancient fortification structures during your travels.
Written 21 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eric
Jakarta, Indonesia173 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
When i saw it from far, i thought it was a castle or fortress or something similar.
But when u getting closer, it looks like only a layer of castle wall in the middle of city
But when u getting closer, it looks like only a layer of castle wall in the middle of city
Written 29 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael S
Coquitlam, Canada93 contributions
Aug 2019
No going in, but an impressive section of the original inner wall to view. We were there at dusk and it lights up nicely.
Written 2 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil K
Liverpool, UK829,468 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
Tour Anneessens is a wonderful evocative ancient tower and the remains of the walls leading into the tower.
On any holiday my twin brother Stephen and I take to Brussels we always visit Le Porte Noire ( great late night beer bar ) and La Fleur En Papier Dore ( beautiful unspoilt tavern ) and we always pass this interesting site.
This superb corner tower of the first city wall of Brussels dates from 11th till the 13th century and is a great reminder of the rich history of this city.
The tower was restored to its present splended self in 1967 and is in my opinion a really interesting landmark.
Tour Anneessens is really easy to locate on Boulevard De L'Empereur.
Well worth checking out.
On any holiday my twin brother Stephen and I take to Brussels we always visit Le Porte Noire ( great late night beer bar ) and La Fleur En Papier Dore ( beautiful unspoilt tavern ) and we always pass this interesting site.
This superb corner tower of the first city wall of Brussels dates from 11th till the 13th century and is a great reminder of the rich history of this city.
The tower was restored to its present splended self in 1967 and is in my opinion a really interesting landmark.
Tour Anneessens is really easy to locate on Boulevard De L'Empereur.
Well worth checking out.
Written 13 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil K
Liverpool, UK829,468 contributions
May 2019 • Friends
A short walk from Grote Markt brought us to one of the most interesting structures in Brussels namely Anneessens Tower ,built at the start of the 13th century, this was part of the first fortifications of Brussels ,its also known as the Corner Tower as it was a corner tower in the defensive walls,now named in honour of François Anneessens ( 1660 _ 1719 ) who was head of the Quatre Couronnes which was guild for sculpures,stone carvers and masons.
The tower fell into disrepair and was damaged by the expansion of the railway system in 1957 but was restored to its present state in 1967 .
The tower is cool looking, you can get quite close actually, I think it looks better at night when illuminated but during the day it also looks superb.
Easy to locate on Boulevard De L'Empereur and most definitely well worth checking out if your in the area.
The tower fell into disrepair and was damaged by the expansion of the railway system in 1957 but was restored to its present state in 1967 .
The tower is cool looking, you can get quite close actually, I think it looks better at night when illuminated but during the day it also looks superb.
Easy to locate on Boulevard De L'Empereur and most definitely well worth checking out if your in the area.
Written 21 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kawaii D
The Netherlands249 contributions
Jan 2024 • Friends
We were so disapointed. The ruin isnt very big and next to it were very large fences, so you barely see anything. Also a lot of grafitti.
Written 6 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil K
Liverpool, UK829,468 contributions
Jun 2022 • Friends
If you walk just a short way from the magnificent Grand Place brings you to one of the most historic landmark sites in Brussels namely Tour Anneessens .
This splendid looking tower and defensive walls look amazing ,constructed at the beginning of the 13th century and was part of the defensive walls of Brussels ,it's named in honour of Francois Anneessens ,over the centuries the walls and tower fell in disrepair and with the expansion of the railway system in 1957 it looked like the walls and tower would be lost forever but by 1967 what we view today was restored ,a grand piece of architecture indeed,I love the look of the walls and tower ,so historic ,it's easy to locate along Boulevard De L' Empereur and well worth checking out
This splendid looking tower and defensive walls look amazing ,constructed at the beginning of the 13th century and was part of the defensive walls of Brussels ,it's named in honour of Francois Anneessens ,over the centuries the walls and tower fell in disrepair and with the expansion of the railway system in 1957 it looked like the walls and tower would be lost forever but by 1967 what we view today was restored ,a grand piece of architecture indeed,I love the look of the walls and tower ,so historic ,it's easy to locate along Boulevard De L' Empereur and well worth checking out
Written 18 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
906johans
Huddinge, Sweden7 contributions
Oct 2019
I saw the old wall but didn´t understand it was an attraction. Took a few photos since I understod it was ancient and guessing it was a part of old city wall.
Written 23 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TYPSUKR
Arlington, VA729 contributions
Apr 2019 • Couples
Brussels is pretty modern at this point, so it's nice to see some of the remaining evidence of its older chapters. This doesn't really warrant too much beyond a stop while you're walking around, but it's a good reminder of the history of this otherwise modern city.
Written 22 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing