Cinquantenaire and Schuman

East of the center at the end of rue de la Loi, Rond-Point Robert Schuman is the focus of the buildings that house the European institutions. During the week, the area hums with besuited politicians, lobbyists, and journalists from all over the Continent, but on weekends it's left eerily empty. The generally gray, massive buildings can make the area seem somewhat glowering. A number of vast museums and an attractive park surround Brussels' version of the Arc de Triomphe, known as the Cinquantenaire arch, planned by Leopold II for the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence in 1880. Leopold's inability to coax funding from a reluctant government meant it was not completed until 25 years later.