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Brussels pushes out in all directions from the city centre and the inner suburbs, its present-day perimeter enclosing no fewer than nineteen communes and marked by the ring road, the RO. Within this circle, the city's outlying districts are little known by tourists but they do hold a handful of first-rate attractions as well as some lesser sights. All of the places mentioned are within easy reach of the centre by public transport. The gritty commune of Anderlecht , to the immediate west of the petit ring, comes top in the order of places to visit, not only because it is home to one of Europe's most famous football teams - Anderlecht - but also as the location of the fascinating Maison d'Erasme, where Erasmus holed up for a few months in 1521, and the Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze, devoted to the production of the eponymous brew. Koekelberg , just to the north, is less well-endowed - it has only the colossal Basilique du Sacre Coeur to offer - while the adjacent commune of Jette boasts the enjoyable Musee Rene Magritte, sited in the artist's old home and studio. Continuing in a clockwise direction, the next commune is Heysel , where you'll find the Atomium, a hugely enlarged model of a molecule, and the infamous Heysel stadium, scene of the 1985 football crowd disaster. Next door is leafy Laeken , whose sprawling parkland is dotted with the accoutrements of the Belgian royals - their greenhouse, statues and monuments, as well as the main palace and a couple of regal follies, a Japanese tower and a Chinese pavilion. The communes lying east and south of the city centre are of only modest appeal. Beyond the ring road to the east is the small town of Tervuren , site of the Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, whose assorted African artefacts were first brought together by Leopold II. To the south of the city lies the Foret de Soignes , a great chunk of forest criss-crossed by footpaths and scattered with picnic sites. West of the forest there's the greenery of prosperous Uccle , too, not to mention the fine art collection of the Musee David et Alice van Buuren.
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