Brussels Tourism - Travel to Brussels

Brussels (French: Bruxelles, Dutch: Brussel) is the capital of Belgium and -- unofficially -- also of the EU. Lying at the crossroads of cultures (the Germanic in the north and the Romanic in the South) and playing an important role in Europe it fits the definition of the so-called "melting pot" but still retains a character of its own.

Table of contents

1 Get in

2 Get around

3 See

4 Do

5 Buy

6 Eat

7 Drink

8 Sleep

9 Get out

10 External links

Get into Brussels

There are several budget airlines flying to Charleroi's Airport, which is still an hour from Brussels.

There is also the somewhat expensive highspeed Thalys train, which connects Brussels with Cologne, Paris, Marseille and Amsterdam. There are numerous rebates for travellers under 25 years or those who book two weeks in advance though.

http://www.thalys.com/ Bookings and reservation for Thalys

Eurolines and Gulliver's offer bus travel.

Get around in Brussels

Brussels has 3 metro lines, many buses and some tramways. A card that can be used for ten rides with public transport costs 9,80 euro. Single ride tickets cost 1,40 € and are available from the driver. Ten ride tickets are available from many newspaper kiosks as well as at the bigger stations.

See Brussels

Brussels is a funny mixture of old and new.

Go see the Grand Place. At night. Awesome.

At the Grand Place, have a "Gauffre Liegoise" (belgian waffle with caramelized sugar) -- best ones are available from the little shops off the northeast corner of the Grand Place.

Definitely check out the Arc de Triomphe on the east side of town.

The Atomium is worth a trip -- an easy subway ride

The hostel Generation Europe offers beds for budget travelling.

Recommend the Hotel A La Grande Cloche (they're on the web) -- cheap rates, decent rooms, decent location halfway between Gare Du Midi and the Grand Place (about a 10-minute walk to either).