Grand-Place
Guildhalls and the Town Hall
A gilded square of guildhouses around the Gothic Town Hall. Come back at night when it is lit.
CentreFreeIconic
Brussels, Belgium
Ideal: 2 daysBest: Apr–Jun, Sep, DecPrice: Expensive
In 60 seconds
Brussels in 60 seconds
Brussels hides its charms behind a reputation for bureaucracy: the Grand-Place is one of Europe's most beautiful squares, Victor Horta's Art Nouveau houses are a style unto themselves, and the beer cafés, frites stands and chocolate shops repay slow exploration. See the Grand-Place again after dark, when it is lit, and Horta's own house in Saint-Gilles by day. The centre is walkable and the Metro and trams cover the rest; Eurostar arrives at Brussels-Midi, and trains for Bruges and Ghent leave from all three central stations. It is compact, multilingual and two hours from Paris and London by train. Two days is right, with Bruges or Ghent as a day trip.
Art
Best for
- Beer
- Food
- Architecture
- Weekend
Known for
- The Grand-Place
- Belgian beer
- Art Nouveau
Skip if
You want sunshine and big sights in every street. Brussels is rainy and rewards those who seek it out.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Brussels fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts
ModerateFlemish masters and Magritte
Bruegel, Rubens and the Flemish primitives, with the Magritte Museum in the same complex.
Mont des ArtsArtHalf day
Atomium
Moderate1958 World's Fair landmark
A giant model of an iron crystal, with exhibitions in its spheres and a view from the top.
HeyselLandmarkView
Eat
Where to eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
Local
Where to eat the food this city is actually known for.
In 't Spinnekopke
ModerateOld Brussels tavern
Belgian classics in three wood-panelled dining rooms on a small square near Sainte-Catherine.
DansaertBelgianTavern
Nüetnigenough
ModerateBelgian cooking with beer
A small, busy bistro cooking Belgian dishes with beer, with a strong beer list.
CentreBeerNo bookings
Chez Jansens & Jansens
ModerateNeighbourhood tavern
A bistro-tavern serving the Belgian repertoire — shrimp croquettes, stoemp, stew — without fuss.
BelgianTavern
Casual
No booking, no ceremony, reliably good.
Noordzee – Mer du Nord
ModerateFishmonger's standing bar
Order at the counter on Place Sainte-Catherine and eat grilled scampi and fish soup standing in the square.
Sainte-CatherineSeafoodStanding
Fin de Siècle
ModerateBrown café with hearty food
Communal tables, stoemp and beer-braised stew near Saint-Géry. No bookings, so come early.
Saint-GéryBelgianNo bookings
Maison Dandoy
InexpensiveWaffles and speculoos · Since 1829
Brussels and Liège waffles and the city's best-known speculoos biscuits, near the Grand-Place.
CentreSweetWaffles
Special occasion
Worth planning the evening around.
Comme chez Soi
Very expensiveClassic French-Belgian fine dining
A Brussels institution run by the same family for four generations, in an Art Nouveau dining room.
CentreBook aheadClassic
La Villa Lorraine
Very expensiveFine dining by the Bois de la Cambre
A grand restaurant in a villa at the edge of the forest park, with a terrace for summer.
UccleBook aheadGarden
La Villa in the Sky
Very expensiveTasting menu on the 25th floor
Alexandre Dionisio's tasting menu high above Avenue Louise, with the whole city spread below.
IxellesTasting menuView
Coffee & fika
Mornings, and the slow hour between things.
OR Coffee
InexpensiveSpecialty roaster
A Belgian specialty roaster with an espresso bar in the centre.
CentreEspressoRoastery
MOK Coffee
InexpensiveSpecialty coffee bar
A specialty coffee bar near Sainte-Catherine from one of the city's best roasters.
DansaertFilterRoastery
Wittamer
ModeratePâtisserie on the Sablon · Since 1910
Cakes, chocolates and macarons from a famous pâtisserie, with a tea room on the Place du Grand Sablon.
SablonChocolatePastries
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Horta Museum
ModerateVictor Horta's own house
The architect's home and studio in Saint-Gilles, a masterpiece of Art Nouveau down to the door handles.
Saint-GillesArt NouveauBook ahead
Musical Instruments Museum
InexpensiveIn the Old England building
Thousands of instruments in an Art Nouveau department store, with a rooftop café and view.
Mont des ArtsArt NouveauView
Cantillon Brewery
InexpensiveWorking lambic brewery and museum
A family brewery making spontaneously fermented lambic and gueuze the old way; tour it and taste.
AnderlechtBeerUnusual
After dark
Bars & nightlife
À la Mort Subite
ModerateBeer café · 1928
A long mirrored hall serving gueuze and kriek, little changed in nearly a century.
CentreBeerHistoric
Moeder Lambic
ModerateCraft beer bar
Dozens of Belgian beers on tap, with knowledgeable staff, in Saint-Gilles and on Place Fontainas.
Saint-GillesBeerCraft
Poechenellekelder
ModeratePuppet-filled beer café
A beer café hung with marionettes, opposite the Manneken Pis.
CentreBeerQuirky
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Sablon
Antiques and chocolatiers
A square of antique dealers and chocolate shops below the Palace of Justice.
Marolles
Flea market and old Brussels
A working-class quarter with the daily flea market on the Place du Jeu de Balle.
Saint-Gilles
Art Nouveau streets
Horta's house and some of the finest Art Nouveau façades, with a lively square of bars.
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Around the Grand-Place
ExpensiveCentral and walkable
Everything on foot, though the streets nearest the square are busy late.
CentralWalkable
Sainte-Catherine
ExpensiveFish restaurants and boutiques
A lively, central quarter around the old harbour basins.
CentralRestaurants
Ixelles
ExpensiveResidential and lively
Cafés, restaurants and Art Nouveau streets, a tram ride from the centre.
LocalRestaurants
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting in
- Trains run from Brussels Airport to Central station in about 20 minutes; Eurostar arrives at Brussels-Midi.
- Getting around
- Metro, trams and buses are run by STIB; the centre is walkable.
- Money
- Euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere.
- Languages
- Brussels is officially bilingual — French and Dutch — and English is widely spoken.
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- 1695
French bombardment destroys the Grand-Place; the guilds rebuild it within a few years.
- 1893
Victor Horta's Hôtel Tassel launches Art Nouveau architecture.
- 1958
The World's Fair leaves the Atomium; Brussels becomes the seat of the new European institutions.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Bruges
Medieval canal city
Canals, belfry and Flemish painting, an hour by train.
By trainFull dayHistory
Ghent
Canals and the Ghent Altarpiece
A lively university city with the Van Eyck altarpiece, 30 minutes by train.
By trainArtFull day
Antwerp
Rubens, diamonds and fashion
Rubens's house, the cathedral and a grand railway station, under an hour by train.
By trainArtFashion
Go further
Routes through Brussels
Multi-city trips that stop here, with the transport between them.