Brussels
Currency
EUR
Language
French, Dutch
Timezone
Brussels
Continent
Europe
Discover Brussels
Brussels does badly in a single day because it is more spread out than it looks. The Grand-Place and its Gothic town hall form the heart, the Manneken Pis is two streets away, and the Atomium — the nine steel spheres of the 1958 World's Fair — stands six kilometres north at Heysel. Between them sit the Magritte Museum and the Parc du Cinquantenaire.
When to go
May to September. Belgian weather is capricious all year: expect rain in any season. Winter brings Christmas markets and seasonal beers, and the city is markedly quieter.
Getting around
Metro, tram and bus share one ticket. The centre walks, but the Atomium needs the metro — about twenty minutes from the centre. Brussels is an hour and twenty minutes from Paris by train, which makes it a weekend destination with no flight at all.
Where to eat
Belgium is eaten more than it is toured: moules-frites, carbonnade, waffles, and above all beer — more than fifteen hundred brewed in the country, including Trappists made nowhere else. Twenty-five halal addresses are listed, a strong ratio.
Good to know
Admission runs from 8 to 45 €. The Grand-Place is free and worth seeing at night, when the façades are lit. Mini-Europe, at the foot of the Atomium, combines easily with a visit there if you are travelling with children.
Top Activities in Brussels
landmarkAtomium
from €20
landmarkManneken Pis
from €23
landmarkSaint Michael and Gudula Cathedral
from €16
landmarkRoyal Palace
from €15
landmarkPalace of Justice
from €14
activityMini-Europe
from €45
landmarkBrussels Town Hall
from €14
landmarkÉglise Notre-Dame des Victoires au Sablon
from €12
museumHouse of European History
Free
museumBelgian Comic Strip Center
from €16
landmarkRoyal Palace of Laeken
from €14
landmarkChapel of the Resurrection
from €12
museumMusical Instruments Museum
from €16
parkParc du Cinquantenaire
Free
museumMuseum for Natural Sciences of Belgium
from €15
museumMusée Magritte Museum
from €15
landmarkChurch of Our Lady
from €12
landmarkParc Josaphat
from €11
museumMusée de la Porte de Hal
from €15
museumBrussels City Museum
from €10
landmarkGrande mosquée de Bruxelles
from €12
landmarkBrussels Park
from €10
landmarkGreat Synagogue of Europe
from €12
museumParlamentarium
Free
Restaurants in Brussels
Chez Léon
