Brussels is a cosmopolitan, friendly and very compact city where almost everyone speaks English. It’s also the home of the Belgian royal family, the European parliament, great cakes and patisseries, very rich chocolates, quality coffee, sickly waffles and beautiful parks. Getting here could not be easier, or more fun, than going from St Pancras on Eurostar; travelling Leisure Select is well worth the extra few pounds!
Brussels is jam packed with excellent, good value restaurants, stunning art galleries and museums and of course, wonderful bars serving almost certainly the best beer in the world...
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Brussels is a cosmopolitan, friendly and very compact city where almost everyone speaks English. It’s also the home of the Belgian royal family, the European parliament, great cakes and patisseries, very rich chocolates, quality coffee, sickly waffles and beautiful parks. Getting here could not be easier, or more fun, than going from St Pancras on Eurostar; travelling Leisure Select is well worth the extra few pounds!
Brussels is jam packed with excellent, good value restaurants, stunning art galleries and museums and of course, wonderful bars serving almost certainly the best beer in the world. The shopping is not bad either; there are some first rate shopping streets, particularly the smart avenue Louise and more affordable rue Neuve.
Getting around the city is best tackled on foot; you won’t miss very much strolling around slowly taking in the sights, the smells and the eclectic architectural mix. If you don’t fancy walking, then there is an extensive tram and bus network and a metro system too. If you are using a satnav to get around you will need to know the street names in BOTH Flemish (Belgian Dutch) and French as some devices only list streets and place names in one language.
Generally Brussels is a very safe place, but it does have a pickpocket problem of which all visitors should be aware. Driving can also be a bit scary unless you are a seasoned aficionado of the Hyde Park Corner roundabout or the Parliament Square one-way system, in which case it’ll be a breeze, otherwise ‘on fait attention!!’ It can also be a bit messy at street level, the street cleansing isn’t great, but I think that this just underlines the difference between Belgium and its two somewhat more anally retentive neighbours, France and Holland; both of whom tend to stare down their noses at what they consider to be a shambolic country that exists solely on a diet of beer and chips. To my mind it is quite the opposite; yes, Brussels is tatty and a tad unkempt but it has an enduring enchantment as it surprisingly melds together all the best bits of France and Holland, but sans attitude.
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