I would argue that Brussels is one of the best places to go for a budget city break. It’s easy to get to, is a very walkable city, and also has great transport links both around the city, and to explore further afield as well.
It’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit, and somewhere you hear a lot of conflicting feelings about. Some people I’ve spoken to love the city, whereas I’ve heard other people say it’s quite a boring city. I’m in team love it – after spending 4 days exploring the area, I’m already desperate to go back. There is so much to do, and it’s a great base for exploring more of Europe as well!
How to travel to Brussels
One thing I love about Brussels is how easy it is to get to. The transport links two and from the city make it incredibly easy, whether you want to fly or get the train here.
Everything you need to know about travelling to Brussels by Eurostar
The Eurostar makes it incredibly efficient to get to Brussels from London.
There’s around 10 trains per day from London St Pancras, and you’ll be in Brussels in just under two hours.
You’ll arrive at Brussels-Midi/Zuid, where you can change trains to get a train into the centre of the city (which takes 3 minutes). However, we stayed at a hotel near the station, and it was about a 15 minute walk into the very city center.
Make sure to keep an eye out for deals on the Eurostar – we got our tickets in the sale for around £60 return!
Looking for more info on the Eurostar? Read our ultimate guide to the Eurostar here
Flying to Brussels
Most major UK airports fly directly to Brussels, and you can easily get from the airport into the city centre – either by train or bus.
The quickest and cheapest way is the airport train, which takes 20 minutes and costs € 9 (£ 7.48) on weekdays and € 15.40 (£ 12.81) on weekends. All trains go to Brussels North, Brussels Central, and Brussels Midi railway stations. The airport train station is located below the terminal (basement level -1).
You can also take bus lines 12 and 21 to the European Quarter, stopping at Schuman or Place Luxemburg. The bus runs every 20-30 minutes and a one-way ticket costs € 4.50 (£ 3.74) from the ticket machine or € 6 (£ 4.99) from the driver.
If you’re staying in the city center or the European Quarter, or if you’re traveling for business, the De Lijn and STIB bus companies are also good options. The journey takes 30-40 minutes.
Where to eat and drink in Brussels
There are some really cool places to eat and drink whilst you’re in Brussels, and here are three stand out places we went to.
Creme, Brussels – the best brunch in Brussels
I’m a brunch gal, and we had a brilliant brunch at Creme. There’s a reason people were almost queuing out the door, and it’s because of how delicious the food and drinks are here!
I opted for the Turkish Eggs with a side of avocado, and two months later I’m still dreaming about them!
Bouche – the best coffee in Brussels
As a coffee lover who is always on the search for the perfect decaf, oat milk flat white, I jumped with joy when I saw this coffee shop. There was a buzz of activity here, and you could tell as soon as you walked in that these guys know about coffee. This was a perfect coffee, and fueled me around our walking tour of the city.
Wolf – the food market you need to visit
You can’t beat a good food market. The one place everyone said I needed to visit when I went to Brussels was Wolf, and they weren’t wrong.
With 17 different artisan food vendors, including on-site baked Syrian bread, fresh homemade pasta, an international award-winning pizzeria, creative sushi, delicious burgers and a micro brewery, there really is something for everyone here! The most difficult thing is knowing what to choose!
In the basement, you’ll also find a really cool photobooth, perfect for capturing a brilliant evening out!
Visiting Brussels Christmas Markets
Before we get into the full itinerary, I wanted to share some more about the Christmas markets. Because we went at the beginning of December, the markets were in full swing, so we did a lot of walking around markets and getting into the festive spirit!
The Christmas Markets are spread across the whole city, with mini markets popping up.
How to spend a long weekend in Brussels
Ready to get away for the weekend? Here’s our guide to making the most of your weekend in Belgium.
Day one : Arriving in Brussels by Eurostar
Hop on the 3pm Eurostar on a Friday afternoon, and you’ll be in Brussels for dinner time – what’s not to love!
Once you’ve set your bags down where you’re staying, it’s time to head out into the city! I don’t think you can beat a ‘get your barings’ walk when you get to a new city. Ours took us to The Grand Palace Square, Maneken Pis, and then towards Grasmarkt.
Whilst it felt very touristy, we decided to eat at Brussels Grill Grand Place. I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend here. Whilst the food was okay, the service was poor and the prices were high for what it was. It did have a nice vibe about it, and was a great place to people watch.
Head to The View, Brussels big wheel, for panoramic views over the city! One thing to keep an eye out for is all of the beautiful street art. There’s lots of comic book themed street art, as well as pop up art installations. I think that’s something I really loved about the city – it’s so artistic and creative!
Before you head back to the hotel, don’t foget to stop at Herman Van Dender for the most incredible hot chocolates (they even have a wall of chocolate!!).
Day two : Walking tours of Brussels
Ready for a day of over 20,000 steps? We spent our Saturday doing a DIY walking tour, to see all of the sites of Brussels.
Kick off the day with Breakfast/brunch at Creme to fuel up before the mammoth tour. The must see places that we saw on our tour were;
- Start at Salbon, where you can see the Eglise Notre-Dame au Salbon church. There’s also an antiques market, and some incredible chocolate shops including Wittamer. The window display here is beautiful.
- Walk towards the Royal Quarter, which is beautiful. There are lots of historic and artistic museums in this area. Walk through the Garen of the Mont des Arts, take a look at the Palace of Charles of Lorraine, the Musical Instruments Museum and BELvue museum
- Stop for a coffee break at Bouche
- Go underground at the Palais du Coudenberg – This archaeological site is a cool way to check out the past and see what’s left of the palace. You can explore the ruins, including the old Rue Isabelle and the Hoogstraeten House, and it’s absolutely fascinating!
- From here, walk over to the European Quarter, and experience the European Parliament. There’s a free museum here, as well as some gorgeous gardens.
- As you head back towards the city, walk through Warandepark, where there is a really cute bar in the park called Woodpecker. With the twinkling lights, it was really giving Gilmore Girls vibes as we sipped on mulled wine, had some cake and had a good chat with pals. It really did have a lovely atmosphere about it.
- Next you’re going to walk to the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula – a must visit on your walking tour!
- Finally walk through Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert – an incredible shopping arcade. At Christmas, this arcade feels incredibly magical with the lights and decorations!
For dinner, fuel up at Wolf where you can have the classic Belgian meal of Moules et Frites, try some incredible artisan food, and the different beers from the micro brewery!
Day three : A day trip to Bruges
It’s only an hour to Bruges on the train, and there are over 50 trains a day between the two cities. On a weekend, you get 50% off your ticket – our tickets were around €18 each and everything ran on time. It was also really cool as the trains are double decker, which blew my mind!
Once you get to Bruges, there is so much to do. Explore the cobbled streets and historic buildings, and take a boat trip on the canal.
I fell in love with Bruges from the moment I stepped foot in this historic town. It’s beautiful and just has such a lovely feel about it. There’s so much to see and we only just scratched the surface!
To get an incredible view of the whole city, climb the 83m tower, Belfort. However, you should book this online before you get there. We just showed up, and all of the tickets for the day had sold out!
We visited Boekhandel De Reyghere, which is a really cute bookshop with a great selection of English books, and some cute postcards as well! We also made sure to visit The Old Chocolate House, and the chocolates here were delicious!
As it was the Christmas Markets, we mainly ate at there (and I had one of the best, most flavoursome bowls of pasta here, which was unexpected!), however we did go for Burgers in the evening before the train back to Brussels. It was local chain, Manhattan Burgers and they were really tasty, and had a really relaxed atmosphere.
You could spend so much more than a day here, and I feel like this was a really good way to have a taster of the city!
Day four : A final chance to explore
On your final day, it’s the perfect chance to get to see more of Brussels, and some of the many museums that it has to offer. To get some ideas, make sure to check out the 10 of the very best things to do in Brussels!
If you have time to squeeze in time for brunch, head to Chicago Cafe. This is a really cool cafe, where it almost feels like you’re in a school gym. The coffee isn’t the best here, but the food is full of flavour, and it has a really artistic feel about the place.
So there is our whistle stop tour of Brussels. This is such an incredible city, and one I feel I’ve only scratched the surface of. It’s a brilliant place to go for a budget city break, and there really is something for everyone. I came away from this city feeling creatively inspired and I just know I’ll be back to visit again!
Planning your own trip to Brussels? Don’t forget to check out our guide of the very best things to do in Brussels, as well as our Eurostar guide. Over on instagram, there’s also the Brussels highlight to take a look at as well. And if you’re looking for more inspiration for your next European city break, take a look at our city guides here!
