My Dad was working in Brussels last summer so when he offered me his flat for a week for a little break I agreed straightaway. Come on, I was skint and the offer of a very cheap holiday doesn't come along too often. So myself and my boyfriend headed off to Brussels thanks to National Express for the sum of £55 all the way from Birmingham. Pretty good deal, I think.
Brussels, in case you didn't know, is the capital of Belgium. There are parts of the centre that are very beautiful such as the Grand Place, a gorgeous public square
surrounded by classical buildings. It was like something from an old film. Every few years they have a carpet of flowers in the centre of the sqaure. This was astounding, but it is impossible to get a decent picture of the carpet of flowers. So we bought some, which now hang on our wall at home! There is also the Mannequin de Pis statute. This is a small statue of a little boy who is er, pissing, funnily enough. He is dressed up in different costumes such as Elvis or Mickey Mouse. Quite amusing for five minutes. There are also some ugly, run down parts of the town. Maybe we saw more of this because we were not staying in the centre of town.
Brussels has all the usual chain stores such as H+M (Hennes), which is massive over there, and lots of very expensive designer shops. They also have an abundance of markets selling all kinds of things from gifts to antiques to food. We visited the markets and they sold some great gifts such as jewellery and candles. If you are visiting Brussels, find out which markets are on which day as you shouldn't go there and miss out on them.
As expected, there are all the usual fast food places- Mcdonalds (they serve beer in them over there. Still disgusting though I imagine) and a French chain called Quick. I have to reccomend this place as we had a meal from there and it was really nice! We also ate in Pizza Hut one day and I found the service terrible, they were rude and got our order wrong. Maybe it was just a bad day, but I didn't feel very welcome.
To be honest, the people aren't especially friendly or welcoming, but I suppose as it is a big city, they are just trying to get on with their lives. My Dad had warned us about the dodgy areas and we did feel a bit uneasy in them. Be careful around the main metro/train station.
The main form of transport in Brussels is the tram. Quick and efficent, I highly reccomend making use of the tram. The same trams go underground in parts of the city and like out tube system in London. The best thing about the transport system there is that we only paid for one or two journeys the whole week. The idea is, you have tickets that cost the same price, you stamp your own ticket when you get on the tram. The ticket is then valid for an hours travel. The thing is, there are very few inspections, so it is very easy to get away with not paying. A small warning though, if you do get caught, it is a £250 fine!!! I worked this out with my dodgy GCSE knowledge of French.
The languages there are French and Flemish, so all the signs are in dual language. French is the main language though, and the majority of people speak a little English.
The best thing about our trip was the fact that whilst we were there, the largest travelling funfair in Europe was there! This "funfair" was nothing like our British version. Stretching for about 1 mile down a wide road closed off to traffic, it had everything! From Bungee Balls (you have to see them to understand) to Rollercoasters. We spent many a happy night shrieking away on the rides.
As for food, I recommend their chips! They often serve them with mayonnaise, which is a lot nicer than it sounds. As I don't eat red meat, I was a little worried about what I could eat, but there was no need. Lots of places serve Pitta breads stuffed with all sorts of different fillings for about £1.50.
There are a lot of bars and clubs there, but the prices are similar to here (ie. expensive) so we didn't really go to any.
I would say that on the whole, Brussels is a nice place to go for a short break, but any longer and you may get a little bored. But as I managed a weeks holiday for less than £100, I was happy whatever!
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Advantages: Cheap, plenty of bars, good selection of resteraunts, historic city Disadvantages: Students, busy main street, not ideal for tourism (yet).
sibod 26.10.2006 ·
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