NH Brussels City Centre, Saint-Gilles

Advantages: Close to town, Quiet, Nice rooms
Disadvantages: Expensive bar

...We had immense trouble deciding on a hotel for my husband's birthday break in Amsterdam. We're trying to find a reasonably priced hotel that wasn't too shabby and in a decent location. After reviewing all the options, we went for the NH City Centre, if only because of it's 1920's styling and proximity to town. We were not disappointed. The hotel is lovely with each room finished beautifully, if you like the modern thing (and we do!). The overall atmosphere is very calm and serene. It took us forever to find the hotel, but that may have been because I insisted, as I had been to Amsterdam a couple of times before, that finding our way around would be easy, we could walk there and we didn't need a map. About an hour later we finally found the back of the hotel, exhausted from dragging our suitcases up and down a zillion canals... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning architecture and lots of lovely different beers and chocolates
Disadvantages: Not a huge amount of well known attractions

...over eight floors and contains art and sculpture from throughout the centuries with works by Rubens, Picasso and Dali to name but a few. Entry is around €5.00. The Cartoon Strip Museum (Centre Belge de la Bande Desinée) is another interesting venue, with lots of examples of the Belgian comic strip Tintin, as well as others. Entry to this museum is €6.25. ***GETTING AROUND BRUSSELS*** There is a huge and wide-spread network of public transport made up of trams, buses and metro. You can buy tickets from the driver of the tram or the bus, or from booths in the underground metro stations. Trams, buses and the metro are all extremely frequent, the city network coverage is superb and they are simple and easy to use. The same ticket (costing €1.50) can be used during one hour on any of the buses, trams or metro. You can also buy day... Read review

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Advantages: Cosmopolitan with plenty to see and do
Disadvantages: Ridiculous hotel prices midweek

...and the NATO headquarters are nearby. These institutions have given Brussels an enormous economic boost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On arrival in Brussels, head for the tourist office where narrow, cobbled streets open suddenly into the breathtaking Grand-Place. With it's ornate guildhouses, impressive Town Hall and buzzing atmosphere, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful square in the whole of Europe. Bars, restaurants and museums are clustered together in the compact city centre, enclosed within the inner ring road, which follows the path of the fourteenth-century city walls. ----------------- The Grand-Place ----------------- This is the main tourist attraction of Brussels. It is visited by thousands daily, whether to wander around admiring the impressive buildings, or to sit at one of the many... Read review

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