Brussels in general > Reviews

Advantages: Cheap travel, delicious food and BEER!
Disadvantages: If you find a comfy bar, you may not leave...

Brussels is a delightful city which is often forgotten about as a tourist destination. Situated between its more popular cousins Paris, Amsterdam and London you can see why, but if you take the effort to really find out what's what you'll find a city with plenty of culture, delicious food, amazing architecture and, of course, great beer. Brussels is the head of the European Union and despite the city's relatively brief history, has become one of ... Read review

Advantages: Some beautiful parts, nice food and easy to get to.
Disadvantages: Not much to do for a capital city

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 ... Read review

Advantages: yummy waffles, delicious chocolates and jupiler beer
Disadvantages: it rains occasionally

I visited Brussels just before Easter this year. It was my first time in Belgium and whilst the trip was organised through an organisation with the main aim of visiting the European Parliment and speaking to MEPs we still found things to keep ourselves occupied. On arrival in the city at 6am it was a shock to step off the bus and see someone with a gun. Police all carry guns and look very hostile, not the sort of people you would want to approach ... Read review

Advantages: Real food and good wines at lower prices
Disadvantages: Not so easy and obvious as the main tourist places

Brussels is the food capital of Europe. The Belgians love their food and wine - they drink more Claret per head than the British, who drink more of the best Claret than the French do themselves! And just off the Grand Place is the area of Rue des Buchers, a famous and fascinating set of alleyways with busy and not-so-busy restaurants cheek by jowl competing with each other for your custom. This is where the tourists eat, and some of the foreign residents. But ... Read review

Advantages: Good food, fascinating historical town
Disadvantages: Not worth staying more than a few days

...place worth visiting as Paris, Brussels has a charm all of its own, with many hidden corners worth exploring. One big advantage is that the city is not swamped with tourists, and hotel prices are not outrageous. For travel from London, Eurostar is the obvious contender (faster than the plane city centre-to-centre). I can think of nowhere better than Brussels if you are looking for a good restaurant in the evening- you are totally spoilt for choice. ... Read review

Advantages: Range of things to see and do and eat!
Disadvantages: The amount of large groups of tourists who milled around together

I vistited Brussels in early June, just before Euro 2000. I was only there for a couple of days and didn't have many expectations but i have to say, I was very pleasantly suprised. As soon as I left the Central Station, I headed towards the Grand Place, the main square which is surrounded by fantastic town houses. It was full of large groups of tourists but as it is so large, it is easy to look at everything. As well as visiting the Grand Place ... Read review

Advantages: easy to get to, lots of beer
Disadvantages: can't get there often enough

...into Hollan, France and Germany. Brussels has lots of great eating places in Rue du Bouches. And Antwerp has some of the best shopping in Europe, not to mention being the diamond capital. Belgium is only a small country with a good motorway network so it doesn't take long to get around. But by far the best part is the beer. There are about 700 different types of beer brewed in Belgium. Try the Noel Christmas beer at 12 per cent, the same strength ... Read review

Advantages: beautiful, not too far
Disadvantages: Too much beer to drink in one weekend

...the very LONG transfer between Brussels & Spa-Francorchamps (abotu 2.5 hrs - leaving Brussels @ 5.30am on race day.... not good for the system). The next week I went back with "he who thinks he should be obeyed" for a romantic weekend - and it was. We stayed in a very old hotel called the Metropole, close to everything (built in 1800 or so - incredible old lift). The Grand Place is beautiful. Get a seat at one of the cafe bars at about 9.30pm ... Read review

Advantages: 40 minutes away.
Disadvantages: Its not quite Rio.

...or Dublin's pubs (be Jaysus!) Brussels has plenty of bars and cafes that sort of straddle the pair. The Belgians, too, are possible the most English-like people in Europe. We are united with those in the north by a mutual hatred of the French, with those in the south by a like for beer and a stoical attitude to the North Sea climate. With mussels and chips being the national dish, it could be London - but blisfully without too many Londonners! ... Read review

Advantages: No proble getting a table at a restaurant
Disadvantages: They're all the same.

...around the side streets of Brussels looking at menus (many identical) trying to compare prices(mostly identical) and trying to assess the ambience of each one (usually by the number of people sitting outside). The problem is that it almost impossible to take your time and decide where to plonk yourself because of the waiters standing outside each restaurant. Unfortunately, these people do not only hassle you - but they try and "bribe" you to eat at ... Read review

Advantages: A city without the hastle
Disadvantages: Drivers are a bit nuts

I lived in Brussels for just shy of a year and in that time I managed to visit all manner of restaurants and tourist attractions. For this reason I thought my experiences would make for useful reading on Ciao. The most important thing to remember about Brussels is that if you're just going for tourist type activities, there are two possibilities. Either you're the sort of person that enjoys museums and art, in which case you could keep your self ... Read review

Advantages: Amazing sights, some great people.
Disadvantages: Homelessness problem. :-(

...is La Grande Place of Brussels where a beautiful mausoleum dominates your view, which is fantastic, and of course Le Mannequin-Pis. On a good day, you'll see street performers (or I certainly did!) doing all manner of things - I was lucky enough to see acrobatics just off the Grande Place, down one of the streets laden with Chocolateries. With most of the city French-speaking, some of the influx of the far East means that some do not speak French ... Read review