Anyone been to Brussels?

Thomask

During Ryan Air's second to last sale I booked a flight to Brussels.. for a total of 2p!

I don't know much about Belgium! What is it like? What is there to do in Brussels? Are food and drinks expensive? Nice cafes? Good nightlife? Good transport? How about other places in Begium worth visiting? Are they eaisly accessable by train? Where do you recommend visiting?

I actually booked a couple of flights.. this one being from the 6th - 13th Nov!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts :j

Tea3

http://www.visitbelgium.com/ The 'What To Do Link' at the top is great.
I've been a few times and food was not the cheapest around but cheaper than many other european places - and large portions (we virtually lived in Q Burger as their chips and mayonnaise was heaven). Travel is quite good too and well signed. Most of the people we met spoke english which was handy for directions etc. There's a fair amount to see and do there depending on your kind of thing - statues, shops, historic buildings, chillout areas etc. Not the best european place i've been but would go back again. Just check connenction from ryanairs airport to the actual city - we always went by ferry or train to brussels but ryanair can sometimes use airports miles from the actual place and sometimes you have to add on a fair bit extra to travel to the city you thought you would be landing in.
Have a great time

sjpkgp

worth a visit for the city centre, main square is lovely, and didn't find food/drink too expensive. some areas (like any city) are rough, avoid the area around midi station (stayed at novotel - no real problem with hotel itself but stepping out was like stepping out into the ghetto) had to get thalys into paris , so no choice for me, but as I say, rough.

dearbarbie

what they said ^ Belgium is lovely, and food/drink is cheaper than UK (but where isn't!!!) it's all squares, cafe culture, love it

lindens

We went to Ghent for the day, really quaint with lots of canals, not far on the train.
Brussels was lovely, hotels really cheap at the weekend as business people are away and they need to fill the hotels other ways. Public transaport great - we used about 6 modes of transport in one weekend (train, tram, trolley bus, horse and carriage, canal boat). Lots of cobbles so comfy shoes a must!

bonnieheather

Belgium is beautiful, i've been a couple of times visiting an online friend.
the people are so friendly and go out of their way to help you and most of them do speak english.
Antwerp is an absolutley lovely city with loads of amazing architecture (if your into that )
the food is great, you have to find a Waffle shop and try them, they are so yummmmmmmy! and i think they have something like 600 different types of beer lol
i used the train a and they are very good, and not too bad in price and they also speak english so you can't miss your stop lol
anyway, have a great time, i envy you lol

bonnie

(sorry bout all the spelling mistakes still half asleep lol)

*Bright-Idea*

I used to work for Eurostar so have been to Brussels many times. I would agree with most that the people above have said but if you are there for a week(?) then train travel around Belgium is not very expensive so get out and about on day trips to see other towns/cities.
If you want to travel further afield then the Thalys (high speed) trains run from Brussels Midi station, you need reservations but you can get to Amsterdam in under 3 hours and Cologne in under 2.5 hours.

Thomask

Wow, you're all very helpful!

What cities are closest / cheapest to visit near Brussels? As I've got a week (and nothing planned) I'm prepared to save money and travel as cheaply as possible. Would this be by coach?

I have some friends in Switzerland I would love to visit. Is it possible to get there from Belgium? Coach? Train? Does anyone know approx costs?

How is the nightlife in Brussels / Belgium?

Thomask

Just bumping back up!

djbd1973

As others have said - I would recommend it. The train system in and out of the city is good and its pretty central when getting to other countries. Look around for places to eat as some can be not as good as others.

Brussells often has special events going on so check if there are any shows or festivals happening and take some comfortable shoes for walking as already suggested.

Edinburghlass_2

Having just spent a couple of days in Bruges I'd suggest you spend a day there, its about an hour by train from Brussels and the city centre is about a 5/10 minute walk through a park from the station. We were lucky enough to go through Bruges station while the Orient Express was there.

Its a beautiful city, with quaint little streets and a surprise round every corner. Take the 30 minute boat trip on the canals and see the city from the water where you'll find new building matching in with the old. Don't forget to pop in and out of all the chocolate shops and beware of the bicycle riders

http://www.trabel.com/brugge.htm