Destination - Brussels

"Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the political capital of the European Union. It's the only real city in Belgium. 650000 workers, 70000 students, and 280000 backpackers stream in and out the whole year through... And THIS is the CENTRAL STATION? Six railway tracks in a dark and smelly cellar? Well, yes. Sorry!" - Taken from the "Brussels Map for Young Travellers"

Introduction

The above quote sums Brussels up quite nicely. Comments tend to lead towards Brussels being the most boring capital in Europe. I find myself agreeing with this rather a lot.

I first visited Brussels in 2001 on my way back form the Linuxbierwanderung. I spent 1 night there. In that one night I was so uninspired, I took the first train to Rotterdam after I woke up the next morning.

The next dozen or so visits to Brussels involved me simply changing trains. It wasn't till I went to FOSDEM in 2006 that I got to spend any more time in Brussels. We arrived by bus overnight from Canterbury at about 5am, an hour before we were supposed to arrive. Getting off the bus, we donned packs, looked round, and did a "now what?". Other than finding the map and booking info for the youth hostel was on the ferry still, We also found, that it was 5am, in a capital city, and the world was shut. Yay.

Two hours of wandering round in the freezing cold later, we found an open cafe in the Gallery de Rio, or some such. This done, we did the one thing we could think of to do. Found a hostel, and slept till we were supposed to meet some friends in a pub.

Forward a year, and it was as we sat in the same cafe, staring at the "Brussels Map for Young Travellers" trying to work out how to spend the 8 hours we had till we were due to meet for the Fosdem Friday night pub session. That I realised that I had to stick some info on here about what to do in Brussels.

Things to do?

Get out

Typically my preferred thing to do upon arriving in Brussels is to leave. From Brussels Zuid station, you can get to pretty much anywhere in Europe. Trains leave regularly for Amsterdam, Koeln, Paris, London, Berlin, and lots of other places. What's more, most of these trains are cheap and punctual (so refreshing after the delights of British Rail).

Don't feel that you have to leave Belgium though. There are plenty of nice places in Belgium that are worth visiting. Brugge springs immediately to mind. The Ardenne is another place I would recommend. There is some amazing hiking to be had, and some pretty places to visit. In 2001 I spent a nice week in and around Bouillon which is in the south east of Belgium, in the heart of the Ardenne. Other options include Antwerpen and Gent.

Atomium

Brussel's answer to the Eiffel tower. Recently reopened, it is a remarkably pretty structure, from an architectural point of view. This said, I was the only one in our group of 5 that thought this. It also has some shiny engineering to it, which is great for a geek like me. The views from the top are very nice too. This all said, its not that cheap (7 Euro). Worse yet, the queue can be *VERY* long, upwards of an hour isn't unheard of. Currently (February 2007) there is a lot of maintenance going on, which means that the only way in is the lift.

There is an overpriced restaurant in the top ball, but if you are hungry, it's not too bad. Ten Euro for a main course, twenty for all three courses. Rumour has it there is a much more affordable and nicer restaurant in the tenth ball.

Beer

One thing I will concede, the Belgians certainly make some VERY nice beer. Finding bars in Brussels is like finding hay in a hay stack. VERY SIMPLE! There are a lot of crap bars though, but an equally large number of good ones. Of the ones I have tried, the following showed promise:

  • LeRoy: On the Grandplatz, a nice pub, very nice atmosphere. Not the cheapest pub ever, but the selection is quite good and the service excellent. Good food too.
  • Monk: A largish yet very cheap pub opposite St. katherines Church. Good selection of beers ideally suited to the light pocket.
  • Manneken Pis: Directly opposite the Manneken Pis. Nice atmosphere, very nice range of beers.

There are *MANY* more bars in Brussels, one has over 2500 different beers on offer, the above are just ones I have tried.

As for the actual beers, there are as many to choose from as there are bars to drink them in. I will leave you to experiment. Remember tho, Belgian beer is not week. 9% is about the average, 12% and above is not uncommon. Go try them. Try them all. However, if you are buying me one, I'll have a Chimay Bleue, *hic*

Places to sleep

Sleep Well

Of the three trips to Brussels I have slept in the city, 2 of them have been in the Sleep Well Hostel. Its located near the Rogier Metro stop, and 10 minutes walk from the grand platz. We found the hostel by accident on our first trip to FOSDEM. The hostel isn't the cheapest place in town, and the breakfast leaves much to be desired. *BUT*, the rooms are clean, and reasonably sound proofed, and there is no lock out (a "Feature" of some hostels). Making it ideal if you are going to sample the beers of Belgium.

Places to eat

One thing which seems to be a very British speciality is the concept of breakfast. Nowhere seems to come close to the Full English, as a way to start the day. Belgium is no different. Shame really. As for where to eat? Well there are loads of places, I wont recommend individual venues, but I will comment on food.

Stoemp

Stoemp seems to be a bit of a local speciality, to quote wikipedia:

"A tradition of peasant cooking, the rustic dish has as many variations as perhaps the number of beer (which at last count totalled over 400+ savoury brews)."

Its a very nice dish, and seems to be served in many places. I had it in the LeRoy on the grand platz.

Fries

Looking at the map here, it lists over 6 different places as:

"The one and only best frietkot in Brussels"

The Belgians seem to think that the fries they make are great and wonderful and even better when drowned in Mayonnaise. Sorry to break it to you guys, but most of the fries I found in Brussels suck. A lot. Reprocessed spud, formed into the "right" shape. As opposed to nicely fried chips cut from real potatoes. Whats more, every frietkot (chip shop, to the Brits) Thinks they are the best in Belgium. So many people, so wrong. That said, when hungover, they are one of the few foods you can easily find at 10 in the morning when you really want a decent fry up.

Mayonnaise

Some people love it. Some people hate it. I think its the Sperm of Satan. Horrid stuff, and it drives me nuts how the Belgians cover everything in it. Ah well.

About this Document

This page last modified Tuesday, 17-Jun-2008 16:52:52 CEST.