Visiting Brussels

[Saint-Armstrong]

I am visiting Brussels for two days this week. Slumming it in "one of the worst hostels in Europe".

 

Just a general thread, people who have been - what did you make of the city/country?

[RonManager]

Only ever changed trains there. In the half hour or so that you get, I remember the market by the station and the 'lager' fountain up the hill.

[brightspark]

I took a brief trip to Brussels with a mate last June as we were breaking up a trip to Amsterdam.

 

Highlights include walking past an 'eco-toilet' in the middle of a street, seeing a well dressed man crouched in a lift sorting some drugs and eating at a restaurant where we were frowned upon for not being able to speak French.

 

In all seriousness the only two things that were impressive was the main square (Grote Markt) and the Atomium, which I only saw from a distance on the train.

 

I still believe that Belgium is a nice country but parts of Brussels really disappointed!

[LainPain]

Went a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. I like how laid back it is compared to other European cities. Little Europe is fun if you want to drink Tequila and pretend you're a drunken giant.

[so22saint]

it's the worst city i have ever visited, and i've been to over 60 countries

[bridge too far]

I loved it when we went for a long w/e a couple of years ago. I loved the fact that there was a cafe that also sold tobacco and that you could sit inside and smoke with your coffee. Don't know if it's still there.

 

Trips on the canals are good and looking around the diamond museum and the chocolate shops appealed to me greatly.

 

We stayed in a little hotel overlooking the canal called Ter Brughe

[Halo Stickman]

Stopped off for half a day in Brussels on way back from Bruges – the latter city is much more picturesque and architecturally very beautiful in my opinion, albeit perhaps, in a chocolate box sort of way. The thing I remember most from my, admittedly, short stay in Brussels was the Palace of Justice, which I think is the largest European building constructed during the nineteenth century – it certainly is a monument to the prevailing grandiose attitudes of that time.

[Hatch]

Spent a couple of days there last year.

 

F-all to do. Parts of city are very nice to look at. But once you've done that then you are buggered.

 

Would never ever take a bird there.

[miserableoldgit]

Being interested in Military History, I found Brussels interesting. Very big Museums and of course Waterloo battlefield a short distance away.

[bridge too far]

Oops! Cock up on my part! I didn't read the OP properly and I was talking about Bruges.

 

So disregard my ramblings and accept my apologies please.

[Ex Ringwood Saint]

Go with work a fair bit...strange city really...Grotty round the Eurostar station, with big park/woodland areas spread across the outskirts. Grand place is nice, and you can find some intriguing underground dungeon type bars selling trappist beers that cost you an arm and a leg....Typical euro city really..expensive and full of europeans.....

[buctootim]

This old bar is atmospheric - very central too.

http://www.alabecasse.com/en/info.html

[Brussels Saint]

Brussels is what you may call a hidden gem. Turn up as a tourist without any real plan/knowledge and it's utter carp (this is genuine and I understand why many don't like it). It's not an instant city like London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona etc

However once you know it, it opens up and can be very cool. Depends what you are looking for and the days you go. Let me know and I'll see if I can suggest something ;-)

[Whitey Grandad]

It all depends on what fires your frites. There are some nice restaurants, Rue des Bouchers is the most famous but many consider it a tourist rip-off. The Atomium is interesting but you will need a tram trip to get there. There is a quirky little museum of the comic strip and some other art museums near there

 

http://atomium.be/

http://www.comicscenter.net/en/home

[eurosaint]

Brussels is what you may call a hidden gem. Turn up as a tourist without any real plan/knowledge and it's utter carp (this is genuine and I understand why many don't like it). It's not an instant city like London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona etc

However once you know it, it opens up and can be very cool. Depends what you are looking for and the days you go. Let me know and I'll see if I can suggest something ;-)

 

I worked there for 15 years and spent 5 years as a resident ex-pat so am probably a bit biased (in favour!) but feel that the above is fair, objective comment !

Like most places if you visit once on a rainy day and don't have a great experience then your opinion will be skewed !

So22saint has been to 60 countries and counts Belgium as the worst, well I can match/beat that and can't imagine that there are 59 better !

Pretty subjective argument but I'd have Brussels in my top ten !

[so22saint]

to be fair, I like Belgium, it's Brussels I though was ****e...

 

Beer good of course

[Horley CTFC Saint]

I am visiting Brussels for two days this week. Slumming it in "one of the worst hostels in Europe".

 

Just a general thread, people who have been - what did you make of the city/country?

Au Bon Vieux Temps is well worth a visit if you want to find a dark old and ornate bar with stained glass windows and good beer

 

Some nice Tin Tin Murals around in the centre not far from the Grande Place too

 

I think I know the hostel spent the night in the loo - not nice

[Saint-Armstrong]

Unfortunately an educational trip, as a student, taking in NATO and the EU. But we have a day of wandering about the square etc too.

[Whitey Grandad]

I used to have a little Manneken Pis statue with a corkscrew for a willy but somebody tried to use it to open a bottle of wine with it and now it's just a Manneken

[skintsaint]

it's the worst city i have ever visited, and i've been to over 60 countries

 

This. Its pretty boring, a bit like Sao Paulo.

[niceandfriendly]

For some reason I was also thinking of Brugges when I read this post. But the same answer stands for Brussells as it would for Brugges... "it's alright".