·
@ a glance essentials:
Language:
French
+ Dutch
-
Water safety
Safe to Drink, may taste of chlorine + be hard (calcium builds up in kettles)
Most locals speak English
Currency:
Euro
Local Transport
The Belgium STIB & MIVB. Public Transport are sufficient
.
The capital city🔍 of Belgium, (controlled by the Netherlands until it declared independence in 1830,) and de facto capital of the European Union, the first reference recorded to a Brosella was in 695, but it has been inhabited since the stone ages.
The local origin story says Saint Gaugericus built a chapel on the island in the Senne around 580, which Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine & Lotharingia, (appointed by the Romans) transferred sacred relics to 979 then ordered the construction of the city's first permanent fortification.
a bit of background...
CHECK OUT THE:
MY FAVORITE SPOTS TO...
............Bathrooms aren't free at public transport, fast food cinema's etc. Maintained by Madame/Monsieur Pipi, who are not employed by the establishment, you will usually have to from 0.50 to €1 - ones at trains stations may take a credit card but most are cash only so keep change with you.
Just FYI:
Brussels was nearly destroyed by the French in 1695, (Nine Years War,) but the city rebuilt and expanded all the up to modern day where the Brussels-Capital Region was officially formed in 1989.
Though occupied by Germans in both World Wars Brussels survived with very little damage. Afterwards it became the center for international political relations in what would eventually become the EU.
Brussels feels a bit like a smaller, Euro-version of New York City: there are some cool pockets and it's worth a visit for sure, but personally, it's not my cup of tea long term, it's cement heavy, and covered in litter. The new bureaucratic construction due to the EU moving in meant many landmarks were demolished. The clash of the old buildings next to the modern was so egregious it birthed it's own development classification: Brusselisation, meaning haphazard urban redevelopment with modern high-rises, carelessly and un-ascetically introduced into historic areas.
Must Try Local Cuisine:
Brussel's Gaufre (Waffles†) with fruit & whipped cream or Liège Syrup, a sweet reduction of fruits
Moules-Frites (Mussels & Belgian Fries ††) with mayonnaise or andalouse ∞ Brussel Sprouts
Crevettes Grises (Grey [tiny] Shrimp) in croquettes or tomatoes ∞ Frikadellen met Krieken (Meatballs & Cherry)
Belgium is also well known for it's Chocolate rivaling Switzerland's & Beer as good the Germany's
➿➰➿
† Belgian waffles is a misnomer. There are 2 distinct styles - Brussels; rectangular, light and crispy & Liège; thick, chewy & sweet with sugar in the batter that caramelized when grilled.
†† There's a hot debate as to whether the French or the Belgians came up with fries, but when in Brussels...
SEE
DO TRY
&
VISIT
What to Where to Why . . .
Surprising Finds:
📍 It’s no surprise as a cultural hub Brussels has a plethora of museums, like Porte de Hal - a military museum inside a
medieval city gate, Mini-Europe - miniatures of famous monuments & The Belgium Center for Comic Strip Art
but it also has the surprising the Musée des Égouts Bruxelles/ Sewer Museum. Underground (obviously) you tour
the buried river Senne, (covered in the 19c as the city expanded) & it's working sewer tunnels, filth & all
📍 Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels - her home's marked with a plaque & mural: BREAKFAST AT IXELLES.
📍 The Black Tower - one of the best preserved medieval towers, and all that's left of the first fortifications of
Brussels from the 13c, now alone and tucked between modern-day buildings
📍 Le Cercueil (The Coffin) - A morbid tavern w/ skull mugs, coffin tables & creepy corpse juice cocktails
My Favorite Spots . . .
📍 Petit Sablon - a Neo-Renaissance park with 48 pillared statues of medieval professions, a fountain statue of
counts who led the Dutch revolt against the Spanish, and a semicircle of famous individuals from the 16c.
📍 Gare du Midi Market† - the biggest market in the city and third-largest food market in Europe
📍 Jubelpark - 1880 park covering 74 acres with gardens great for picnics between the many
museums like the Army Museum, AutoWorld, an Art museums
📍 Royal Saint-Hubert/ Gallerie du Roi - an 1840's glass domed shopping promenade with
King's, Queen's & Princes' Galleries
† Sunday mornings
... to Wander & Explore:
... to Visit:
📍 Stunning Churches🔍 like Art Deco, domed Basilica of the Sacred Heart (world's 5th largest) with terrace views,
Gothic Notre Dame du Sablon, St. Catherine’s or Beguinage.
📍 Unique Burial Grounds🔍 like Lady of Laeken's Royal Crypt (beneath the graveyard) or the wild & abandoned
Dieweg cemetery, in Uccle, built after the 1866 cholera epidemic. (It was closed in 1958 but an exception was
made for The Adventures of Tintin cartoonist, Hergé to be buried here.)
📍 Combine both with St. Michael & St. Gudula's Cathedral & Romanesque Crypt, treasury & archaeological site).
Built 1047, official site of royal weddings, funerals, coronations etc. & houses medieval artifacts like stained-glass
windows donated by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. (The crypt, treasury and archaeological site to cost $)
📍 Temple of Human Passions - c. 1889 a 'temple' that display's the controversial HUMAN PASSIONS stone
relief depicting war, rape, & violence.†
† Victor Horta (the architect) & Jef Lambeaux (the relief artist) had a serious disagreement about whether temple should be enclosed
or open, allowing the relief to be seen, so the temple remained unfinished. (only open a few hours a week to view the tableau, but the
temple alone is worth a visit; if you look closely, you'll notice there are no straight lines.
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... to Commune w/ Nature:
📍 Laeken Royal Estate (Palace or Castle of Laeken) - the official residence of the King,
located in the private park, Royal Domain of Laeken. The beautiful gardens & grounds
feature a Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower -both constructed between 1901-1910.
📍 Royal Greenhouses† (also in Laeken) - extravagant, with 30 pavilions connected to the
greenhouse complex, including the Winter Gardens c. 1880's
† Only open a few weeks per year; late April & early May
... when feeling Bookish:
📍 Grand Sablon hosts a book & antique market on weekends. The square is surrounded by historic mansion homes
and has several great people watching street cafe’s.
📍 Bibliotheca Wittockiana - one of the most prestigious binding collections and only museum in the world devoted
to bookbinding & arts. The permanent collection covers five centuries of publishings, more than 3,000 art bindings
from 16 - 21c (Can only be visited by appointment but the reading hall and library are accessible to the public.)
📍 Cook & Book A huge kitsch bookstore w/ Airstream caravan, Model Railway track & an outdoor dining area
... when feeling Adverturous:
📍 Scuba at Nemo 33. Reaching depths of 113 feet with simulated caves, platforms, and a 33-meter cylindrical pit, once
the deepest indoor pool in the world. If you don’t want to take lessons, underwater windows allow visitors
to watch the divers as they train.
📍 Create your own Street Art Scavenger Hunt - the city center has statues & murals on every corner. Bonus, while
absorbing the street vibe, you're sure to come across unique performers, artist and pop up street concerts. You can
hunt famous bronze sculptures like the Manneken Pis Fountain, of a young boy urinating, a 15c drinking
fountain that now wears a new costume daily. (The old costumes can be seen in a near by museum).
Or... (click arrow for more)
Jeanneke Pis Fountain - of a little girl urinating
Het Zinneke - a statue of a urinating dog (I'm sensing a theme...)
De Vaartkapoen - a policeman being triped by a man popping out of a manhole
and MANY MORE
You could also go on self tour/ search for the frescoes painted on buildings all over town...
(click for more)
There were 150 officially commissioned by the city, that can be found @ parcoursstreetart.brussels but there are also many awesome private murals to stumble across.
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Many Brussels cafés double as bars & stay open late. But for COFFEESHOP style cafés check out are:
📍 Chouconut - beautiful café w/ Vietnamese coffee, homemade choux pastries & cozy upper story
📍 My Little Cup- with a cute patio and practically tourists-free despite being around the corner from the Palace
📍 Café du Sablon - with great view of the Church du Sablon 📍 La Fabrique en Ville
For a less coffeeshop and more traditional BAR vibes check out:
📍 Delirium Café in a backstreet basement, wallpapered with international beer-trays & 2,000+ beer selection
📍 Théâtre Royal de Toone (Royal Puppet Theater) Bar - down a back alley, the 1830 theater turned bar, still
performs marionette shows for the bar flies with its collection of 1,400 puppets
... to have a Cuppa or Nightcap:
... when I'm Peckish:
Street Friteries & Gaufrier may be the best way to experience the Belgian classics of Fries & Waffles†
but there are some amazing sit-down spots as well:
📍 Maison Antoine - considered the best for fries in all Brussels - often has lines, but worth the wait
📍 Friterie St. Josse Chez Palma 📍 Au Vieux Marché - for classic Belgian fare, (not just fries & waffles)
Good breakfast spots/ traditional cafés:
📍 Gaufres de Bruxelles - one of the oldest tea-rooms in Brussels, with waffles @ takeaway window
📍 Cup28 - best breakfast deal: croissant & espresso for just a few €.
📍 Maison Renardy - local spots where the owner knows all the regulars.
† ... see Something Sweet, below, for waffle spots...
Brussels' sweats are all about the Brussels Waffle, Speculass & Chocolate, and when it comes to the WAFFLES, some
of the best (as well as most affordable) actually come on wheels!
📍 Waffle Trucks - nearly all are served from bright yellow trucks & all delicious,
📍 If you prefer to sit to eat your waffle try Vitalgaufre – a popular spot with locals
Or... (click the arrow for more waffles)
📍 Le Funambule (meaning the tightrope walkers) - a small café chain, but does great Liège waffles
📍 Veganwaf – has vegans/gluten-free waffles
📍 Madame Dandoy - specializing in Speculoos (the more widely known, airier version of SPECULAAS
Belgian biscuits) as well as waffles, cakes, bread etc. Their oldest shop is a classic tearoom in the Gallerie du Roi
📍 For PASTRIES it’s hard to beat De Rose Ramas, Mediterranean Patisserie - with the most beautiful, delicious
display of colorful artistic, delicate & delectable treats.
... for something Sweet:
As for CHOCOLATE, it's everywhere you look and hard to pick a favorite, but some stand outs are:
📍 Maison Pierre Marcolini - old school master, one of the few chocolatiers to personally select cocoas for his shop
📍 Galler Chocolatier - with interesting flavors like curry or apricot praline. (They also have a restaurant.)
[There is even a Chocolate museum, Choco-Story, with chocolate-making workshops to design your own chocolate.]
Most Known For:
♦️ La Grand-Place/ Grote Markt - huge, gilded central square; Town Hall & Neo-Gothic
King's House or Bread House, (as it used be the bread market) & Baroque Guildhalls
🔸 Royal Palace - (only open end of July to end of August, when Royal family's on vacation)
♦️ Arches of Parc du Cinquantenaire
🔸 EU Parliament Building (need to make an appointment)
♦️ Palace of Justice - once the largest structure in the world, 19c You can walk through
the main hallways to see the impressive marble staircases, columns, and statuary
(The outside is currently less impressive, it's has been covered in scaffolding since 1984!)
🔸 The Atomium - a giant iron 'crystal atom' magnified x 165 billion (102m/ 335' tall.) Built
for the 1958 World’s Fair; panoramic city views from the spheres & restaurant @ the top
📽️ NOTABLE FILMS SHOT IN BRUSSELS:
⭐ The Expatriate | 2017 ⭐ The Danish Girl | 2015
🍿
.........................Off the Grote Markt is a bronze monument of 14c Belgian hero, Everard t’Serclaes. In 1356 he scaled the
city walls with a group of patriots to sneak into Brussels and lead a rebellion against the Flemish (who occupied the city.)
It’s said that touching Everard’s arm, (now rubbed bright) can bring luck, grant wishes, and ensure that one will return to Brussels.
(His dog and a small mouse in the corner are popular spots to rub) 📸
🌀 Flower Carpet Festival (mid August, every 2 years) - where the path leading to La Grand-Place is covered in
millions of colorful flowers 'woven' into a themed patterned carpet.
🌀 Salon Du Chocolat Brussels (October - early November) - Chocolate festival with Chic & Chocolate Gourmet
Walk, a 500m path of chocolate goodness & interactive session with master Belgian chocolate makers
🌀 Brussels Annual Animation Film (February)
🌀 Toussaint - Belgians All Saints Day celebration, usually celebrated with family as the main tradition is
visiting cemeteries to honor deceased loved ones, adorning graves with lit candles & chrysanthemums
(which symbolize death & eternity.) (Halloween is not traditionally celebrated)
Close Enough to Visit:
🪧 Antwerp, BE - Diamond capitol of the world
🪧 Bruges, BE - one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe
🪧 Spa, BE - The original spa town, and home of famous fictional detective Hercule Poirot.
🪧 Ghent, BE - home of Carnaval De Binche
🪧 Mons, BE - home of Doudou, Ritual Ducasse (George & the Dragon Festival)
🪧 Durbay, BE - world's smallest 'city' with only around 500 residents†
† Durbay is really a town, but it was given official city status in the 14c by the Count of Luxembourg
Going to visit
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