BRUS·sulz - /bɹʌˈsʌlz/
BELGIUM
Why It's Worth a Visit -
Straddling the Flemish & Walloon regions, Brussels combines a fascinating history with both Dutch & French influences that makes for a truly rich, unique culture and city.
Brussels Street Cafes
@ a glance essentials:
Language:
French & Dutch
Most locals speak English
Country's Visitation Limit:
90 Days
Water safety
Generally Safe to Drink, may taste chlorinated, & be hard (calcium build up in kettles)
Emergency #
112 Police: 101 Ambulance:100
.
How to Say - Hello:
Bonjour, Salut (F) or Hallo (D)
Thank You:
Merci (F) or Bedankt (D)
Hot Tip:
There are multiple places refered to Brussels. There is Brussels city proper, then the wider Brussels Capitol Region which includes multiple other towns, and two Brussels airports - an hour away from each other so always double check your travel details so you get to the right place!
The capital 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. New bureaucratic construction 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 = the haphazard urban redevelopment where modern high-rise buildings are 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/ [Tiny] Grey 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 19th century as the city expanded) & it's working sewer tunnels, filth & all
📍 I was surprised to learn Audrey Hepburn was from Brussels - you can visit (at least the exterior) of the home she was
born in where there's a small plaque & mural titled 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 13th c., 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 the
counts who led the Dutch revolt against the Spanish, and a semicircle of famous individuals from the 16th c.
📍 Jubelpark - 1880 park covering 74 acres. Gardens great for picnics between the many museums including the
Army Museum, AutoWorld, an art museum.
📍 Gare du Midi Market - (Sunday mornings) the biggest market in the city and third-largest food market in Europe
📍 Royal Saint-Hubert/ Gallerie du Roi- 1840's glass domed shop promenade with King's, Queen's & Princes' Galleries
... to Wander & Explore:
... to Visit:
Gallerie du Roi
📍 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.
📍 Burial Grounds like Lady of Laeken's Royal Crypt (beneath the graveyard) or the wild,
overgrown & abandoned Dieweg cemetery, built after the 1866 cholera epidemic.
(The Adventures of Tintin cartoonist, Hergé was 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 - designed by Victor Horta in 1889 to display Jef Lambeaux'
controversial HUMAN PASSIONS stone relief depicting war, rape, & violence.
Horta & Lambeaux has a serious disagreement about whether it 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.
Petit Sablon
📍 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; the Winter Gardens. Built between 1884 and 1886,
(Only open a few weeks per year in 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 16th - 21st c. (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 15th c.
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)
You could also go on self tour/ search for the frescoes painted on buildings all over town...
(click for more)
Many Brussels cafés double as bars & stay open late. But for COFFEESHOP style cafés check out are:
📍 Chouconut | Saint-Gilles, a beautiful café w/ Vietnamese coffee, homemade choux pastries & cozy upper story
📍 Café du Sablon - with large windows & a great view of the Church du Sablon
📍 My Little Cup- with a cute patio and practically tourists-free despite being around the corner from the Palace
📍 La Fabrique en Ville - in Brussels City Centre
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:
Street Friteries & Gaufrier may be the best way to experience the Belgian classics like Fries & Waffles (see something sweet bellow for waffle spots...) but there are some amazing sit down spots on the list as well.
📍 Maison Antoine - considered the absolute best for fries in all Brussels, it's a bit of a ways from the city center and
often has lines for the frites, but they are worth the time.
📍 Friterie St. Josse Chez Palma - they're a bit closer to town and still have fantastic fries
📍 Au Vieux Marché - for classic Belgian fare, (not just fries & waffles)
For a good breakfast spot/ traditional café try:
📍 Gaufres de Bruxelles - one of the oldest tea-rooms in Brussels. You can also order waffles from a takeaway window
📍 Cup28 - offers the best breakfast deal in the city. You can get a croissant & espresso for just a few €.
📍 Maison Renardy café is one of those local spots where the owner knows all the regulars.
... when I'm Peckish:
Brussels' sweats are all about the Brussels Waffle, Speculass & Chocolate, and when it comes to the former, WAFFELS, some of the best (as well as most affordable) actually come on wheels!
📍 Waffle Trucks - There are several companies in the waffles on wheels game, and nearly all are served from bright yellow
trucks & are delicious, so keep your eyes peeled for the yellow vans parked about.
📍 If you prefer to sit to eat your waffle try Vitalgaufre – a popular spot with locals
Or... (click the arrow for more)
📍 Madame Dandoy - a bakery chain 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.
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 - where Jean Galler offers interesting flavor combinations like milk chocolate w/ curry, dark
chocolate ganache or apricot praline. (They also have other chocolate themed treats and meals at their restaurant.)
[There is even a Brussels Chocolate museum, Choco-Story, where you can take chocolate-making workshops and design your own chocolate.]
... for something Sweet:
Most Known For:
Brussels Streets
♦️ 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, 19th c. 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
.........................Off the Grote Markt is a bronze monument, rubbed bright in spots, of the 14th century Belgian hero, Everard t’Serclaes who, on October 24, 1356, scaled the city walls with a group of patriots to sneak into Brussels and lead a rebellion against the Flemish (which occupied the city at the time.)
It’s said that rubbing Everard’s arm, 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) 📸
Cool Local
🌀 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 symoblize death & eternity.) (Halloween is not traditionally celebrated, like it is in the rest of Europe)
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 14th century by the Count of Luxembourg
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