Brussels In One Day

 

Usually travel blogs are filled with amazing records of where people have been and others can see. Everybody loves where they went to and that's it.
I started my blog to share my thoughts and experiences and for Brussels I simply have to say that I just didn't like it…
But let's start off with the basics.

Brussels is the capital of Belgium which is located in central Europe.
Given it shares borders with Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany and France it's well located and honestly lots of times fairly overseen. I was there back when I was a kid and hold good memories from rural areas but I never went to Brussels before. As I was in the area, I decided to cross Brussels off my bucket list as well.

How to get to Brussels

Within mainland Europe it's fairly easy to get to Brussels by train in just a matter of hours. It's well connected with the neighboring countries and given that the national languages in Belgium are Dutch (mainly in the North), French (mainly in the South) & German (small area in the West) it's fairly popular by those speaking the language though to me the majority of people in Brussels spoke French. Brussels isn't very big and you can easily get from A to B no matter if your train ends on Brussels-North, Brussels-South or Brussels-Midi.

If you happen to come by plane be aware that BRU is Brussels airport but there is another airport which is in the area but further out. If have the choice go with BRU airport!

To or from BRU airport you can take the train from Brussel Centraal (their main train station) and be at the airport in less than 20 minutes (or vis-versa to the city center). A one-way ticket at the time of writting this (September 2025) costs 11,20€ and you will need to scan it when embarking at the airport. Tickets can be bought via nmbs.be (if you think the website is not super responsive and therefore also not super user-friendly you're not alone… At least for mobile devices there is room for improvement and looking at the ranking for their app people feel the same about it as well)

If you happen to take Brussels South Charleroi airport, it's best to take the bus but make sure to have enough time to get there. This airport is not anywhere close to Brussels - it’s actually located almost 60km south in the city of Charleroi.

I walked to my accommodation when I got there but Brussels has several trains and mainly busses getting you around town.

Is Brussels a walkable city?

Yes, it absolutely is!! There are tons of cross-walks allowing you to move more freely than most bigger cities in Europe. The city cocntinues to make streets and sidewalk more and more pedestrian-friendly as well as having dedicated paths for cyclists which is great.

On average you won't need more than 1-2 days to explore Brussels entirely (unless you plan to add day trips to other parts of the country during your stay).

About half of the streets are covered with pebblestones - adjust your footwear and just consider this in advance when you head there with your buggy.

What to see in Brussels

1.Grand Place - By far the most beautiful square in the city and with a lot of history! I won’t mention all but there is a full Wikipedia page dedicated to the different sites and fun enough there used to be a AirBnB (the city is now trying to get rid of it) you could book to wake up to the most gorgeous view in the city! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_houses_of_the_Grand-Place
 

2.Manneken Pis - Probably THE most well-known statue in Brussels. It’s basically the top part of a fountain and only about 55cm big. Due to it’s size tourists swarm to see it but get disappointed when they find out that it’s only as tall as one of your house plants is but the Belgians are proud of the statue and regularly dress him up for national holidays and special events. Don’t believe me? There is an entire museum dedicated to the different costumes made for the statue over the years
 

3.Jeanneke Pis - Now that you saw the most famous statue why not embrace a bit of feminism? While by far not as famous, there is a female version of Manneken Pis not far away from him. Funny enough there are a lot less tourists and she’s not surrounded by a fence. If you want to stick to the theme, there is also a dog statue… you guessed it… peeing. It’s called Zinneke Pis
 

4.The Royal Quarter - Not so much one specific place but a whole quarter but it’s very pretty and you will see the French influences in the city. Sometimes it felt like being in little Paris - not gonna lie!
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, St Nicholas of Myra Church & Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon - This might be for you enjoy churches and want to see one. It’s free to get in and on the weekends you might spot wedding preparations as the inside of them is definitely very beautiful
 

5.The View & Palace of Justice - Not afraid of heights? The view is a ferris wheel right in front of the Palace of Justice. Both are located at one of the highest points of the city - even if you just go there you will have a great view over the city (Sunset recommendation!)
 

6.Parc du Cinquantenaire & Triumphal Arch - reminds you of Paris? Yeah, me too! There are more things to discover though as the park also hosts several museums
 

7.Atonium - The enlarged version of an iron atom is another popular attraction but it’s not the kind I’m massively drawn to
 

If you’re into museums, there are more than 125 to choose from. Check out their website https://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/museums to find out which one is for you (you can also just select to see the ones which have free entry)

Want something that’s not as touristic? You can throw axes at the Woodcutter (https://woodcutter.world/en/axe-throwing-brussels), head over to Enygma to play an escape game https://enygma.be/ or go to the Virtual Room to play all sorts of games https://brussels.virtual-room.com/en/

What & Where To Eat in Brussels

There are simply three must-tries if you are in Belgiums capital: Belgian French Fries, Waffles and of course Belgian Chocolate.

For French fries you will find several places offering them (most except card but some only take cash). Fritland is the most famous one of them though.

Same goes for the waffles - you will find them everywhere and possibly even in combination with fries. And since they are a thing there are other blogs actually dedicated to them. Have a look here for lots of recommendation and more inside: https://laptopsandlandscapes.com/brussels-waffles/

The most important one for many is probably the Belgian chocolate though and for that I recommend you should know your budget first because there is a wide range of options available for them!! Good shops include Laurent Gerbaud, Passion Chocolat or simply the chocolate museum & it’s own shop.

More of a hands-on person? You can learn how to make truffles and Co. even from your confort of your own home or book a course during your trip: https://www.belgianchocolateworkshop.com/

My Accommodation

As I was only there for a day and a half I chose Hostel Bruegel which generally had good reviews on Booking & Google but unfortunately I was pretty disappointed. I won’t say much more except for my standards weren’t met the minute I walked into the shower which wasn’t adjustable and only lasted a few seconds but that also means I can’t recommend a good place to stay in the city - sorry!

Travel Budget

Considering that I was already on the go for 2 weeks before I went to Brussels, I still had sandwiches and other snacks left. I also had breakfast included at the hostel and spent less than 48h in the city but here is my breakdown:



Don’t get fooled though - Brussels is fairly expensive! Their famous Belgian French Fries start at 5€ (plus whatever sauce you want), a normal meal is around 15€ and even a small bread roll from the supermarket will cost you at least 1€.

Enjoy it, you’re on vacation after all! But don’t see this as a good example and rather budget with 50€/ day minimum!