Things to do in Brussels
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Brussels
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring: terraces open, days lengthen and the EU city is in full swing. May is excellent.
Summer: warmest weather, longest evenings and the festival peak, with highs around 23C.
Autumn: best value, September especially. Mussels return in season and beer festival season runs in October.
Winter: cold and grey, cheapest hotels outside the festive window. January is the cheapest and greyest month.
What's on
- Brussels Jazz Weekend late May
Free jazz across squares and venues, formerly the Jazz Marathon.
- Ommegang early July
Medieval pageant on the Grand-Place. Grandstand seats book ahead.
- Tomorrowland two July weekends
In Boom, about 30 minutes away. Book Brussels hotels very early or avoid those weekends for price.
- Gentse Feesten July
Festival in Ghent, an easy day or night trip from Brussels.
- Brussels Flower Carpet mid August, even years only
The Grand-Place covered in begonias for about four days, in even numbered years only. The next carpet is August 2028.
- Museum Night Fever late October
About 28 museums open late on one ticket.
- Winter Wonders / Plaisirs d'Hiver late Nov to early Jan, 27 Nov to 3 Jan in 2026-27
Belgium largest Christmas market, with 200 plus stalls, ice rink and light show. Book December weekends early.
- Binche Carnival February
UNESCO listed carnival in Binche, about an hour away and February brightest spot.
Best things to do in Brussels
Grand-Place
The UNESCO guildhall square that overwhelms in person, best seen early and again at night under changed light.
Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert
Glass roofed 1847 galleries lined with chocolate shops and cafes, a short elegant walk from the Grand-Place.
Magritte Museum
Around 250 Magrittes in his own museum, the essential art stop paired with the Old Masters next door.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Bruegel, Rubens and the Old Masters next door to the Magritte Museum on a combined ticket.
Atomium
The 102 metre Expo 58 steel atom, with the top sphere giving the best panorama in Brussels.
Design Museum Brussels
The design museum 200 metres from the Atomium, easy to pair on the combo ticket.
Cantillon Brewery
The last traditional lambic brewery in Brussels, with a self guided tour and tastings you cannot replicate elsewhere.
Moeder Lambic Fontainas
The connoisseur taproom for rotating lambics and IPAs, with knowledgeable pours and a serious beer list.
Where to stay in Brussels
Historic Centre, Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Géry
first trip, all-round base
Walk to the Grand-Place with the best bar and restaurant density, and a lived in feel west of the square.
Sablon
quiet, couples and families
Antiques, chocolate and cafes, calm at night and still a 10 minute walk to the centre.
Ixelles and Saint-Gilles
local feel, food, nightlife and value
Flagey ponds, global eating in Matonge and Saint-Gilles, Art Nouveau streets and lower prices than the centre.
Avenue Louise
luxury shopping and business polish
The grand hotel boulevard between the centre and Ixelles, with designer shopping at the door.
European Quarter and Leopold
weekend bargain
Four and five star business hotels discount hard Friday to Sunday when the EU quarter goes quiet.
Think twice about
- Brussels-Midi station area
Scruffy and transient around the station frontages, with visible street homelessness and pickpocketing. Fine for a train, not a leisure base.
- Brussels-Nord station area
Scruffy and transient around the station, with loitering and pickpocketing. Passing through is fine, do not base a leisure stay here.
- Molenbeek
Named in where to stay guides as one to avoid for a first visit, with few visitor amenities and distance from the sights.
- Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Named in where to stay guides as one to avoid for a first visit, and red light adjacent behind Brussels-Nord.
Best restaurants in Brussels
Bozar Restaurant
Two-star cooking by Karen Torosyan inside Horta Palais des Beaux-Arts, famous for pastry work.
Comme Chez Soi
The historic Art Nouveau fine dining institution on Place Rouppe, worth it for an occasion.
Le Chalet de la Forêt
Two star destination dining in a garden at the Sonian Forest edge, a special trip out of the centre.
Les Brigittines
Beloved Franco Belgian brasserie by the Chapel Church, known for the Zenne Pot cooked in beer.
Fin de Siècle
No reservations chalkboard brasserie with huge portions of carbonnade and stoemp near Saint-Géry.
Le Zinneke
The mussels specialist locals name, with 60 to 70 Zeeland preparations and unlimited frites.
Noordzee
Stand at the outdoor counter with white wine for shrimp croquettes, fish soup and oysters.
Frites Atelier
Sergio Herman gourmet friterie serving crisp fluffy frites with truffle, parmesan and house sauces.
Outdoor things to do in Brussels
Bruges
Canals and the Belfry an hour by direct train, best with an early weekday start before the queues.
Ghent
Gravensteen, St Bavo and the Ghent Altarpiece in a real student city that stays alive after day trippers leave.
Sonian Forest
A 4000 hectare UNESCO listed beech forest at the city edge, with waymarked loops for hiking and biking.
Bois de la Cambre
The beloved park at the end of Avenue Louise for the lake loop, picnics and rowing to Robinson Island.
Antwerp
Rubens, fashion and the Grote Markt 45 to 55 minutes by train, arriving into a famously beautiful station.
Waterloo Battlefield
Lion Mound, the panoramic painting and the memorial museum on the 1815 battlefield, 20 minutes south.
Flanders Fields Remembrance Tour
The WWI day that needs a guide and a full day, taking in Tyne Cot, the Menin Gate and preserved trenches.
Royal Waterloo Golf Club
Belgium most famous golf address, with two 18 hole parkland courses 25 minutes south of Brussels.
Best hotels in Brussels
Hotel Amigo, a Rocco Forte Hotel
Steps from the square, the city default best hotel with Bar Magritte, Bocconi and Tintin touches.
Steigenberger Icon Wiltcher's
The grand dame alternative to the Amigo, a flagship five star on the Louise boulevard.
Motel One Brussels
Design budget chain done well in a superb location between the Royal Palace and the centre.
The Hoxton, Brussels
Lively design led hotel with a rooftop Peruvian restaurant draw, good for groups wanting a bar in house.
Le Louise Hotel Brussels - MGallery
A five star building on Avenue Louise at a mid range entry price on many dates.
Sleep Well Youth Hostel
Private rooms and dorms with breakfast and free walking tours, the budget base that keeps you central.
Is Brussels expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €66 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €165 a person |
| Splurge | €410 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Atomium: a few days ahead
- Cantillon Brewery: a few days ahead
- Horta Museum: weeks ahead
- Hungry Mary's Beer & Chocolate Tour: a few days ahead
- Bruges: a few days ahead
- Flanders Fields Remembrance Tour: a few days ahead
- Royal Waterloo Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Bozar Restaurant: weeks ahead
- Atomium timed entry: go at opening. Horta Museum sells out, and Cantillon is busy on Saturdays.
- Bozar, Comme Chez Soi and Le Chalet de la Forêt need booking weeks ahead, not days.
- Avoid free first Wednesday afternoons at the Magritte and Royal Museums for crowds. Pay and go another day instead.
- EU summit weeks spike hotel prices citywide. A weekend trip is cheaper and calmer, so check summit dates first.
Is Brussels safe?
- Pickpockets work Grand-Place crowds, Centraal and Midi stations and busy trams. Keep bags zipped and in front on transport.
- The centre, Sablon, Ixelles and Saint-Gilles are a normal safe European capital core. Use extra care in late night station areas.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Brussels travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Rue des Bouchers and lanes off the Grand-Place, with tout fronted moules restaurants and photo menus. Walk to Sainte-Catherine instead.
- Manneken Pis as a destination: walk past it, do not plan around a 55cm statue.
- Chocolate souvenir chains with free samples on the Grand-Place fringe, instead of Marcolini, Neuhaus and Dandoy.
- Delirium as your only beer stop: it is fun, but Moeder Lambic and Cantillon are better beer.
Getting around Brussels: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre. STIB metro, tram and bus cover the rest, with contactless payment and a day cap.
- Use Bruxelles-Centraal for the old town, not Midi, when you have a choice. Eurostar arrives at Midi, so plan the hop to Centraal.
- Trains are the superpower: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and the airport are all under an hour, with weekend tickets roughly half price.
- Bolt and TaxisVerts are usually faster than Uber in Brussels, per local guides.
Who Brussels suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Brussels your trip
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