My first adventure in 2016 was a weekend getaway to Brussels in mid-April. Yes we went to Brussels even after the attacks and one thing was for certain I NEVER felt unsafe or scared in anyway. So today I am sharing the spots that I recommend you to see, how much everything cost us while there and waffles!
Getting to Brussels - EDI - CRL
We flew with Ryanair (yay for cheap flights) which took us to the airport which unfortunately doesn't have a direct train line to the city center.Total cost for a return ticket booking with Ryanair £60 per person.
What we opted to do was buy a return ticket with the Brussels City Shuttle, which runs every 30 minutes or so to the city center. In total it was about a 50 minute bus journey, but was overall very comfortable. One thing I recommend is pre-booking your ticket to avoid long lines, save money, and be able to directly hop on the bus when you arrive.Total cost for a return ticket booking online € 28 per person.
Once we got off the bus, we were a short walk (15 minutes) to our hotel. We stayed at the Hilton Brussels Grand Place. This was right in the city centre, directly across from the central train station and a 2-minute walk to The Grand Place. Our stay here was amazing, and I can not recommend a city centre hotel more highly!
Total cost for a 2 night stay €121.16 (or €53 per night) on staff rate .
As for what we did, we honestly just strolled the city. We did head out to visit the Atomium, built in 1958 for the Brussels World Fair. It is a model of an iron crystal magnified over 165 billion times and is now used as a museum. Now we decided not to head up into the spheres in the Atomium and instead just strolled around and admired how massive it is. To get there we took the metro, it was easy and convenient and cost about €9 for a return ticket for both of us. Now if it is a beautiful day and you are headed out that way I suggest packing a picnic and visiting the park right outside the Atomium.
Like I said we strolled most of the time we were in Brussels, it was nice-ish weather, minus the occasional hail storm. No worries though they only lasted a minute or two and you were fine as long as you could find shelter from getting pelted with ice balls!
Most of our time was spent in the area around The Grand Place. Strolling around the main square meant lots of food and beer options, both of which we enjoyed to much of. As for things to see/eat/do I've included the Google Map that I used for all the things to see.
Like I said we strolled most of the time we were in Brussels, it was nice-ish weather, minus the occasional hail storm. No worries though they only lasted a minute or two and you were fine as long as you could find shelter from getting pelted with ice balls!
Most of our time was spent in the area around The Grand Place. Strolling around the main square meant lots of food and beer options, both of which we enjoyed to much of. As for things to see/eat/do I've included the Google Map that I used for all the things to see.
Must see sites
A peeing boy statue, better known as Manneken Pis. No joke this thing is a must see. We were lucky enough to visit when a parade was happening to honor him, for the local mustache club.
You can then visit the peeing girl statue, Jeanneke Pis, which is conveniently located right next to the Delerium Cafe aka the home of the The most varieties of beer Commercially available coming in at 2,004 in Delirium Cafe, Brussels, Belgium When counted on 9 January 2004 -- Guinness World Records.
While there we also headed to visit the Royal Museum of Art & History (called the Cinquantenaire ). While there we visited the Egyptian exhibit (the one place the BF wants to attend) which at the very end included a working research lab (aka the thing I want to do when done with my PhD). As for the rest of the museum, it was in a beautiful building that seemed to be somewhat empty while we were there. Even if museums aren't your thing, there are some amazing views on the museum that I suggest going to see.
Final Thoughts
This was the first 'weekend break' that we have taken, and as for a Brussels, I would have loved more time to explore. We had some amazing weather (compared to Scotland at least) which allowed us to enjoy the city by foot while remembering that when we needed a quick pick me up, we could hop into a pub! Overall I think that we spent right under €200 for all of our food, drinks, activities, transport (minus the flight) and souvenirs. A bit more than we had hoped for, but we really did enjoy all the beer, chocolate, and waffles!
Just to give you an idea of some of the prices that you can expect around Brussels.
Average Cost of Things Around Brussels
Return metro ticket: € 4.20 per person
Beer in a pub: € 3.75
Waffle with chocolate: € 3.00
A meal from a local street vendor: € 5-7
Sit down meal: €10-15 (We had mussels and frites)
Fancy truffles from a chocolatier shop: €1.20 a piece or a box with 32 for €25 (great as gifts to share with people)
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