This Weekend Itinerary for Brussels is a comprehensive guide to exploring this fantastic European city. I’ve spent quite a lot of time touring Brussels with a local guide, one of my closest friends who is Belgian. With her insights and my experience I’ve put together this great weekend itinerary.
Brussels is a city that is easily accessed from many countries – the various intercity networks through northern Europe, and also the Chunnel from the UK. The EuroStar is a beautiful invention when it comes to convenient and hassle free travel to the continent. It has direct services from London to Paris, Calais, Lille and Brussels.
I’ve become well acquainted with the London to Brussels line in particular over these past few years. Either when traveling to visit friends in Belgium, or in the Netherlands, it’s one of the easiest ways to cross the Channel.
With all those trips to Brussels I’ve gained quite a good deal of knowledge on the city, Belgian beers, and Belgian chocolate. This has served me well over the years and when an American friend found cheap flights to Belgium I thought to offer my services as a tour guide (in exchange for American goods, of course).
Brussels in 3 Days
Brussels is a great city to take a short break to! It’s super easy to reach from London, but flights are a bit harder due to the small size of their Airport.
I’d put together a fun 3 day Itinerary for my visiting friend, which was spoiled when his flight was delayed 5+ hours. We did manage to do everything in a single weekend but perhaps spent a little less time consuming Belgian Beer than we otherwise would have planned.
DAY 1:
We wanted to visit the Atomium, but as it is an outlier from the center of the city we needed to dedicate an afternoon to traveling out to see it. It’s well worth the trip but hard to group with other, center city, sights.
- Arrived in afternoon; and checked-in to Hotel
- Traveled to the Atomium via Tram; which gave us overground views of Brussels
- Returned via Metro, as it’s faster, and visited theย Delirium Cafe.
- Dinner atย Leon, located nearby the Delirium Cafe.
DAY 2:
We started the day by having a lovely breakfast of pastries and baked goods at the home of our Belgian friends before heading back into Brussels.
- We took the Tram out to Train World, located at Schaerbeek station.
- Then we had a quick lunch at Q Burger, a localย fast-food chain.
- At theย Grand Placeย we stared at the beauty of the architecture and square.
- Museum of the City of Brussels is located directly in the Grand Place, within the Maison du Roi.
- Along the way to seeย Manneken-Pisย we stopped off to enjoy a few chocolates from ย local stores.
- After seeing Manneken-Pis we took a seat at theย Poechenellekelder Bar for a beer while we watched other tourists gawk at the statue.
- Waffles were consumed as a brief snack before carrying on to theย Sisters Bar on the other side of Grand Place for a beer tasting board.
DAY 3:
Brunch is a common Sunday outing in Brussels and we partook at it at the most highly rated place on Trip Advisor.
- Brunch at Peck 47 Cafe was a tremendous way to start the day; I had an amazing Chorizo Waffle, Goats Cheese and Poached Egg. Trick to skipping the long queues is to be willing to eat outside on a chilly morning.
- We walked toย Grote Zavel, aย beautiful square in Brussels where the majority of the fine chocolate houses exist. We walked the square, buying a single chocolate at each place. Once we found our individual favorites we returned to buy a box of chocolates.
- After trying several more beers;ย we completed our souvenir/beer shopping near the Grand Place.
What to eat in Brussels?
Everyone knows about the key staples of Brussels – Waffles, Mussles, etc. But there are some other dishes that are worth trying that are unique to Belgium or difficult to find done in the same manner elsewhere.
- Moules et Frites
- Belgian Waffle; your standard soft waffle with topping.
- Brussels Waffle; a crispier style of waffle with topping.
- Rabbit Kriek
- Horse Steak
- Stoemp
- Eel in Green Sauce
What to drink in Brussels?
In a word: Beer.
The variety of Belgian Beers is vast and most good bars/pubs/cafes will have a very good selection. They are particularly known for their “Kriek” beer (cherry, but on the sour side). Some of the beer recommendations I would make:
Types of Beer to Try:
- Lambic Beer
- Champagne Beer
- Flemish Red
- Kriek Beer
- Saison
- Trappist Beer
- Tripel Beer
Brands of Beer to Try:
- Carolous
- 3 Fountinen (Lambic)
- Delirium
- Bellevue Kriek
- Westmalle (Trappist)
- Orval; suggest you get this one Bottle Aged at least 6 months.
- Lindemen’s Fruit Beers (Pecheresse/Peach)
