Brussels & Bruges

The EU capital's Grand-Place and comic-strip murals, plus the canals and belfry of Bruges, the "Venice of the North", along with chocolate, waffles and beer: the top choice for a short European combination trip.

Brussels and Bruges are Belgium's classic travel pairing. Belgium lies between France, Germany and the Netherlands; Dutch is spoken in the northern region of Flanders and French in the southern region of Wallonia. Brussels is the bilingual capital and the seat of the European Commission, the European Parliament and NATO headquarters. The core of Brussels sightseeing is within the "Pentagon" of the old town: the Grand-Place, Manneken Pis, the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, the Mont des Arts and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts are within walking distance, and dozens of comic-strip murals of Tintin, the Smurfs and others are scattered on its walls. The Atomium and Mini-Europe in the northern suburbs are legacies of the 1958 World Expo, and the EU quarter lies to the east. Bruges, about 100 km to the northwest in the province of West Flanders, is a perfectly preserved medieval canal town. Its whole historic centre is a World Heritage Site and it is known as the "Venice of the North". Between the two cities, Ghent combines the energy of a university town with medieval architecture and holds Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece. The climate is mild and rainy, so bring an umbrella all year; April–October is most pleasant. In mid-August of even-numbered years a flower carpet is laid out on the Grand-Place in Brussels, and in December every city has Christmas markets and ice rinks. Getting around: from Brussels Airport it takes about 20 minutes by train to the city centre. From Brussels-Central, an IC train takes about 1 hour to Bruges and about 35 minutes to Ghent; services are frequent, and half-price return tickets can be bought for weekends. Allow 3–4 days: 1.5 days in Brussels, 1–1.5 days in Bruges (ideally stay one night to see it lit up) and 1 day in Ghent. Food to try: Belgian fries with mayonnaise, Liège and Brussels waffles, mussels and fries, handmade chocolates and over a thousand Belgian beers (abbey beers, lambic sours). The areas around Brussels-Central, Brussels-Midi and the Grand-Place are crowded, so beware of pickpockets.

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Where to eat

Itineraries