Brussels in 24 Hours: A Quick Guide to Belgium’s Capital
People told me NOT to go to Brussels – go to Bruges instead. They said it’s a dirty city and not worth visiting. Well I disagree! Brussels is beautiful and an awesome city to visit. I was only there for one day but my hotel was in such a great location that I was able to walk around all the historic parts of the city, including the Manneken Pis.
One or two blocks away from that mannequin and you are in the city square. It is fantastic! There are a bunch of super old buildings. One of them is the city hall for Brussels – I imagine they do weddings in the city square sometimes. There are chocolate shops, cafes and lots of people just walking around enjoying the buildings.
The buildings really are quite amazing. Another amazing thing I discovered in Brussels is that I love french fries and mayonnaise. Although in Belgium, they are considered Belgian fries. I saw a bunch of people walking around with these fries and a giant dollup of mayo on top.
After passing about 5 of these fry shops, I finally got my own. This was a first for me having fries with mayonnaise. Oh man is that delicious! I walked around enjoying those fries while checking out an outdoor market nearby.
The city was quite lively, which is to be expected since it was a Sunday. People on the street were playing music and really putting on a show for the crowd. Lots of delicious treats everywhere you look. It was fancy chocolate shops galore!
I had been walking around for a few hours at this point so I went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for dinner somewhere.
I had thai food for dinner at a restaurant called Mam Mam, which I though was delicious. I had some northern thai sausages to start with and a green curry for my main dish. The flavors were bright and fresh. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
After dinner I walked around a bit more. The grand palace was still very busy with people. Now I was on a mission to try some delicious chocolates.
Popped into a chocolate shop called Newhaus, which I believe is a famous one (there are many famous ones). I got this sugar coated chocolate praline that had a softer chocolate inside of it and WOW! Might be one of the best chocolates I’ve ever had. Not kidding! I enjoyed it so much that I went back for a few more a short while later 🙂
Did a bit of souvenir shopping before heading back to the hotel. I like to get postcards and a magnet from everywhere I travel to. I also was tempted to get a waffle with strawberries and chocolate. There was some live music which I enjoyed. Then back to the hotel for the night.
The next morning, I got breakfast at a nearby cafe and got ready for my train ride to Paris. My hotel is within walking distance of the Central train station but the Eurostar train leaves from Midi train station. Luckily, you can take a free train ride in between so that was convenient.
Midi station was very busy – lots of people and trains going in different directions. You have to wait until close to your departure time to find the correct station, so I sat down and did some reading. Getting on the train wasn’t too bad, and they tell you where to stand on the platform for your seat.
The Eurostar ride from Brussels to Paris was fabulous and I’ll tell you all about it in my next blog post. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time 🙂
Here are some more pictures from Brussels
