18 saker att göra i Bryssel som turist

There really is so much to see and do in Brussels! If you follow this blog, you've already read our posts on waffles, pubs, food and excursions. Now that we're bringing it all together in one post, there's plenty of new stuff. For example, how about a chocolate workshop, a speciality brewery, cartoon characters and underground passages?

What to see and do in Brussels

Although it was raining and very grey during our long weekend in Brussels, we were very positively surprised. We must say that there is a lot to see and do in Brussels! The Belgian capital is the city for those who like good food, good beer, sweets, beautiful buildings... and maybe cartoon characters.

1. Stroll along the Grote Markt

The Grote Markt, or Grand Place in French, is the main square in Brussels and is an absolute must when visiting the city. The square was built in the late Middle Ages and is now world-famous, not least for its beautifully decorated 17th century buildings. Included on the UNESCO World Heritage List

2. Check out the magnificent buildings

Brussels is a city full of magnificent buildings. When walking around the city, you might stumble upon the Royal Palace, or the Palace of Justice, for example. The Palace of Justice is a highly visible landmark with its tall round tower, and it's truly fascinating to peek through its open doors. You can also expect to see judges dressed in black and wearing white cravats (or whatever they're called) running up and down the stairs.

3. Join a walking tour of Brussels

We like guided city walks, because it's a great way to quickly and easily learn about the city you're in. In Brussels we had a Swedish-speaking (!) Belgian guide who was so enthusiastic that he overstayed his welcome by an hour or so. But we learnt a lot!

By the way, this was the third (!) Belgian we met who speaks Swedish. And no, none of them had any relation to Sweden. They just chose to learn the language anyway! One of the things you should not miss during a city walk is the Pis family.

Manneken Pis: The landmark of Belgium. The bronze statue of a little boy urinating and the first from 1619. See it at the junction of Rue de l'Étuve and Rue du Chê in Brussels.
Jeanneke PisJeanneke Pis is the sister of Manneken Pis, who was unveiled in 1985. You can find her at 10 impasse de la Fidélité in the Old Town of Brussels.
Zinneke Pis: Their dog, first shown in 1998. You can find it at the junction of Rue des Chartreux and Rue du Vieux-aux-Grains in Brussels.

4. Visit the European area

If Brussels is known for anything, it's the EU headquarters and the whole area where politicians, administrators and lobbyists work on European issues. According to our guide, around 200,000 Brussels residents work in EU-related jobs.

It is interesting just to stroll around this area, and those who are particularly interested can take guided tours and see the Parlamentarium, for example. We settled for a short visit (which could have been longer!) to the House of European History. Here is also the NATO headquarters.

5. See Brussels underground

There is a medieval world beneath Brussels. You can go down under the Coudenberg Castle and see all the roads that were once used. If you want even more of an underground Brussels, you can go to the Brussels city centre. sewerage museum, where you can experience the city in a very different way.

6. go up the Atomium

One of the 'must-see' attractions in Brussels is the Atomium. This spectacular installation was built for the 1958 World Expo, but then left in place.

READ MORE: Visiting the Atomium in Brussels - and Belgium's mini Europe

7. see Mini-Europe

Located right next to the Atomium, Mini-Europa is well worth a visit. Fun for both children and adults! You will recognise different famous buildings around Europe and become curious about others.

8. Learn more about cartoon characters

Embrace and embrace! If you like cartoon characters, Belgium is the country for you! Perhaps the most famous cartoon character here is Tintin, created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, aka Hergé. Lucky Luke was created by Belgian cartoonist Morris. Asterix was created by the French René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, but they met in ... Brussels. Plus, the Smurfs are a Belgian cartoon!

We visited Moof museum, which is located in the centre of Brussels at Galerie Horta (Gare centrale) Rue Marché-aux-Herbes 116 B1000 Bruxelles, showing all sorts of comic book characters. In addition to the fact that it was nice to walk around here, we managed to fall asleep ten minutes in the "cinema" - sooo nice when you have a tight schedule, haha.

For those who are more interested, there is also a Museum of Hergé which is just outside Brussels. You can also do "the comic strip walk" to see all the cartoon murals in Brussels.

9. Enjoying Belgian food

There's plenty of good food in Belgium, from the classic 'moules frites' to lots of different dishes, whether you like meat, fish or vegetarian.

READ MORE: 4 good restaurants in Brussels - great Belgian food

10. Feasting on waffles in Brussels

When you're in Brussels, be sure to indulge in waffles, whether it's the traditional Belgian 'Gaufre de Liege' or one of the tourist waffles. Read our post on Belgian waffles to find your way through the waffle jungle. We found the waffles on Rue de l'Etuve/Stoof straat, near Grand Place/Grote Markt.

READ MORE: We try Belgian waffles in Belgium

11. participate in a chocolate workshop

In addition to eating chocolate, it is interesting to try making your own chocolate! We participated in a chocolate workshop at Laurent Gerbaud at Rue Ravenstein. We first learned a lot about chocolate and different cocoa beans, and then we got to make our own chocolate bars and flavour them with different fruits, nuts and seeds. Great fun!

12. Shop for Belgian chocolate

Of course, it's perfect to buy Belgian chocolate when you're in Brussels, but you have to be careful to make sure you're actually getting high-quality chocolate and not something mass-produced. We can recommend Wittamer at Place du Grand Sablon, which also supplies chocolate to the Royal Family.

Other chocolate shops are Mary and Neuhaus both located in the incredibly beautiful Galerie de la Reine/Koninginnegalerij (Galleries St Hubert), which is also the first shopping mall in Europe from 1846.

In the Mary shop, the chocolate is sold in packs that are almost identical to the original 1919 packs. They don't even say 'Mary' on them. At the time, there was only one female chocolate maker, so it was obvious who was in the picture.

13. Shopping in Brussels

It's not just chocolate you can buy in Brussels, but also clothes, for example. If you want to shop a little more exclusively, you can stroll along the long street by the Louiza/Louise metro station. We chose to do some budget shopping in the Agoda mall on Rue de la Colline/Heuvelstraat, near the Grote Markt. We actually ended up with one winter jacket each, and we're super happy!

14. Visit a Belgian beer brewery

There are a number of breweries in Brussels and we visited one called Cantillon at the Brewery/Brussels Museum of the Gueuze rue Gheude 56 1070 Brussels. We have visited several breweries in Belgium before, and yet this one was very interesting.

Cantillon is not like any other brewery, but brews beer in the traditional way, i.e. in exactly the same premises and in exactly the same way as a hundred years ago. The beer is cooled on the roof by outside air, which means that beer can only be produced in the winter months.

This brewery makes, among other things, genuine Gueuze-Lambic, and also fruit beers such as cherry beer. The flavour is a bit different, but very, very interesting! Incidentally, we met two Germans here from the German beer academy who were excited and overjoyed to buy our "pot" as well, since you can only buy a certain amount per person (and we were flying).

15. Drinking beer in Belgian pubs

Belgium is a beer culture, and this is reflected in the number of pubs in the city. You'll find everything from pubs with over 3000 types of beer to pubs housed in old puppet theatre cellars.

READ MORE: 4 unique bars in Brussels - not to be missed!

16. Visit the Christmas market in Brussels

This tip depends very much on the time of year, but if you're visiting Brussels at Christmas, check out the Christmas market. There are lots of stalls selling delicacies, sweets and crafts.

17. Stay in a cosy hotel

When you treat yourself to a weekend, it is of course nice to stay cosy! If you like smaller hotels, with a more relaxed feel and a genuine and good breakfast - we can recommend this hotel. Cosiness. The hotel is located at the metro station Louiza/Louise and the rooms are excellent. Above all we liked the breakfast, which in itself was not very big, but instead felt like it was prepared and served with care.

18. Take a trip to Mechelen.

We also have to suggest a trip to Mechelen of course! Mechelen is only 25 minutes by train from Brussels, and it's easy to make a day trip here. Mechelen is a cosy and slightly quieter city with canals, beautiful houses and, for example, a brewery and a ticklingly high church tower.

READ MORE: 7 things to do in Mechelen in Belgium

A film about what to do in Brussels

More to see and do in Brussels

One thing we had planned to do in Brussels, but didn't have time to do, is Africa Museum. This museum, located just outside Brussels, has been closed for several years and recently reopened. It displays items related to Belgium's long relationship with the Congo and other African countries. Here are some other places in Brussels worth noting:

Parc du Cinquantenaire is a park in the centre of Brussels with a 1905 Arc de Triomphe.
Significant works by architect Victor Horta are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Buildings included are Hotel Tassel, Hotel Solvay, Hotel van Eetveld and Maison & Atleter Horta (Horta Museum).
Stoclet Palace, in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, is a private city palace built by the architect Josef Hoffman. The palace is a World Heritage Site.
Royal museum of fine arts on Rue de la Régence 3.

To get around within Brussels, we bought metro tickets from vending machines - there were single, 24-hour and 10-times tickets available. Outside the centre of Brussels we went by train, using our 'Hi Belgium Pass'.

Hi belgium pass - and brussels Airlines

We travelled to Brussels with Brussels Airlines from Bromma and booked Hi Belgium Pass. With this pass you get free train tickets within the country during your long weekend and three free attractions in each of two cities of your choice (we chose Brussels + Mechelen). Very convenient!

The flight was generally smooth. Flying from Bromma is much faster and easier than flying from Arlanda, given the shorter check-in times. If you are travelling to and from Stockholm, it is also much closer. In Brussels, we also tested the Brussels Airlines lounge - so nice to have access to comfortable sofas, electricity and a small buffet with food, pastries and drinks.

See more of Belgium

Want to learn more about what to see and do around Belgium? Take a look at our page Travelling to Belgium, where we collect our best tips from north to south. If you're travelling by motorhome, you can read more about campsites and pitches in Belgium. Don't miss these interesting cities either:

READ MORE: 12 things to see and do in Antwerp
READ MORE: 13 things to see and do in Bruges
READ MORE: 10 things to see and do in Ghent

Facts about Brussels

Country: Belgium
Language: Flemish and French (and English)
Currency: Euro
Price mode: As in Sweden
Residents: About 1.2 million (Brussels)
Time difference: None
Emergency number: 112
Religion: Christianity (mainly Catholicism)
El: As in Sweden
Water: Drinking beard
Tourist office: Visit Brussels, 2-4 Rue Royal

Travelling to Brussels

Flight: Fly from Bromma (Stockholm) to Brussels (2 h 15 min) or from Malmö to Brussels (1 h 35 min). Read more on Brussels Airlines
Car: 16 hours by car from Stockholm to Brussels

Food and drink

Popup Sablon at 15-16 Place du Grand Sablon is both a bar and a cosy restaurant.
Resto Henri at Vlaamsesteenweg 113 serves delicious Belgian cuisine.
Victor Bozar café at Ravensteinstraat 23 serves both coffee and delicious dinners.

Pubs & cafes

Beer pub Delirium Café on Impasse de la Fidélité 4
Pubs Poechebelle cellar on Rue du chêne 5
Café/pub La Fleur en papier Doré on Rue des Alexiens 53-55 (Cellebroerstraat 55)
Café/pub Le Cirio on Rue de la Bourse 18-20

Shopping in Brussels

Louiza/Louise offers exclusive shopping
Galleria Agoda at the Grote Markt offers budget shopping
Galerie de la Reine/Koninginnegalerij is a shopping centre that houses several fine chocolate shops.

Guide: Book a pass

Hi Belgium Pass cost about 1500 SEK when we booked (price may vary). This is a good offer if you want to see in and around Brussels. If you want to stay only in Brussels and not see so many sights, a regular ticket might be better.

Accommodation

Hotel Hygge is nice and located at Lakenweversstraat 35, next to metro station Louiza/Louise.
Novotel Brussels City Centre is located at 32 Rue de la Vierge Noire
Hilton Brussels Grand Placeis located at the Carrefour de l'Europe, in the centre of Brussels.

Pitches and camping

Youth Hostel Generation Europe is a car park next to a hostel. Read more at CamperContact.
Camping Brussels is located at Warandeberg 52 in Wezembeek-Oppem.

10 Comments

Add yours →

Kenneth Risberg says:

Impressive how much you managed to do in 3 days. Excursion by train to Mechelen, restaurant visit, brewery, pub visit, shopping, chocolate making, Christmas market, museums. You really don't slack off when you are travelling.

An experience to join you in the World, thank you!

18 December 2018 - 7:23

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Haha, yes we were busy! But we probably had 3,5 days anyway 😉 😉
  
  18 December 2018 - 15:52
  
Ama de casa says:

It's important not to be lazy when you're on a mini holiday... 😀.

18 December 2018 - 8:55

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Right? 😉
  
  18 December 2018 - 15:52
  
Emma, Sol som sol? says:

I was just wondering how long you were there but saw that Kenneth had an answer. No wonder you fell asleep at the cinema!

A great compilation, I must say!

About chocolate, I have to tell you that the same friend who thought we should just go to Belgium (as I commented in your post about the Atomium) would send us some Belgian chocolate as my husband and he had a bet and the Belgian lost. We got a huge box with all sorts of chocolate: drinking chocolate, cocoa, dark, light, for pastries... What quality! Especially the cocoa was very good! I was really happy that my husband won!

18 December 2018 - 9:01

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  It feels like we were there for a long time, but it wasn't more than 3.5 days 😉 And Belgian chocolate, mmm, can only agree!!!
  
  18 December 2018 - 15:53
  
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

What a great post about Brussels, thanks for that!
Now I realise that it would not be difficult to spend a few days there.
Fun with a Swedish speaking guide. We got lucky at the catacombs in Rome. When we were waiting for our English-speaking group, an elderly man came up and offered to guide us in Swedish. He had worked as a Catholic priest in Norrköping for over 10 years and as a pensioner he guided in the catacombs.

18 December 2018 - 9:30

BP says:

I must say that I am very impressed that you managed to do so much. Well done! Mini-Europe is really lavish, and I liked the interactive museum in Mechelen. The film was great! A perfect summary of all impressions!

18 December 2018 - 18:53

Ann-Louise Paulsson says:

So many good tips! Both things I did myself when I visited Brussels and a lot that I now get the urge to go and see / do. Very impressed that you had so much time!

18 December 2018 - 21:47

Lena - gott för själen says:

That certainly seems like a place worth visiting, I see.

Hug Lena

20 December 2018 - 6:17

18 things to do in Brussels as a tourist

What to see and do in Brussels

1. Stroll along the Grote Markt

2. Check out the magnificent buildings

3. Join a walking tour of Brussels

4. Visit the European area

5. See Brussels underground

6. go up the Atomium

7. see Mini-Europe

8. Learn more about cartoon characters

9. Enjoying Belgian food

10. Feasting on waffles in Brussels

11. participate in a chocolate workshop

12. Shop for Belgian chocolate

13. Shopping in Brussels

14. Visit a Belgian beer brewery

15. Drinking beer in Belgian pubs

16. Visit the Christmas market in Brussels

17. Stay in a cosy hotel

18. Take a trip to Mechelen.

A film about what to do in Brussels

More to see and do in Brussels

Hi belgium pass - and brussels Airlines

See more of Belgium

Facts about Brussels

Travelling to Brussels

Food and drink

Pubs & cafes

Shopping in Brussels

Guide: Book a pass

Accommodation

Pitches and camping

You might also like:

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10 Comments

Kenneth Risberg says:

Helena says:

Ama de casa says:

Helena says:

Emma, Sol som sol? says:

Helena says:

Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

BP says:

Ann-Louise Paulsson says:

Lena - gott för själen says:

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