Brussels, Belgium
Brussels was my first trip outside of Paris after moving here in 2018. One of the main reasons I moved to Paris this time around was because I wanted to be able to travel often, and having a home-base in Europe is a great way to make that happen, obviously.
So honestly, when choosing Brussels, I just looked at a map of the countries that are bordering France. I looked up bus tickets vs. train tickets with a friend, decided on the bus, booked them, and we were off!
Since I had no previous desire to explore Brussels (I really just wanted to see a new country,) I went with little to no expectations. I knew I wanted to eat a Belgian waffle and try Belgian-frites, but that’s about it. I did both of those things, and got a lot more than anticipated.
Brussels recommendations:
- Musée Magritte: of course I had to visit my favorite painter’s museum in his home town! It was absolutely incredible. I fell in love with Magritte years ago when I saw his exhibit in Chicago. The museum is 3 floors, so you get to learn so much about him and his life. It also has a really awesome museum gift shop at the bottom (if you’re a gift shop sucker like I am.) If you love Magritte like I do, I would recommend dedicating 3+ hours to this spot.
- Grand Place de Bruxelles: The central square of Brussels, beautifully ornate and drenched in gold.. it’s a great spot for a photo, and when you’re there you’re in a very central part of the city!
- Nightlife: I didn’t party all that much in Belgium for some reason, but I did hit up a few places that were pretty cool
- Goupil le fol. Go here just for the bar decor. You won’t regret it. Drinks weren’t too pricy, but I found everything in Brussels to be totally reasonably priced, obviously, coming from Paris. (Not like Lisbon reasonable, though. Lisbon is insanely cheap.)
- Ebrius is a bar I was invited to by my Belgian friend, so if you like places that you know actual locals hang out, then definitely check out this place! It had a great vibe and good drinks.
- Delirium Café & l’impasse de la Fidélité: Here’s the thing, there’s a lot to say about Impasse de la Fidélité: which is an alley with a bunch of beer bars and clubish type places. Impasse de la Fidélité literally translates to The Dead End of Fidelity, so you know this place is nutso. Worth going for the beer fans, and even if you aren’t a real beer fan, Delirium Café offers more beer options than any other bar in the world. Literally. It’s been in the Guinness book of world records twice. That’s worth checking out, on my opinion. If that’s not enough to convince you, and you don’t already know this: the famous beer Delirium is a Belgian beer… and you’ve got to try the food and drink of the countries you’re in.
- Audrey Hepburn’s house: Okay I realize most people don’t like to see this kind of stuff as much as I do, but even if you don’t care about Audrey Hepburn or where she used to live, the Ixelles neighborhood is so cute and worth exploring.
- Brunch: One of the most memorable meals I ate in Brussels was at Le Clan des Belges. Adorably decorated and fantastic food. (You get a LOT with the brunch menu.) Even if this place is not your jam, I would say there are a bunch of other cute spots in this area. This restaurant is also located in the Ixelles neighborhood.
- Eat Belgian waffles, Belgian frites, and drink Belgian beer! The fries and waffles you can get anywhere like street food. I don’t have a particular spot to recommend. Let your eyes lead you!
- Other: Some sights I saw that weren’t as important to me, but may be worth looking up for you are: Mannequin Pis, (literally a tiny pissing statue. It’s funny.) and Royal Palace of Brussels — pretty just to see. We did not go inside.
