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Brussels is the capital of a divided land. Belgium's quirkiest, most problematic trait is that
for the last 300 years it's been a mainly French-speaking
capital of a
mainly Flemish-speaking country. (The city's Flemish name is Brussel, while in French it's
Bruxelles.) However, the mix of French and
Flemish cultures and attitudes has created something unique and
dynamic. The big change for Brussels has come with the
high-speed rail links with London (now 2hr 8min on
Eurostar)
and Paris (under 2 hours on Thalys).
Brussels tourist office
is in the city's huge main
square, Grand Place. They can provide a map, information and
hotel bookings. There are plenty of places nearby to sit down
with a drink or meal, admire the architecture and get your
bearings.
www.brusselsinternational.be
The centre of Brussels is
in its busy Lower Town, around Grand Place. Here you'll find
the main squares plus teeming touristy but atmospheric narrow
streets lined with little shops and restaurants,
the hard-edged Marolles area, the young, up-and-coming
Ste Cathérine quarter, and swish shopping
streets around Avenue Louise. Rising above this
is the sedate Upper Town, a former Royal quarter.
Brussels' suburbs include St Gilles, Elsene and
Ixelles, famed for Art Nouveau houses, and Heysel,
home of the Atomium and other attractions.
In huge contrast to its
former image, Brussels is at the leading edge in
modern art, modern dance and young fashion
designers.
There's live music in cafes and bars, and the city has more than 100
late-night or all-night addresses for clubbing. At the same time, it has
a high-culture scene with theatre, opera, ballet and classical
music.
There are major museums
of comic strip art, Fine Art, and Surrealist Art
(check out the
Belgian
Art website).
It's quite true that the favourite Brussels snack
is mayonnaise and chips (not French fries, please
- call 'em
Belgian
fries
while you're
here), but it's also a city where you can eat as
well as in Paris. Belgians love beer - there are
400 varieties.
Brussels has a useful
Metro network, and stations are easy to spot with
their letter M.
Another resource is
Brussels' 'underground tram' (where ordinary
trams run in tunnels). A ticket for bus, tram or
Metro must be stamped on boarding and is valid
for an hour.
Resto.be
lists over 18,000 Belgian restaurants.
RestoPass gives a 30% price reduction in
40
Brussels restaurants: it
costs
€45
from the tourist office or online.
Favourite local meals include Moules-Frîtes (freshly boiled mussels and a plate of fries), Waterzooi
(fish and wine stew - there’s a chicken version too), and Karbonnade
(a stew of beef braised in beer).
Hotels, restaurants and bars in Brussels
Amigo 1-3 rue de l'Amigo, right
behind Grand Place, luxurious, elegant hotel with great style
and charm, antiques, tapestries,
yet good value.
Aristote 7 ave de Stalingrad. 19th-century
building next to the Eurostar station, a budget hotel with
simple, modern facilities.
Belga Queen 32 rue Fosse
aux Loups. Very attractive, stylish brasserie catering to a chic
crowd, but with modestly priced set menus. Food is proudly
Belgian, as are most of the ingredients.
Comme Chez Soi 23 Pl Rouppe. Enjoy a gourmet meal
in elegant surroundings at Brussels' most famous
restaurant, by Grand-Place.
Le Dixseptième 25 rue de la Madeleine,
wonderful little hotel of character in 17th-century
ambassador's mansion, not expensive.
L’Ecailler du Palais Royal 18 rue Bodenbroek.
Stylish gastronomic restaurant in the smart Sablon area,
imaginative seafood dishes.
Metropole 31 Pl. de Brouckère,
Top classic hotel, pricey, opulent 19th-century marble-and crystal luxury, and with
a leading restaurant.
A La Mort Subite 7 Rue Montagne aux
Herbes Potagères, this famous old brasserie is
traditional, unpretentious Brussels.
Le Roy d'Espagne
1 Grand Place, grandest
of Grand Place guild houses, but not expensive, a
perfect spot for a drink or light meal.
Eurostar
from London to Brussels direct, up to 10 times daily each way,
journey time 2 hrs 8 mins from London's St Pancras
International
station.
Never mind a weekend break – that’s close enough for lunch.
--Click
here
to find out what's on in Brussels now and for the next 15 days.
--Find current
exhibitions, concerts, shows and other
events at
BOZAR,
the Centre for Fine Arts.
Ommegang
3 and 5 July 2012
For 450 years this has been the city's annual display of royal
pageantry. Tournaments at 4pm. In 2011, the Ommegang
procession itself takes
place on 5 and 7 July, starting from Sablon at 20.50h and
proceeding to Grand Place. The Ommegang fills Grand Place,
with the Royal Family in attendance.
www.ommegang.be |
Grand Place (Grote
Markt)
Brussels is centred on
Grand Place, the dramatically beautiful square at
the heart of the city (note it is not Grande Place). Surrounded by gorgeous
gilded 17th-century Guild Halls, it's one of
Europe's grandest city squares. Have a coffee and
pastry, or a beer. There's a daily flower market
in the middle of the square.
Royal Art Museums
This vast
complex in the Upper Town gives a complete overview of medieval
Flemish painting,
and at the same time looks at the vital
contribution of Belgian painters to Surrealism. The complex
consists of several museums with their own speciality,
holding altogether some 20,000 artworks. paintings,
sculptures and drawings. One of the most intriguing of the
museums is devoted entirely to René Magritte, with more
than 200 of his works. (Address:
Rue du Musée.)
www.fine-arts-museum.be
www.musee-magritte-museum.be
Manneken Pis
Indescribably silly, but
give the naughty little boy (often incorrectly spelt
Mannekin
Pis) a few minutes of your time. He's located just a short walk
from Grand' Place. The two most surprising things about the
little man are just how
small he is and the fact that he owns hundreds of suits of
clothes donated by kings and presidents around the world (the
first to send him a costume was Louis XV of France). Push through the
crowds of gawpers and check out what he's wearing
today - if anything. (Address:
Corner rue de l'Etuve/rue du Chene.)
Atomium
Built for the 1958 Word
Fair, this gigantic but
perfectly formed model of an iron molecule stands
102 metres high and once symbolised the modern
Brussels. After a brilliant refurbishment, it sets out to
recapture the feel of the 1950s and early 60s, with numerous
exhibitions about that period. There's also a restaurant with a
view. It's located away from the city centre at Heysel in northern
Brussels.
(Address: Atomium Square.)
www.atomium.be/
Musée de la Bande Dessinée
(Cartoonstrip Museum)
In one of the finest Art
Nouveau buildings, a museum dedicated to cartoon strips,
with a big section on the most famous Belgian - Tintin. There
are also adult cartoons, including an erotic section. On your way here, notice
a trail of eyecatching
cartoon murals through city centre streets. (Address:
Zandstraat / Rue des Sables.)
www.brusselsbdtour.com
Art Nouveau
Many museums, public
buildings, cafés, hotels and private houses are
magnificent examples of this flowing turn-of-the-century style. The best
example, especially for its domestic context, is the home of its genius, Victor Horta,
which is now the Victor Horta Art Nouveau Museum (out of the city
centre at
Amerikaansestraat 25). Another wonderful example of the style is the
former department store, called Old England, which now houses the interesting
Musical
Instruments Museum (Address: 2 Rue Montagne de la Cour).
Among the most popular buys are souvenir packs of
beer and T-shirts or models of the Mannekin Pis,
Tintin memorabilia (La Boutique de
Tintin, 13 rue de la Colline), fine lace
and handmade chocolates (around Grand-Place,
or in shopping areas like the Sablon and Avenue
Louise; chocolatiers also sell speculoos -
traditional sweet Belgian biscuits).
--Cartoon books are aimed at adults as much
as children (Brüsel, 100 Bd Anspach, or the
bookshop at the Cartoonstrip Museum).
--In Marolles'
daily flea market find real
quality hidden among the bric-à-brac.
-The
city's designers have won
worldwide attention. Established top names include
Kaat
Tilley (now out of town at 12 Asbeekstraat, Asbeek),
Michel Demulder, Gerald Watelet
and
Olivier Strelli (boutique at 72
avenue Louise).
--Frieten
or frîtes, great with mayonnaise, are
Brussels' top street
snack
(don't say “french fries”; they were invented in Flanders!).
--Don't tip taxis -
it's
included in the fare.
--A Tourist Pass from the tourist
office gives unlimited travel and discount museum entry.
--Guided walking tours set out from the tourist office, followed by a 3-hour
bus tour.
--Try a Kwak - Brussels' weirdest beer
is served in a round-bottomed glass in a
wooden frame so that it can stand up. After a couple of these you'll feel a bit like that yourself.
--For cool young bars and cafes, walk to
Ste-Catherine district; for all-night club life,
go into Marolles.
--What's On and Brussels Unlimited list concerts, discos, events, shows,
exhibitions.
- Where is it?
It's the capital of Belgium, a small country in western Europe
between France, Holland (Netherlands) and Germany.
- International phone dialling code:
00 32 (+ drop initial 0 of phone number).
- Time zone:
GMT/BST + 1 hour.
- Money:
Euro (€).
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