Belgium · City break

Brussels City Guide

Gold gleams on the facades of the Grand-Place, waffles scent the next corner, comic strips run across the house walls, and cafe menus list hundreds of Belgian beers. Add the cathedral, Manneken Pis and the finest view over the city. One ready-made day route from the metro does the rest for you.

🗺️ Open Brussels interactively with map & navigation

Our walking tour of Brussels

The walk starts at Metro 1/5 Gare Centrale and takes you on foot in 11 stops (about 6.3 km) through Brussels. These are the highlights.

Brussels on foot with Grand-Place, Manneken Pis & Sablon

Loop from Gare Centrale via cathedral, Galeries Royales and Grand-Place, then Manneken Pis, the Sablon and the Palais de Justice viewpoint, back past the Royal Palace, the park and the Mont des Arts. Then a quick metro hop to the triumphal arch in Cinquantenaire Park to finish.

Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula. The Gothic national cathedral with its mighty twin-towered façade hosts Belgium's royal weddings and funerals.
Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. One of Europe's oldest shopping arcades (1847) with its glass roof, chocolatiers like Neuhaus and Mary and elegant cafés. The Belgian praline was invented here. And if you're properly hungry, a few minutes further north the Wolf Sharing Food Market unites 17 kitchens, two bars and its own microbrewery in an old bank building.
Grand-Place. One of the world's most beautiful squares (UNESCO). The Gothic town hall, the King's House and the gilded guild houses form one magnificent ensemble. Atmospherically lit at night; every two years in August it hosts the flower carpet.
Manneken Pis. The bronze figure of 1619, just 58 cm tall, is the city's cheeky mascot. Often dressed in one of his 1,000-plus costumes. His wardrobe is on show at the GardeRobe museum next door.
Place du Grand Sablon. The elegant square of antique dealers and chocolatiers, overlooked by the late-Gothic Notre-Dame du Sablon church with its glowing stained glass. Antiques market at weekends.
Square du Petit Sablon. The small garden ringed by 48 bronze statues of the old guilds atop its fence columns. A quiet gem opposite the Grand Sablon.
Palace of Justice & Place Poelaert. The gigantic Palace of Justice of 1883 is one of the largest courthouses in the world. From the Place Poelaert terrace the view sweeps across the lower town to the Atomium; a glass lift connects to the Marolles quarter.
Royal Palace. The Belgian king's official palace on the Place des Palais; in summer its state rooms, including the jewel-beetle ceiling 'Heaven of Delight', can be visited for free.
Parc de Bruxelles. The city's oldest public park between palace and parliament, with dead-straight avenues, fountains and sculptures. Brussels' green lung in the government quarter.
Mont des Arts. The garden terrace between upper and lower town offers THE postcard view across the town-hall spires to the Atomium. Especially lovely at sunset.
Cinquantenaire Park. The sprawling Cinquantenaire park of 1880 with its monumental triumphal arch crowned by a quadriga. The surrounding halls house Autoworld, the Military Museum and the Art & History Museum.

Planning your visit

One day is enough, two if you want time for museums. The route from Gare Centrale runs 6.3 kilometres and leads in eleven stops from the cathedral past the Grand-Place and the Sablon up to the Palace of Justice and on to the Jubilee Park. The Grand-Place hides between narrow lanes, so you stand in the middle of it all at once. For waffles, fries and beer you need no address, but twelve evening tips are ready anyway. The Atomium is barely half an hour away by metro.

Going out & nightlife

Rooftop bars

Play Label Rooftop. Summery rooftop bar with DJ sets and views over the rooftops, up in the Palais de Justice quarter on Place Poelaert.
Rooftop 58. Two levels above the centre, on top of the Brucity building between the Bourse and Sainte-Catherine, with a bar and terrace on the eighth floor and above it an open-air deck with an all-round view of the old town. One of the largest rooftop terraces in Europe.

Nightlife quarters

Saint-Géry / Sint-Goriks. Bars and terraces cluster around the old Halles Saint-Géry market hall. The heart of a Brussels night out.
Rue du Marché au Charbon. The lively bar street behind the Bourse, home to scene bars and the centre of the LGBTQ+ community.
Place du Luxembourg. On Thursday evenings, EU staff gather for after-work drinks on this square in the European quarter. International vibes guaranteed.

Food & restaurants

Chez Léon. The institution for moules-frites on Rue des Bouchers since 1893. Touristy, but a Brussels classic.
Fin de Siècle. Belgian cooking in a rustic room with carbonnade, stoemp and draught beer. No reservations, come early.
Maison Dandoy. Baking speculoos and waffles since 1829. The Brussels waffle with icing sugar is a must.

Bars & clubs

Delirium Café. A record-breaking beer list of over 2,000 varieties in an alley full of bars. Loud, legendary, open deep into the night.
L'Archiduc. Art Deco jazz bar from 1937 on Rue Antoine Dansaert with cocktails, live music and film-set patina.

Stage & concerts

La Monnaie / De Munt. Belgium's opera house of 1819 ranks among Europe's most respected. Opera and dance at the highest level.
Ancienne Belgique. The legendary concert hall on Boulevard Anspach, a stage for international bands and Belgian acts.

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Practical information for Brussels

Public transport

Operator. STIB/MIVB (Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles / Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel) operates the metro, tram, and bus within the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. On the outskirts, lines of the Walloon TEC and the Flemish De Lijn also cross the area, and SNCB runs the urban suburban trains. The Brupass and Brupass XL fares are valid across operators for STIB, TEC, De Lijn, and SNCB (2nd class) within and around the region, with one exception. Any trip starting at Zaventem Airport is excluded from Brupass and the normal STIB ticket and requires the separate Airport2City ticket.

Network. Four metro lines, trams and buses. All signs are bilingual, French and Dutch.

Modes of transport. Metro · Tram · Bus · Night bus (Noctis)

Operating hours. According to STIB-MIVB, the regular network of metro, tram, and bus runs seven days a week from 5.00 am to midnight. On the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, the Noctis night network additionally takes over until 3.00 am.

Night service. The Noctis network consists of eleven lines (N04, N05, N06, N08, N09, N10, N11, N12, N13, N16, N18), all starting from the main train station Gare Centrale/Centraal Station and fanning out across the city. It operates only on the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, between midnight and 3.00 am, every twenty to thirty minutes. Normal single tickets, the day ticket, and the contactless bank card at 2.40 euros per trip are also valid at night, with no surcharge.

Buying tickets. STIB-MIVB sells tickets via its own app as a Digital Ticket, at ticket machines in metro stations for loading the MOBIB or MOBIB Basic chip card, and at fixed sales points such as BOOTIK shops and kiosks. In addition, any contactless bank card or NFC-enabled smartphone can be used directly as a ticket at the validators in vehicles and on platforms, without any prior purchase.

App and payment. Payments run through the official STIB-MIVB app as a Digital Ticket, or directly contactless via an EMV bank card or an NFC-enabled smartphone at the validators in vehicles and stations. For multiple trips on the same day with the same bank card, a daily cap of 8.50 euros automatically applies, without needing to buy a day ticket beforehand.

Which ticket. A single STIB trip costs 2.40 euros with contactless card payment or as a Digital Ticket in the app, or 2.90 euros as a paper ticket (base price plus a 0.50 euro surcharge for the paper medium). Each trip is valid for two hours from first validation, with any number of transfers up to the 59th minute. The STIB 1 jour day ticket costs 9.00 euros as a paper ticket, which works out to four single trips (4 times 2.40 euros equals 9.60 euros). Anyone boarding contactless instead, with a bank card or NFC smartphone, never pays more than 8.50 euros per calendar day regardless of the number of trips, no day ticket needs to be bought separately for that. For trips outside the pure STIB network, for example with TEC, De Lijn, or SNCB within the region, the Brupass applies at 2.70 euros per trip or 9.50 euros per day. All prices listed apply from February 1, 2026, according to the fare decree of the Brussels-Capital Region dated November 13, 2025.

Fare zones. The Brussels-Capital Region is a single fare zone for STIB. Only trips starting at Zaventem Airport require the separate Airport2City ticket for 7.90 euros contactless or 8.40 euros on paper. This applies to STIB buses 12 and 21. Anyone taking the SNCB train instead pays separately, around 11.40 euros.

Tip. Names differ sharply by language. Bruxelles-Midi and Brussel-Zuid are the same station.

Getting there

Main station

Location. The hub for Eurostar and high-speed trains. Bruxelles-Central is closer to the old town but sees fewer long-distance services.

Long-distance trains. Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid is Belgium's most important international train station and a hub of the European high-speed network. According to SNCB International, Eurostar, TGV INOUI, Eurocity Direct, ICE, OUIGO, Nightjet, and European Sleeper all stop here. Eurostar connects Brussels with London, as well as destinations in France, the Netherlands, and Germany. ICE trains run to Germany, TGV INOUI and the cheaper OUIGO to France, Eurocity Direct to the Netherlands. For London there is a dedicated terminal with security and passport control at platforms 1 to 3, the other international trains use platforms 3 to 6. For Standard and Plus tickets, gates close 30 minutes before departure, for Premier 15 minutes before. At night, sleeper trains round out the offering, the Nightjet runs three times a week toward Vienna and Innsbruck.

Opening hours. Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid is open daily from 4.00 am to 1.00 am, so the hall is closed for about three hours at night. The Eurostar terminal to London has its own hours, Monday to Saturday 6.30 am to 11.00 pm, Sundays and holidays from 7.00 am.

Airports

BRU

Into the city. The station lies directly beneath the terminal. Train journey to Bruxelles-Central takes about eighteen minutes.

Frequency. Six trains per hour, continuously from 5 am to midnight, seven days a week, on average one every ten minutes.

CRL

Into the city. Flibco shuttle bus direct to Bruxelles-Midi station, about 55 minutes travel time with no stops. Alternatively, TEC bus line A1 in 20 minutes to Charleroi Gare Centrale station, from there continue by train toward Brussels.

Frequency. Flibco shuttle every 20 minutes, last departure from the airport around 1 am, from Brussels around 3 am. TEC bus A1 four times per hour between 4.30 am and 11.30 pm.

Local quirks

Two languages, one city. Every sign appears twice. Anyone asking for directions to a street should know both names, they often don't resemble each other.
The Manneken is tiny. The figure measures half a meter and stands behind railings in a corner. Two minutes, then move on.
Extra ticket from the airport. Every STIB trip starting at Zaventem Airport is explicitly excluded from the normal single ticket and from the Brupass. The separate Airport2City ticket is required, at 7.90 euros per trip, more than three times the price of a regular single trip.
Contactless daily cap. Anyone boarding with the same bank card or the same NFC smartphone instead of buying a ticket never pays more than 8.50 euros on a calendar day, no matter how many trips they take. No day ticket needs to be bought separately for that.

Good to know

Currency: EUR €
Emergency number: 112
Plug type: C · E
Time zone: Europe/Brussels
Driving: right

Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h, generally 30 km/h in the Brussels-Capital Region, outside towns 70 km/h in Flanders and Brussels, 90 km/h in Wallonia, motorway 120 km/h

Since 2021, almost all of Brussels has been a 30 km/h zone, only a few major arteries allow more. Outside built-up areas, the limit is higher in Wallonia at 90 km/h than in Flanders and Brussels at 70 km/h, which surprises travelers passing through who expect one uniform national rule.

Tipping. Service is included. Rounding up is enough.

Tolls. No tolls for cars. The Liefkenshoek tunnel near Antwerp charges a fee.

Access restrictions. Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent have low emission zones. Foreign vehicles must register online in advance, otherwise even a clean car risks a fine.