The Best Tourist Attractions In Brussels on a Weekend Trip

May 26, 2017

Exploring the city

Brussels is a great city and it is only 2 hours away from London with the Eurostar. So, none of you Londoners have any excuse not to go, given it is so easy to get there. I honestly can’t believe it took me 4 years to go there, but I made it in the end and now I am sure I will be back again soon, as the city is great. Now, you can read about the best tourist attractions in Brussels, you should visit on a weekend trip. I promise you wont be disappointed by this cool city. Read about 11 of the weirdest places in town.

The Best Tourist Attractions In Brussels

 

Sightseeing Around the Historical City

Brussels is not very big, we walked around the city centre and within a few hours we saw everything. We visited the main square called Grand-Place. We first saw it at night in the dark and the whole place was lit up in the colors of the rainbow in celebration of Pride weekend. It looked great! I loved it. The main square of Brussels is one of the best Belgium tourist attractions.

Grand Place lit up with the colors of the rainbow - Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

Grand Place lit up with the colors of the rainbow – Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

I loved the architecture around the city centre. The buildings were so elegant. The place reminded me of Paris. There were many places to see in Brussels even at night, so we continued our walk around the city. Lots of young people were sitting on the ground of the square, drinking. Everyone was out on the streets having fun. The atmosphere was great. Next morning when we woke up, we visited the symbol of the city the pissing boy called Manneken Pis. It is one of the main Brussels points of interest.

Manekken Pis - Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

Manekken Pis – Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

The statue was surprisingly small. We arrived on Europe Day and the boy was dressed up in the colors of the EU. Apparently the boy has about 600 outfits and they dress him up for different holidays and occasions. The tour continued to the European Parliament.

A Visit to the European Parliament - Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

A Visit to the European Parliament – Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

We were lucky enough to find out that it had an open day and we could walk inside and see the meeting room of the constituents. We picked up the seating chart and looked for our representatives. This was certainly the highlight of the day. Visiting the European Parliament is one of the best things to do in Belgium.

Grand Place - Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

Grand Place – Best Tourist Attractions in Brussels

The Food
If you are wondering what to do in Brussels after a long day of sightseeing, head out and try some delicious Belgian food. Belgian cuisine is very similar to French cuisine and the food is amazing. You can have all the delicious quiches and moules (mussels) or steak frites (steak with fries). I had their famous fish soup. It was nice. The highlight of the trip was trying the Flemish Carbonades. It is a quintessential Belgian beer dish. It is a beer braised beef stew. It tastes very interesting. A must try for every visitor. Belgians love this dish. The best late night snack is french fries with served with a variety of sauces. They have a french fries stand on almost every corner and you can choose between 15-20 sauces. They served delicious cheeses and different kind of pates for breakfast in the hotel. I was very pleased with the selection.

The Beer

Karmeliet Beer - Best Tourist Attraction in Brussels

Karmeliet Beer – Best Tourist Attraction in Brussels

If you are wondering what to do in Belgium, go ahead and taste one of the many beers Belgium has to offer. Belgians love their beers. You can literally drink any kind of beer in this country. Each pub serves around 100 different kind of beers. Some of the most famous ones are:
Hoogarden – White/wheat beer, personally it is my favourite, they usually serve it with a slice of lemon
Duval – Strong, ale beer brewed from three different hop varieties, tastes sweet/bitter
Chimay – Chimay Rouge, Chimay Bleue and Chimay Triple, red is the darkest, blanche has an orange color, red is sweeter, blue is fruitier, the triple is the driest, all have strong alcohol content.
Leffe – pale, golden color beer with thick white head and hints of citrus and banana
Orval – misty beer, golden color, with citrus aroma, fruity taste,
Tripel Karmeliet – I tried this one, it was great! Golden-to-bronze brew with a creamy head, fruity flavour,
Pauwel Kwak – full bodied, special ale, amber in color, slightly sweet,
Some people come here for beer tourism and they taste as many type of beers as possible. You can certainly try many interesting beers in this country.

The Chocolate

The Belgian chocolate is absolutely amazing. This alone is enough reason to come to this country. Pralines is a must try in this country. The hotel told us to go to the famous Pralines store called Frederic Blondeel on Quai aux Briques 24. This chocolate shop was one of the best places to visit in Brussels. The service was rude and we had to wait for a while for a table, but it was all worth it in the end. I started by indulging on a huge ice-cream. Melted chocolate was poured in a fresh made tasty cone with two spoons of incredible ice-cream and it was topped with a piece of delicious dark chocolate. Then we had a couple of pralines and a hot chocolate with saffron. It tasted like heaven.

Chocolate Store in Brussels - Top Things To Do In Brussels on a Weekend

Chocolate Store in Brussels – Top Things To Do In Brussels on a Weekend

Hot Chocolate - Top Things To Do In Brussels on a Weekend

Hot Chocolate – Top Things To Do In Belgium on a Weekend

The Nightlife

The nightlife is amazing in Brussels. The Belgians love to party. The night we arrived, everyone was on the street drinking. People were friendly, the atmosphere was amazing. We had a fantastic time. We ended up in a night club called Spirito. It was an old church converted to a club. The place was pretty cool. People were nicely dressed and the DJ was great. I believe Brussels is a great city, if you want to party. Partying is one of my favorite things to do in Brussels Belgium

Street Art

If you are wondering what to see in Brussels, just look at the street art around you. Brussels has a lot of ugly graffiti. Let’s be honest. However, I did see some really cool murals on the buildings as well. They are not as concentrated as street art in London, but you can see plenty of art covering big surfaces of entire buildings. Street art makes the city more colourful and exciting. Street art always makes me happy.

Street Art in Brussels - Top Things To See In Brussels on a Weekend

Street Art in Brussels – Top Things To See In Brussels on a Weekend

Streets of Brussels - Top Things To Do In Brussels on a Weekend

Streets of Brussels – Top Things To Do In Brussels on a Weekend

  • My Personal Highlight

The highlight of the trip for me was the BBQ party at my Belgian friend’s place. This was actually the whole reason why I was going to Brussels. The party was on the roof deck of his luxurious penthouse apartment. He invited all his friends. The guys were well-dressed and good fun. We all hang out in the jacuzzi while the host was flipping burgers.

Jacuzzi Party in Brussels

Jacuzzi Party in Brussels

I met people from all over Europe. I also found out that there is a large number of expats in Brussels working for the European Commission, this makes Brussels a very multi-cultural city. The afternoon was great fun. The sun was shining on top of us. Even our gracious host found love by the end of the party and took his new sweetheart for a ride in the hot tub…

Our host found his sweetheart

Our host found his sweetheart

If you are looking for a great hotel to stay at in Brussels, choose The Dominican in Brussels. It is a luxury hotel in the heart of the city. brussels things to do, brussels what to do, brussels places to visit, what to see in belgium, tourist attractions in belgium, attractions in brussels, brussels to do, fun things to do in brussels, things to see in belgium, belgium things to do, tourist attractions in brussels, top 10 things to do in brussels, to do in brussels, attractions in belgium, what to visit in brussels, 

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About Barbara

Barbara is a London based luxury travel and lifestyle blogger. She started traveling through Paris, London, New York, Milan, Tokyo at the age of 17 to conquer the World as a model. Ever since, she has visited 67 countries. She writes about the most exclusive jet-set destinations such as Cannes, Venice Film Festivals, Monaco Grand Prix, Oscar Parties in LA, Fashion Weeks in Milan or Paris as well as yacht parties in St-Tropez, Miami Art Basel, Biennale in Venice, Frieze in London or the Royal Wedding in Monaco.

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Article Name
The HIghlights of Brussels
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City Guide for Brussels on what to see and eat and drink and where to party, street art, spiced up with some personal highlights and impressions.
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