Brussels has restaurants to rival Paris and London both for price and quality. Brussels is no place for weight watching – fries, chocolate and mussels are everywhere you look – and portions are large.
Give in to temptation by experimenting with some of Belgium’s famous beers – like Hoegaarden, an example of blanche beer, or, Trappiste beers such as Chimay, Orval, or Achel made in abbey breweries (Leffe is an abbey beer, but is not made in a monastery!). Other varieties include the non-malted lambic, blended gueuze, red beers aged in oak and kriek – fermented with cherries or raspberries. Or take a scholarly approach and visit museums at Brewers’ House (Grand’Place 10) and the Muse de la Gueuze (56 Rue Gheude). Or drop in on the La Binchoise brewery in Binche (25 miles south of Brussels).
If chocolate is more your thing, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven in Brussels. Gen up on choc facts at the Muse du Cacao et du Chocolat (Grand’Place 13), before embarking on a guided tour around town with La Fonderie (Rue Ransfort 27). Alternatively indulge in a factory visit at Le Chocolatier Manon (Rue Tilmont 64) or Planete Chocolat (Rue du Lombard 24) or time your trip to coincide with the annual Chocolate Passion fair, held around Valentine’s weekend.
Drinking in Brussels is a way of life and can be an almost 24-hour experience. The art nouveau Falstaff is a good way to start as is Cirio. The Grand Place itself is lined with terrace bars, full of life in the summer. Le Roi dEspagne (No.1) is the most atmospheric. Brussels most infamous Irish pub, OReillys, can be found on boulevard Anspach. Ten minutes walk away is place St Gry which is full of designer bars, plenty of atmosphere and packed summer terraces. Round the corner at 6 rue Antoine Dansaert is the art deco Archiduc which is open until the birds start singing.
Related Travel Information
Most of Brussels' nightlife revolves around Belgian activities of cinema (locals go at least once a week); dining out in gourmet restaurants; or consuming large amounts of the local beers. Best bar crawl is down rue du Marché au Charbon – where every other building houses a lively drinking place. Of the many, Au Soleil at No.86 and the popular Pablo Disco Bar at No.60 are the best picks. Brussels’ renown as a clubbing town is down to one club: the Fuse , its best, where the DJ, Pierre, is the town’s top turntablist. Fast gaining a reputation for democratic
Brussels Travel Guide
Beer, waffles and festivals - if this is what youre looking for you will find them in abundance when you visit the countrys capital city (pop. 1 000 000). Brussels is the major gateway for the country: it is on the main routes heading inland from the Channel ports via the Flemish art towns and it is as well a convenient stopover on the train between France .and the Netherlands.
Brussels took its name from Broekzele, or city of the marsh, which grew up in the sixth century on the trade route between Cologne and Bruges / Gent. Under
Europalia Festival
The first Europalia (from the Roman ‘Opalia’, meaning ‘rich harvest’) was conceived in Brussels in 1969, and the festival has been held annually since to showcase the visual and performing arts of a different designated guest country each year. The latest country to be featured was Italy, and in 2005 Russia will be the invited country. Numerous art exhibits, concerts, film screenings and other events are held in and around Brussels between October and early February of the following year.
Art Brussels
Tens of thousands of art experts and art lovers from all over the world eagerly await ArtBrussels, Belgium’s premier
Brussels climate
Best: May-Sept, though the weather is notoriously erratic.
Worst: Nov-March. Short daylight hours, cold and grey, but floodlighting and hyper-beers will enlighten midnight minds.
Brussel Festivals
Feb 6,7,8, the Carnival of Binche. An ancient and famously kaleidoscopic event with costumes and masks. Binche is 54kms [34 miles] from Brussels.
May 22, the Battle of Lumecon & The Procession of the Golden Chariot, Mons. A George and the Dragon battle and religious procession in this pretty city [40 mins by train].
May-November, Festival of Flanders. Superb classical music in magnificent locations, such as cathedrals, all over Flanders [just north a bit].
Last Thurs of June,
"One of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, if not in the world", is a phrase often heard when visitors in Brussels try to describe the beauty of the central market square. French-speakers refer to it as the 'Grand-Place', whereas in Dutch it is called 'de grote Markt'. The tourists of the 20th century are not alone in their admiration . Archduchess Isabella, daughter of Filip II of Spain wrote about the square during her visit to Brussels on September the 5th 1599: " Never have I seen something so beautiful and exquisite as the town square of
