Brussels for the Unprepared Business Traveler/Jogger/Tourist
March 31, 2017 8:44 AM Subscribe
Leaving tomorrow night for a week in Brussels. It kind of snuck up on me and I have questions! Please assume I know nothing about Europe, because I don't. I do travel to Asia a good bit, for what it's worth.
1. Public transport: I have googled without feeling certain about the answer: do I have to buy tickets for public transport? Is there NO smart card option? How can this be? Is there an app I should download? I already have the Transport app, in case that does me any good.
2. Is it safe for a middle-aged lady to go jogging in the morning (~6am)? My hotel is reasonably close to the Parc de Cinquantenaire and the Parc de Bruxelles, if either of those seem like places to jog.
3. Finally, your itinerary suggestions for this Sunday afternoon? I'll arrive on a redeye, so will be tired and wanting fresh air and a long walk. I like cities. I know Belgium is famous for beer and chocolate, would appreciate recommendations for the latter (unlikely to be drinking).
1. Public transport: I have googled without feeling certain about the answer: do I have to buy tickets for public transport? Is there NO smart card option? How can this be? Is there an app I should download? I already have the Transport app, in case that does me any good.
2. Is it safe for a middle-aged lady to go jogging in the morning (~6am)? My hotel is reasonably close to the Parc de Cinquantenaire and the Parc de Bruxelles, if either of those seem like places to jog.
3. Finally, your itinerary suggestions for this Sunday afternoon? I'll arrive on a redeye, so will be tired and wanting fresh air and a long walk. I like cities. I know Belgium is famous for beer and chocolate, would appreciate recommendations for the latter (unlikely to be drinking).
Brussels is great. For chocolate, you might enjoy Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, a covered shopping arcade with several chocolate shops.
posted by beyond_pink at 9:05 AM on March 31, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by beyond_pink at 9:05 AM on March 31, 2017 [3 favorites]
Best answer: 1. Biffa is right . They changed the system recently. Reasonably sure you can just buy an anonymous card for €5 as the site states. It used to be easier.
2. Early jog. I don't know. Should be safe, but avoid the area around Brussels North station. There is a street with prostitutes etc. it can be quite dodgy. No guarantees though Brussels can be quite rowdy and I personally don't know the parks you are talking about.
3. You can start from Brussels Central train station. Walk up the hill to the Magritte Museum. It is not so big so you can get through it within an hour. If you are into classic art go to the museum of fine arts instead. It's all on the same hill. (Website)
Then I would pass by the city center, and walk to Place St. Catherine (tripadvisor link). It is a big square and it will be pretty lively on Sunday if the weather is good.
About beer and chocolate. There are lots of touristy shops around Central station selling these things, of differing quality. Some chocolate shops are really good and some are just catered to tourists and sell crap. So watch out and look for the classy looking ones.
There are some shops like Leonidas that are really good but they are in more countries than just Belgium so it's not that special. But they are still much much better than the random tourist shops.
Avoid tourist things like Manneken Pis (the peeing man). The comics museum is pretty boring.
posted by wolfr at 9:55 AM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
2. Early jog. I don't know. Should be safe, but avoid the area around Brussels North station. There is a street with prostitutes etc. it can be quite dodgy. No guarantees though Brussels can be quite rowdy and I personally don't know the parks you are talking about.
3. You can start from Brussels Central train station. Walk up the hill to the Magritte Museum. It is not so big so you can get through it within an hour. If you are into classic art go to the museum of fine arts instead. It's all on the same hill. (Website)
Then I would pass by the city center, and walk to Place St. Catherine (tripadvisor link). It is a big square and it will be pretty lively on Sunday if the weather is good.
About beer and chocolate. There are lots of touristy shops around Central station selling these things, of differing quality. Some chocolate shops are really good and some are just catered to tourists and sell crap. So watch out and look for the classy looking ones.
There are some shops like Leonidas that are really good but they are in more countries than just Belgium so it's not that special. But they are still much much better than the random tourist shops.
Avoid tourist things like Manneken Pis (the peeing man). The comics museum is pretty boring.
posted by wolfr at 9:55 AM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer:
posted by Blasdelb at 10:11 AM on March 31, 2017
"1. Public transport: I have googled without feeling certain about the answer: do I have to buy tickets for public transport? Is there NO smart card option? How can this be? Is there an app I should download? I already have the Transport app, in case that does me any good."There is a rechargeable card you can get for five euros at the central tram and metro stations, the google-able term d'art is Mobib. It does pay for itself pretty quickly.
"2. Is it safe for a middle-aged lady to go jogging in the morning (~6am)? My hotel is reasonably close to the Parc de Cinquantenaire and the Parc de Bruxelles, if either of those seem like places to jog. "This area does get a bit sketchy at night, particularly around Central Station, but that time of the morning should be totally fine. There won't be that many people about, but they'll all be Eurocrats. Also, don't go too far North by Northwest or too far South by Southeast.
"3. Finally, your itinerary suggestions for this Sunday afternoon? I'll arrive on a redeye, so will be tired and wanting fresh air and a long walk. I like cities. I know Belgium is famous for beer and chocolate, would appreciate recommendations for the latter (unlikely to be drinking)."Unfortunately, there isn't really any chocolate related things to do that are both unique to Brussels and actually worthwhile, if you want to buy chocolate I'd recommend finding a nice shop like Leonidas or Neuhaus anywhere other than the center and getting your stuff there like a local. Particularly if you arrive in Midi (South) station in the Morning/Noon-ish, I'd walk outside to the Midi market to see how awesome real Brussels can be. On your walk good places to see would be the Mont des Arts, the Grand Place, the Porte de Hal, and Place St. Catherine. Even as a Brussels resident thoguh, if you are interested in sightseeing historical stuff on a nice walk I'd almost recommend taking the train to Leuven or Ghent for the day instead.
posted by Blasdelb at 10:11 AM on March 31, 2017
Yes, the Manneken Pis is underwhelming, but the Grand Place (which it is next to) really is a lovely example of medieval architecture (although if you have time during your stay, do take the train to Bruges or Ghent for even better medieval goodness).
My favorite tourist spot in Brussels is the Musical Instruments Museum, which as a bonus is housed in a beautiful old Art Nouveau department store.
posted by col_pogo at 10:45 AM on March 31, 2017
My favorite tourist spot in Brussels is the Musical Instruments Museum, which as a bonus is housed in a beautiful old Art Nouveau department store.
posted by col_pogo at 10:45 AM on March 31, 2017
Best answer: Something to keep in mind with jogging: because of the recent change to Daylight Savings Time, the sun won't rise until 7:20 in the morning. Dawn starts at 6:45 am. Parc de Bruxelles is pretty chill during the day, but I'm not sure what it's like when it's still dark, or on the edge of being still dark.
As for chocolate and the Sunday itinerary: walk over to the Rue des Sablons. It's not far from Parc de Bruxelles. There are a bunch of brunch places there and a bunch of chocolate shops. If there's space, go have brunch at Le Pain Quotidien. They're not unique to Brussels anymore because they've expanded all over the world, but it's good food and a nice atmosphere.
My husband, who is Belgian and who has very strong opinions about chocolate, really likes the store Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier (which is on one end of Rue des Sablons), so we always stop there when we're in Brussels and he's right: it's really good chocolate. They've also started making ice cream which is pretty good too. If you go there, make sure to also go upstairs because there's more chocolate up there and it usually smells heavenly. Neuhaus is another good Belgian chocolate shop; they're everywhere. My husband the chocolate snob doesn't like Leonidas, so I've never even been inside one, so I can't speak to the quality.
One more chocolate tip: once the stores are open again on Monday, go to a regular grocery store and go to their candy isle. Buy a Cote d'or chocolate bar. It's just everyday chocolate in Belgium, but it's so much better than even some of the fancier chocolate you can find in the U.S. We like the Fondant - Puur (dark chocolate) that looks like this.
posted by colfax at 10:52 AM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
As for chocolate and the Sunday itinerary: walk over to the Rue des Sablons. It's not far from Parc de Bruxelles. There are a bunch of brunch places there and a bunch of chocolate shops. If there's space, go have brunch at Le Pain Quotidien. They're not unique to Brussels anymore because they've expanded all over the world, but it's good food and a nice atmosphere.
My husband, who is Belgian and who has very strong opinions about chocolate, really likes the store Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier (which is on one end of Rue des Sablons), so we always stop there when we're in Brussels and he's right: it's really good chocolate. They've also started making ice cream which is pretty good too. If you go there, make sure to also go upstairs because there's more chocolate up there and it usually smells heavenly. Neuhaus is another good Belgian chocolate shop; they're everywhere. My husband the chocolate snob doesn't like Leonidas, so I've never even been inside one, so I can't speak to the quality.
One more chocolate tip: once the stores are open again on Monday, go to a regular grocery store and go to their candy isle. Buy a Cote d'or chocolate bar. It's just everyday chocolate in Belgium, but it's so much better than even some of the fancier chocolate you can find in the U.S. We like the Fondant - Puur (dark chocolate) that looks like this.
posted by colfax at 10:52 AM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh, bother. I'm so tired I forgot: the chocolate shops will be closed on Sunday. The cafes will be open though.
posted by colfax at 11:35 AM on March 31, 2017
posted by colfax at 11:35 AM on March 31, 2017
Best answer: There is definitely stuff open on Sunday, although you might have to double check hours. We loved the brunch at Peck 47, where they do slightly savory waffles with stuff on (so like a spinach waffle with poached egg and the rest of eggs benedict ingredients).
Maison Dandoy is well known for pastry and waffles for good reasons, really worth checking out.
Other places we went and liked but I don't know the hours were Aksum Coffee House, two frites places (Flagey and Fritland), as well as the bars A la Becasse and Moeder Lambic.
If you are interested in Belgian beer, it could be worth checking out Brasserie Cantillon, which is kind of a pilgrim site for a specific kind of beer nerd. You can do a short, self-guided tour including a tasting, which was well worth a visit. Some reviews describe the neighborhood as "sketchy," but in daylight at least, it seemed totally fine to us.
Everything I've recommended other than Frites Flagey are a short walk from the Central Station.
Agreed that as a woman I might not run on my own around Nord station-- we stayed around there and while I never felt unsafe, we did actually see a guy chased down and thrown to the ground by gun-waving police, which was pretty scary, actually in the station.
posted by lettezilla at 11:44 AM on March 31, 2017
Maison Dandoy is well known for pastry and waffles for good reasons, really worth checking out.
Other places we went and liked but I don't know the hours were Aksum Coffee House, two frites places (Flagey and Fritland), as well as the bars A la Becasse and Moeder Lambic.
If you are interested in Belgian beer, it could be worth checking out Brasserie Cantillon, which is kind of a pilgrim site for a specific kind of beer nerd. You can do a short, self-guided tour including a tasting, which was well worth a visit. Some reviews describe the neighborhood as "sketchy," but in daylight at least, it seemed totally fine to us.
Everything I've recommended other than Frites Flagey are a short walk from the Central Station.
Agreed that as a woman I might not run on my own around Nord station-- we stayed around there and while I never felt unsafe, we did actually see a guy chased down and thrown to the ground by gun-waving police, which was pretty scary, actually in the station.
posted by lettezilla at 11:44 AM on March 31, 2017
Belgium is very rightly famous for its fries, and its hard to find shit ones, but so long as you are in Brussels you might as well go to one of the two places people argue over being the best. Those are shack at Place Flagey that was already mentioned, which is actually the best but be forewarned that many of the staff feel strongly that you should only speak French with them, and Maison Antoine, which is sometimes better and is not far from where you'll be but is less consistently amazing. Here the fries are the meal, rather than a side to it, they come in a paper cone that can be as large as your head if you like, and you can ask for a deep fat fried meat side to go with it. Its even more amazing than it sounds.
For Sunday, Brunch is also A THING here and getting a nice big meal to stick to your ribs might be a good way to keep awake for the rest of the day.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:48 PM on March 31, 2017
For Sunday, Brunch is also A THING here and getting a nice big meal to stick to your ribs might be a good way to keep awake for the rest of the day.
"Parc de Bruxelles is pretty chill during the day, but I'm not sure what it's like when it's still dark, or on the edge of being still dark."Parc does have the long-held reputation of being pretty creepy in the dark, and it is super poorly lit, but at least recently Pokemon Go players congregating there into the evening have given the more open areas of it a new shine. I'd probably be too creeped out to jog there before dawn, but it would be awesome as soon as the sun popped up.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:48 PM on March 31, 2017
Best answer: Parc de Cinquantenaire and the Parc de Bruxelles should both be fine for jogging early, imo.
There will be chocolate shops open on a Sunday, as long as you are in the centre (De Broukere/Grand Place). There are also museums open on Sundays, but check websites first.
N-thing brunch! Here's a link with suggestions on Sunday eating- this blog has become my guru since I moved here. Here's another link on what's good to do on Sundays for good measure.
Enjoy! Brussels isn't the most glamorous of cities but it's a charming, fun place which grows on you even when you least expect it.
posted by rosiroo at 7:54 AM on April 1, 2017
There will be chocolate shops open on a Sunday, as long as you are in the centre (De Broukere/Grand Place). There are also museums open on Sundays, but check websites first.
N-thing brunch! Here's a link with suggestions on Sunday eating- this blog has become my guru since I moved here. Here's another link on what's good to do on Sundays for good measure.
Enjoy! Brussels isn't the most glamorous of cities but it's a charming, fun place which grows on you even when you least expect it.
posted by rosiroo at 7:54 AM on April 1, 2017
Response by poster: Thank you, everyone! I got in too late for brunch and ended up going for a long walk on Sunday afternoon, and managed to work in most of the recommended stops. I really appreciated the warnings about many shops being closed on Sunday and the late sunrise. I managed to fit in an early evening jog between meetings and dinners, and both parks were lovely! I really liked Maison Dandoy and Elisabeth Chocolates. (Pierre Marcolini was BEAUTIFUL, as well).
As a note for any other hapless travelers reading this: I made a big mistake by packing very narrow/spike heeled-shoes, which were hilariously awful for walking on cobblestones and everywhere, basically. Don't know what I was thinking....
posted by chocotaco at 10:18 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
As a note for any other hapless travelers reading this: I made a big mistake by packing very narrow/spike heeled-shoes, which were hilariously awful for walking on cobblestones and everywhere, basically. Don't know what I was thinking....
posted by chocotaco at 10:18 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by biffa at 8:59 AM on March 31, 2017