We went to Brussels for three days and I can’t stop thinking about it: a perfect mix of exploring, relaxing and eating.
The main tourist areas (re: Grand-Place) were defo PACKED, but the side streets and more residential areas were practically empty: parts of Saint-Gilles, Ixelles and Churchill.
We ate lots of good food and found multiple specialty coffee shops. Saw some attractions and also meandered through neighborhoods. The architecture was one of the highlights – so many magnificent old buildings and homes.
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Where we stayed:
Steigenberger Wilchter’s
Av. Louise 71, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
We chose this 5-star hotel because this was a celebratory trip. The location was ideal: very central, but not crazy busy. The lobby was beautifully ornate, the service and concierge were polite and helpful, the room was large, the bathroom was upscale and clean. Overall, I’d recommend it, but it wasn’t ‘totally-out-of-this-world-amazing’. At the end of the day, it was just a nice hotel. If you have the means, book it. But if the ticket price is a splurge for you, it’s maybe not worth it.
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What we ate:
Overall – make reservations where you can and note that a high number of restaurants are closed on Sundays (and Mondays).
Pardon Cafe
Rue de Moscou 36, 1060 Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Coffee and waffles!
Top notch specialty coffee – we got the V60 and aeropress. They had tasty waffles, with vegan options available too. The interior was cute and cozy. It looked like they had wine for the evenings as well.
Tero
Rue St.Bernard 1, 1060 Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Modern, sustainable, farm-to-table Belgian food
We had a reservation here for Saturday lunch. This was one of my favorite meals in Brussels. The interiors were modern, sharp (marble, stone, wood details) but relaxed. The wait staff were wearing t-shirts, but their service was upscale. They focus on farm to table, seasonal Belgian food. We were recommended to take the menu as sharing plates – we ordered 5 dishes for 2 people and it was the right amount for lunch. We had: burrata w/ pea puree, salmon with white asparagus & hollandaise, a poached egg in foam, pork with rhubarb and an artichoke with dipping sauce filling its middle. They had plenty of vegan options.
Humus x Hortense
Rue de Vergnies 2, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
Vegan Michelin-starred
We had a reservation here for Saturday dinner, which we made well in advance. Amazing food, great interiors (the coolest chandelier and ceiling), a focus on sustainability. Everyone is required to get the tasting menu. I think there were nine courses, but they didn’t give us a menu before we began. You can add a drinks pairing, alcoholic or non-alcoholic. We chose the non-alcoholic and were served innovative concoctions to complement the dishes: white tea jasmine with a white asparagus infusion, a smoky non-alcoholic wine, a citrusy radish drink. Dishes were inventive and all vegan: white asparagus with flowers, nori roll with mole, a subtle mushroom-chocolate ice cream, a sorbet spiced with fennel seed. Higher end prices, but if you’re looking for a special meal (whether you’re vegan or not) I would highly recommend it.
Brood Boulangerie
Av. Brugmann 225, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium
Croissants! Bread! Pain au chocolat!
A little local bakery with amazing pastries at very reasonable prices. Some benches out front where you can sit and eat your pastry, but otherwise no seating. We got pain au chocolats and chouquettes. Really liked this place a lot.
Seven Brussels
Rue Edith Cavell 10, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
Coffee / cafe
Hip cafe with good coffee and cool interior. We got a cinnamon roll and oat cappuccinos to go. Lots of space inside and outside. Also things like avo toast to have and eat there. A little on the pricier side for coffee, but such is life in the big city (thnk u inflation).
Hinterland
Chau. de Charleroi 179, 1060 Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Brunch
Popular cafe for brunch. Inside and outside seating. A mix of tourists and locals (prob more tourists). Your classic instagram-type brunch dishes (acai bowls, fancy french toast, eggs and avocado), but actually tasted really good. Was pretty busy by the time we left (Monday bank holiday around 10AM, they don’t take reservations).
Stella Specialty Coffee Bar
Chau. de Charleroi 91A, 1060 Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Great coffee, nice cake
Cool cafe with great specialty coffee – we had a V60 and an americano. Also a nice selection of cakes and pastries (we tried a matcha pound cake which wasn’t too sweet and really tasted of matcha). A few seats inside and outside.
Other food places to try:
Flamme (dinner)
Ötap (dinner)
Verdō (vegan classic belgian brasserie)
iOda (plant-based rotisserie)
Honest Coffee (coffee roaster)
Moisette (patisserie / boulangerie)
Le Dillens (cute place for afternoon drinks and nibbles)
Mary (chocolates)
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Things we did:
Atomium
A massive structure north of the city made for the World’s Fair. Pretty cool to see. You can also buy tickets to go inside to get a view of Brussels, which we didn’t do. Easy to get to on public transportation. Busy with tourists.
Parc d’Ossenghem Laeken / Parc de Laeken
A big park right by the Atomium. Huge green spaces, lots of families having picnics. We lounged around here in the sun for a while and it was really nice.
Grand-Place
Main square in Brussels center. Super packed with tourists. I hate crowds, but I would say the architecture of the buildings on the square was pretty spectacular. Maybe go early before too many people are there.
Le Dépôt de Bruxelles
A comic book shop with tons of comics, vintage and new, kids’ and adults’ (XXX).
Manneken Pis
A tiny statue of some little kid peeing. Lots of tourists. Near Grand-Place. Famous, but not sure why.
EU Parliament
The campus for EU parliament. Interesting to walk around. Book a tour in advance to see inside.
Parc du Cinquantenaire
A park near-ish to EU parliament with monumental arches (Monument du Cinquantenaire). Nice place to sit on a bench and people watch.
Palais du Bruxelles
An average palace.
Parc du Bruxelles
Park near the palais. A nice stroll around. A little cafe where you can sit under the trees and have a drink or snack.
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Neighborhoods
We did a lot of wandering around, looking at buildings and taking it all in. My favorites were Ixelles and Churchill. Churchill had some fancy townhouses that were beautiful. Also a forested park called Park Brugmann, which was a nice little respite of trees.
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Museums
We didn’t do the museums since the weather was so nice, but had planned to go to these if the weather turned:
Mima Art Museum
Magritte Museum (surrealist)
Comics Art Museum
House of European History
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Public transportation is safe, clean and easy to use. The systems all have contactless tech, so you can just use your regular contactless cards. We used the subway. They also have a tram and bus, which we didn’t end up using.
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Mostly French-speaking, along with Flemish. Many people switched to English when they heard my sad attempt at French. Some humoured me though.
❤
It's not you, co. 