With Brussels being my first taste of Belgium, I was warned not to expect too much. “It’s too busy,” they would say. “Other cities are way prettier”.
Well, they clearly didn’t see the same parts of the city that we did! To be fair, we were also visiting during the city-wide Christmas market, and the holiday cheer was palpable.
We’d arrived to our Brussels hotel the night before, and had seen not much other than the hotel’s sauna, so day one was (as always!) spent on a walking tour of the city. We selected the free walking tour, but heard excellent things about the company’s chocolate tasting tour as well.
Our tour began at Grand Place, the central square of the city. The square hosts both guild houses and government buildings, all beautifully designed and decorated in accents of gold. Having been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the past quarter century, it’s wildly acknowledged as one of the most beautiful squares in the world- and one of Brussels’ major tourist sites.
Take a close look at the Town Hall though- did you notice that the Bell Tower is not symmetrical? Though legend says that the original architect leapt to his death when he realized the error, the building has more likely been expanded over centuries of construction resulting in an off-center focal point.
Belgium is still a monarchy, and though the the royal family lives in a different palace in northern Brussels, visitors can still take a tour of their official palace- The Royal Palace of Brussels in the summertime. Its worth noting that this palace was built under King Leopold II, who built Belgium’s great wealth (noted in their gold leafed city center) by committing unspeakable atrocities in the Congo Free State- a country that he personally owned. I’m not a historian, but I did recently listen to an excellent episode of the podcast Noble Blood about the events, if you’d like to know more.
Mannekin Pis is another famous landmark- though this one is quite a bit more unusual. This beloved bronze statue of a small boy peeing into a fountain is always high on the list for visitors to the city. He’s got about a thousand outfits that he’s dressed in multiple times a week- though he was naked on our visit. Beloved and incomprehensible, he sometimes pees beer to the delight of all. At just under two feet tall, the statue is a lot smaller than most people expect- though with the constant crowds of tourists, he’s hard to miss.
The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert is a pride and joy of Brussels. The indoor shopping gallery is very reminiscent of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, though Brussels had theirs first- and they’ll never let you forget it! We didn’t spend too much time here, but there were plenty of high end shops and places to eat- we had a delicious liege waffle snack at Masion Dandy here, though there are locations spread throughout the city.
With comics like the Smurfs, Lucky Luke and Tintin all originating in Belgium, be on the lookout for graffiti with these iconic characters strewn throughout the city. You can even go on a comic-specific walking tour if you like!
Delirium beer is a Belgian brand so popular that it’s made its way throughout various bars in America. Its worldwide popularity has resulted in an enormous “village” of delirium branded bars serving a record breaking 2,000 types of beer.
One could easily spend all day bopping around this bar itself, but if hunger strikes, head around the corner to the Friterie du Café Georgette which has what our walking tour guide referred to as the best fries in Belgium! These twice fried potatoes were incredible, especially after our chilly tour. Always take a bite first before indulging in dipping sauces (not ketchup)! Since we were just snacking, we ordered our fries out of the serving window- don’t worry, the line moves faster than you’d expect- before posting up at one of the outdoor tables.
One of the coolest stops on our visit was to a hole in the wall bar called À la Bécasse- though with nearly 2000 reviews on google, the “hole in the wall” moniker is more because its entrance is located down a long narrow alleyway. The traditional bar was furnished with heavy wooden tables and seats, giving it a really warm and classic atmosphere. I had my first Trappist beer here- a Chimay Blue- and bar really added to the impression of drinking a beer brewed by monks.
I really enjoyed my visit to Brussels, not only for its pretty architecture, but also for it’s culture. As such a small country, it was interesting to see that its citizens spoke three different languages and had distinct cultural differences despite their relative proximity. Plus, with a combination of Belgium’s robust train system and Brussels’ central location, it was easy to get to any city we wanted in just an hour or two- making it the perfect launching point for our adventures throughout the country.
Leave a Reply