As Eurostar marks 30 years of connecting British travellers with Brussels, find out how the Belgian capital is casting off its rather bland and boring reputation
There’s a lot to be said for being pleasantly surprised, I think, as I saunter around an art deco former bank headquarters turned trendy, cavernous food hall. And Brussels is certainly good at confounding my expectations.
Indeed, this two-day fam trip to Belgium’s capital has delivered no end of eye-openers, not least that while Paris or Amsterdam feel chock-a-block with tourists, that isn’t the case here.
Where to eat in Brussels
In the Wolf food hall, global street food stalls cluster around the island bar of a microbrewery, while above, bulbous bubble lights festoon a gridded glass ceiling. It’s one of a number of new, hip spots drawing foodies to ride the direct, two-hour Eurostar service to Brussels.
Others include minimalist Anju, a restaurant serving Belgian-influenced Korean plates, and informal Aster, whose thrillingly creative tasting menus tend to be plant or seafood-based. Lola, a brasserie in the upmarket Sablon quarter, is the best bet for superlative local staples such as moreish shrimp or cheese croquettes.
Then come three Belgian foods we all know about – or think we know – namely, waffles, fries and chocolates. On a walking tour with Marc de Paep, a freelance guide from local cultural tour provider Itinéraires, I glean that there are actually several types of Belgian waffles; the crispier, airier one familiar to us is really a Brussels waffle.
After pointing out a good shop for classic, twice-cooked frites – “to go native, have them with andalouse, a sauce made from mayo, tomato paste and peppers,” he says – then takes us inside the glazed Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert shopping arcades to Neuhaus: a chocolatier on whose premises pralines were invented.
Belgian chocolate and beer
In a classic instance of Brussels shape-shifting, the old, ornamental stock exchange, which dominates its own square, reopened in September 2023 as a cafe and brasserie. Studenty types now chat on the steps out front while others sit inside, reading beside pot plants and Rodin sculptures.
Upstairs is Belgian Beer World, where selfguided tours (with commissionable rates available for agents) take in interactive exhibits imbued with zany local humour, describing Belgian beer’s history and production in uncomplicated fashion.
But the showstopper is the top floor, where a bar serves 200 domestic ales, blondes and the like, accompanied by outdoor roof terraces with farreaching vistas. My cherry Chouffe tastes glorious.
Another of the city’s lauded chocolatiers, Laurent Gerbaud, personally hosts workshops for sweettoothed groups of between two and 20 in the kitchen adjoining his cafe shop. The classes are in two parts: first we make our own creations using high-quality chocolate and personally chosen ingredients.
Then, while these are setting, the self-deprecating Laurent leads a revelatory tasting tour. Beginning with a taster from a mass-producing company, this gradually ascends in quality until, at the end, I re-nibble the original one and gasp at how bland it now seems.
Main sights in Brussels
Concentrating on central Brussels, the first of Marc’s slick tours commences in the cobbled Grand Place. Cosier and more hemmed in than most European main squares, this is lined by a grand, Gothic town hall, a neo-Gothic museum and numerous baroque-style guildhalls whose lavish decorations are covered in a combined 300kg of gleaming gold leaf.
Nightly sound and light shows take place here over the festive period, with concerts during summer. Plumly positioned on one flank is the large, homely Le Roy d’Espagne restaurant where I devour a large chicken vol-au-vent in a creamy mushroom sauce.
From Grand Place we decamp to the comical Manneken Pis fountain, where a statue of a nude boy is cheerfully urinating. One popular legend about his origin describes a local lad who peed on the bomb fuse of foreign invaders to prevent Brussels’ defensive walls from being blown up – thus becoming an unexpected saviour of the city.
Marc also introduces a few stops on the city’s various Comic Strip trails — walks that connect more than 80 bespoke murals, featuring Tintin, Asterix and co, to honour Brussels’ comic-producing heritage.
He also points out an alley-set pub, Delirium Village, which has made Guinness World Records for its unrivalled, 2,000-strong selection of beers. Outside, customers tackle nine tasters of varying hues.
Our second walking tour heads toward the slightly elevated Sablon via Belgium’s never-quite-completed national cathedral – springtime visitors might spy peregrine falcons nesting in one tower – and stately royal palace. Also up here is the city’s Magritte Museum, which features 250 of the acclaimed artist’s works while chronologically recapping a career of Picasso-like breadth: surrealist, futurist, impressionist and cubist works all feature.
Devotees can also visit Magritte’s house in the northern suburbs. Rather like Brussels itself, Magritte is impossible to pin down, excitingly prone to reinvention and never, ever dull.
Book it
Railbookers offers a three-night Brussels City Break from £339, including return Eurostar trains, B&B hotel accommodation, a Brussels Card and tickets for a 24-hour hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
railbookers.co.uk
Eurostar has return trains from St Pancras International to Brussels Midi starting at £78.
eurostar.com
Brussels Airlines flies to Brussels from 10 UK airports, including Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester and Newquay.
brusselsairlines.com
For more information, go to visit brussels/en/professionals/travel-trade
Agent verdicts
Abraham Bravo, founder, Travelisto
“Lunch at Lola was my standout food experience — the brasserie-style cuisine was exquisite, the ambience effortlessly chic and the service impeccable, even amid a bustling lunchtime peak.”
Juan Sanchez, proprietor, All About Tailor-made Travel
“I most enjoyed walking around the city, admiring the stunning architecture and the explanations of our brilliant guide.”
Top tip
The Radisson Collection Hotel, Grand Place is just five minutes’ walk from two stations – Grand- Place and Brussels-Central – and the latter has regular, three-minute train services to Brussels Midi
PICTURES: Visit Brussels/Mario; Visit Brussels/Jean-Paul Remy; Shutterstock/Roman Yanushevsky
