Brussels holidays

Local dishes in Brussels

Brussels can lay a fair claim to being one of Europe’s best dining destinations, regardless of your taste, price range or preferred cuisine. In particular, it’s worth seeking out typically Bruxellois dishes, canny amalgamations of Walloon and Flemish ingredients and cooking styles.

Some typical dishes

• Moules-frites: Effectively the national dish, no trip to Brussels is complete without tucking into a steaming pot of locally caught mussels and freshly cooked fries.

• Waterzooi: A delicious, filling soup-cum-stew, made with either chicken (van kip) or fish (van riviervis).

Meat dishes

• Stoverij: Stewed beef and offal (especially liver and kidneys), slowly tenderised in dark beer and served with a slice of bread covered in mustard.

• Hutsepot: A winter warmer consisting of various bits of beef and pork (including pigs’ trotters and ears) casseroled with turnips, celery, leeks and parsnips.

Street food

• Belgian fries: Brussels is famous for its fries – double-fried for that perfect crunch. Try them with mayo or sample the range of sauces on offer from local fritkots (chip stands).

Sweets and desserts

Stands all across the city sell waffles (gaufres/wafels), a mixture of butter, flour, eggs, and sugar grilled on deep-ridged waffle irons and served steaming hot with jam, honey, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate or fruit. Belgium is, of course, famous for its chocolates: the big chocolatiers – Neuhaus, Godiva and Leonidas – have stores in all the main towns and cities, but all of Belgium’s cities now boast at least a couple of small, independent chocolate makers.

Local drinks

• Belgian beer: Beyond the common lager brands – Stella Artois, Jupiler and Maes – there are about 700 speciality beers, from dark stouts to fruit beers, wheat beers and brown ales. The most famous are the strong ales brewed by the country’s six Trappist monasteries.

• Genever: Similar to gin, it’s made from grain spirit and flavoured by juniper berries. It’s available in most ordinary and specialist bars, with several hundred varieties available.

Best things to do in Brussels

In postwar years, the city has become a thriving, cosmopolitan metropolis with top-flight museums and architecture, a superb restaurant scene and energetic nightlife.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Atomium: A curious model of a molecule expanded 165 billion times, the lift whizzes you up to the top sphere for the views, which are as panoramic as you would expect (enhanced by computer screens pointing out what you’re looking at).

• Mont des Arts: Overlooking the Brussels skyline, this elevated garden area is a lovely spot for a snap, particularly as the sun sets behind the city's historic buildings.

The best districts

• Grand Place: Take a seat at a café terrace, order a beer and admire the intricate UNESCO-listed guild houses of this world-famous cobbled square.

• Quartier Marolles: Home to artisans working on the nearby mansions of the Sablon in the 17th century, its two main streets, rue Haute and rue Blaes are now lined with antique and interior-design shops, and the odd decent restaurant.

• Sablon: One of the city’s wealthiest districts – as evidenced by the luxury stores and chocolate shops that sit around its fringes, you could easily spend an hour or so browsing the market and surrounding shops or soak up the atmosphere in one of Sablon’s several cafés.

Museums

• Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts: Quite simply one of the best-stocked art galleries in Europe: feast your eyes on works of art by Bosch, Bruegel, Ensor and many more.

• Fondation Jacques Brel: Devotees of chanson should make a beeline to this museum to hear Brel in full – and very anguished – voice.

• Magritte: Two museums – the unmissable Musée Magritte and the outlying Musée René Magritte – powerfully evoke the legacy of Belgium’s most famous modern artist.

Parks and gardens

• Parc Léopold: A green and hilly enclave landscaped around a lake that makes for a welcome escape from the city centre.

Historical monuments

• Manneken Pis: Diminutive statue of a urinating urchin stuck high up in a shrine-like affair that’s protected from the crowds by an iron fence: while small in size, this cheeky icon embodies Brussels’ quirky sense of humour.

• Notre Dame du Sablon: The 15th-century church is a handsome structure, the sandy hues of its exterior stonework enhanced by slender buttresses and a forest of prickly pinnacles.

• Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula: A splendid Gothic edifice begun in 1215 and 300 years in the making; it boasts some superb 16th-century stained-glass windows, beginning above the main doors with the hurly-burly of the Last Judgement.

Day trips in the area

• Bruges: Explore the maze of cobbled streets, see fabulous Flemish artworks in the Groeninge Museum and St Janshospitaal, visit the begijnhof and take a boat trip on the canals.

• Antwerp: Go east across the country to Belgium’s second-largest city for superb nightlife, cutting-edge fashion and all things related to the painter Rubens.

• Ypres: This handsome town in West Flanders is home to the In Flanders Fields Museum, an excellent introduction to World War I, and is also the site of the Menin Gate, a moving memorial to thousands of British and Imperial soldiers.

Activities for families in Brussels

Brussels has a bucketload of family-friendly attractions that make it an excellent choice for a fun-packed getaway.

• Belgian Comic Strip Centre: Belgium’s rich comic tradition is celebrated here, where you’ll find exhibits dedicated to beloved characters like Tintin and the Smurfs - and what kid hasn’t read those? - along with original artwork and interactive displays.

• Interactive museums: With sections devoted to crystals and rocks, rodents and mammals, insects and crustaceans; a whale gallery featuring the enormous remains of a blue whale; and, most impressive of the lot, a capacious dinosaur gallery, the Muséum des Sciences Naturelles is just the ticket for a rainy day.

• Puppetry: The Théâtre Royal de Toone has a long and distinguished pedigree, and offers four or five performances every week, mainly in French but sometimes in the traditional Bruxellois dialect known as Brusselse Sproek or Marollien - still, kids will love the visuals.

Free things to do in Brussels

For budget-conscious travellers on holidays to Brussels, the city has oodles to offer so you can keep your spend to a minimum.

• Free events: Of the city's many annual events, the Flower Carpet in Grand Place and the Iris Festival in spring are especially popular, showcasing vibrant floral displays along with colourful street performances. Otherwise, the Brussels Ommegang, held on the first Tuesday and Thursday of July, is the best-known of the religious festivals.

• Markets: Brussels loves its markets, and the best are the flea markets: the pick of the bunch is at place du Jeu de Balle, which is at its biggest and best on the weekend when an eccentric muddle of colonial spoils, quirky odds and ends and domestic and ecclesiastical bric-a-brac takes over the square.

Nature and outdoor activities in Brussels

Although very much an urban centre, Brussels has a surprising number of green spaces and plenty of activities for those looking to enjoy a bit of outdoorsy fun during their stay.

• Cycling: Get pedalling! The city council operates an excellent public bicycle scheme in which bikes can be taken from stands dotted across the city centre and returned after use to another. There are 350 stands in total, and rates are very reasonable.

• City parks and woodlands: Brussels’ many parks make for lovely afternoon strolls. Bois de la Cambre, with its vast lake and wooded areas, is a local favourite, while Forêt de Soignes offers fine hiking and biking trails amidst ancient beech trees.

• Kayaking and canoeing: For water-based adventures, head to the beautiful Les Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure, an hour's drive from Brussels; its placid waters are just the job for a gentle paddle.