Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind when I think Brussels is chocolate. How can you NOT have a perfect day when chocolate is involved??? Okay, maybe beer comes to mind as well. I think alcohol and food are the only things ever on my mind, but whose counting right??
Aside from the notorious chocolate and beer, Brussels has many other exciting activities to offer that most don’t even know about! Can you believe there are close to 90 museums? Beautiful parks scattered around the city AND some really awesome street art that’s sure to catch your creative eye.
Here is my way of having the perfect day in Brussels!
A walking tour
If you know me, I HATE TOURS. I cannot stand being tied down to someone else’s schedule when I am super fast paced. With that being said, Europe’s FREE walking tours have shown me the flip side! Why? For a few reasons…1) The only last about 3 hours 2) Gives you an overview of the city and some iconic landmarks 3) Did I mention free? 4) Allows you to get your bearings on the city and 5) You are likely to meet some new friends! The duration of the tour is around 3 hours, so if you go in the morning, you’ll have all afternoon to revisit some places or explore new ones!
Stand in the middle of Grand Place
Take it all in. I can see now why it’s called GRAND Place, because holy shit. It boasts the City Hall building as well as some museums. Neighboring it is some great local markets that sell anything from trinkets to fresh bakeries and of course, chocolate. Usually, your walking tour will start and end here so it’s the perfect photo-op in the city center!
Eat Brussels delicasse for lunch: Mussels & French Fries
Trust me, it might sound like a big pile of shit, but it’s a duo the citizens swear by. You have to dive nose first into this perplexing dish because it’s not something you pair every day. Truth be told, Europe all together LOVES french fries, so it’s only right you try it out! Wash it down with a Belgium beer to feel extra localized!
Visit Atomium and Mini Europe
Just a short drive out of the city is a huge steel ball display called Atomium. Who doesn’t like seeing big balls, amirite? It’s actually supposed to mimic that of an Atom particle, yet it soars 335 feet tall! That’s a lot of balls. Okay, I’ll stop saying that word now. What makes it even cooler on the inside! You can go to a viewing area that allows you to look out at 300 feet up!
Down below across the street is the cutest little display of Europe as a whole…literally. Mini Europe is a walk through garden of European landmarks scaled down 25 times! What other places could you see the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben AND the Leaning Tower of Pisa all in one place? (Actually, you can see them all in flower form at the Miracle Garden in Dubai…but shh)
Eat your weight in chocolate at Frederic Blondeel
Go back to the city center for some sweet treats! If it’s wintertime, grab a hot chocolate. Summertime, grab a gelato…and anytime in between TRY THEIR CHOCOLATE. I’m talking each caramel delight, nugget, pralines or even spreads! All I can say is, if you don’t like chocolate or sweets, this place will totally turn you! There is something for each and every taste bud out there. If you wanna get super frisky, find a few chocolate shops and grab a couple of items at each place.
Take a self-guided Comic Strip Tour around Brussels
Graffiti from around the globe have caught my eye on many occasions. It’s a non-traditional way to understand the city in a new light. What the people are like, their ideologies and creative imaginations. Or just some stupid ass punks who want tag every street corner because their baby mama left them. Regardless, it’s a fun experience! Brussels has a unique self-guided tour that allows you to stroll up and down streets to see comic like animation on walls. Pretty amazing and great for picture-taking! (the picture is of a girl I met on the walking tour who explored with me all day!)
Dinner at Noordzee
Norddezzznuts. Literally, the first thing that came to mind (facepalm). This “fast food” restaurant is nothing like the shitty ones in the states! Although you can’t technically dine here, Noordzee is a street food fairy tale! Fresh oysters and seafood for days! This is the perfect on the go meal to fulfill your dinner desires before you head out for the night. There are some high tables you can stand at, but no chairs. All the more reason to take it home, stuff your face, then brush that dirty vagina smelling mouth and hit the town!
PUB CRAWL!
Just do it. Find one online or head to a local hostel and inquire. For solo travelers, this is the best way to cut loose and taste some of Belgium’s greatest beers! For any other traveler, it’s pretty much the same. Bring your friends along, meet new ones…the pub crawl is almost like a really cheap beer tour. That is if you remember it.
Some extra tips for your perfect day in Brussels
- Start early! One day is hardly enough time to see any city to its entirety but starting early boosts that momentum!
- Bring chocolate souvenirs back to your family and friends! Even if you aren’t fond of chocolate, it’s a cheap way to let someone know you were thinking about them.
- There are plenty of transportation options, but Uber or Taxi is by far the fastest! If you’re short on time, those are the best selections. If you are short on money, the bus or tram works best!
- Manneken Pis is the most overrated tiny piece of history in this city. You will probably encounter it on your walking tour if you go, but otherwise, it’s just a small statue of a little boy pissing in a fountain.
- Notice how I never mentioned any of the almost 90 museums. That’s because MY perfect day has everything to do with eating, drinking and chocolate and nothing about history! Just my opinion!
Any day spent traveling is a perfect day in my eyes. Just not those 15 hour-long haul flights or random stopovers in countries you can’t pronounce but you get the picture! I hope you make it to the wonderful city of Brussels sometime soon and that you learn something from my PERFECT day!
Have you visited Brussels? Is there anything I’m missing from my list? I’m sure I’ll be back soon for some more adventures but until next time…
xo Bonvoyage Babes
If I visit this gorgeous country, a majority of my time would go doing pub crawls.
On a serious note, the architecture of this country looks fascinating.
Pub crawls are the best!
Lol your are brutally honest…I love it! I would waste my time visitinf museums either if I only have a day! But as we travel mostly with our daughter we must find something fun for her too so the Mini europe and Atomium looks fun. And for us adults, I dont mind get my face vagina smelly on eating at
Noordzee! I would love spending atleast a day in Brussels!
Exactly my point too!! Yeah I mean if you travel with children then you can still find fun activities that aren’t boring! HAHA. That is hilarious. Glad you like my humor!! 🙂
Haha, I love it! Yes, the little boy pissing in the fountain attracts so many people, and it’s not that impressive! Very true about the mussels, frites and chocolate! Brussels is good for all 3 things! And yes, we’re lucky in Europe; walking tours are free in many countries, and pretty fun too!
Its crazy how popular it is, yet how underwhelming it can be when you see it in person. I love how the walking tours are free there! America needs to adopt this!
wow. nicely written. I did google Atomium after reading this. lovely post and surely a lovely city.
A cool thing right??
Loved the Belgium Beer .. :0
Great post , ill be handy when I go
Thanks
Yes! I loved it too .
When I think of BXL, I think food and weight gain. Chocolates, beer, waffles, mussels, and frites are the obvious highlights as you mention and frankly when I lived there, I piled on the weight. You’d definitely need the walking tour just to offset it but a day of indulgence is ok, right? Now if you plan on a pub crawl, be warned that the beer is seriously strong!!
Thanks for that tip because I do remember now that you said it, I only made it to like the 2nd bar on the pub crawl because the beer was so strong!! Ha, yes weight gain is totally okay when you are surrounded by world famous chocolate and beer!
Hahah this is hilarious. I used to hate tours too but they’ve grown on me. The food and beer and pictures all look incredible
Same! I think it depends if I’m alone or not and what city I’m in.
Wow! 90 museums – that would take years! I enjoy posts like this that give an overview of a variety of activities! Brussels sounds like an amazing place to go in a group tbh! And walking tours are BEST way to see Europe so with you on that 😊
Right? And I skipped all of them haha. It would definitely be fun with a group! I wish there were more walking tours here in America!
I thought I wasn’t going to see street arts make the list, I’d have asked for a repost. Hahah. Lol. I agree with everything you said. Brussels is about chocolate, beer, and beautiful sights. I haven’t been to mini Europe though, but I’ll love to be there. I heard of the Atomium and Mini Europe on my departure day, it was sad. You must have enjoyed your time on Brussels, it’s all written over the post
Ha, can’t forget the street art! It was definitely one of the highlights of my day spent in Brussels! Sad you didn’t hear about them until later!
I have to disagree with an aspect of one of your points — because while I really enjoy eating and drinking while I travel, I also love learning about the history of a place too. Mini Europe looks pretty cute! I’d like to check that out. You made me laugh out loud when you wrote about the mussels and fries: “Trust me, it might sound like a big pile of shit, but it’s a duo the citizens swear by.” And your picture drinking the beer is great! I’m definitely with you when it comes to the chocolate! If only I could get myself to like mussels. You’ve given me some nice ideas for my next time in Brussels! 🙂 Thanks!
You are not alone because a lot of people would rather immerse themselves into the history of a city, it just doesn’t interest me!! Ha I’m so glad I could make you laugh! That’s 50% of my goal!
I’d love to go on a pub crawl in Brussels! Belgium is know not only for its hot chocolate but also for its artisanal beer. I’ve tried some in Manila and I absolutely loved it.
It’s great!
I guess there is no reason to feel bored in Brussels. There are many things to do and places to visit. I’ll add this to my bucket list 🙂
Exactly!
I anyway believe that walking tours a great way to explore a city, especially while traveling to a new place, it ends up giving glimpses of the local life which we otherwise might miss. Your pictures look amazing
Thanks so much!
Very nice! I wish you also had an expressive video immersing us in your tour of brussels. I got attracted to the wooden beer holder. Looks a novel way to drink something heavy. Its also fantastic to have other sized down monuments where you can get a very global feeling of moving on from one place to another
I know I wish I had one too!! I kind of sucked back then taking pictures and videos! I’ll do better so you can have an inside look!
I only had a few hours in Brussels and spent the same in the Grand Place . The waffles there are just awesome and yes, the chocolates were my other draw. I need to return and complete the place 🙂 Nice to know that at least that one day I did exactly what you have outlined.
Ah the waffles were amazing too! I forgot to mention those.
Haha your opinions are hilarious but I completely disagree on some of them. For example, I love museums, especially science or modern art ones. Food and beer is always a focal point of my travels too and I would love to try the mussels, french friends, and Belgian beer combo!
I know I know! Museums are a lot of people’s thing, just not mine. In Brussels you would not have a shortage of them so I think you’d have a blast here!