Brussels City Guide
Brussels was such a great break last summer the summer of 2019 (am I the only one who keeps saying “last year” when referring to 2019?), not only because it provided a respite from the Madrid heat, but also because there’s so much to do! There’s plenty that was on my to-do list that I didn’t get a chance to cross off, from museums to historical homes, to tea houses and more. It also felt like such a laid back city to walk around in, that even though we saw so many sights, it was still a restful trip.
To See
Having such a long and interesting history, being such a center of artistic movements, and also being so politically important, Brussels has plenty of sights to keep one occupied. You can even make a day of walking around and looking at Art Nouveau home façades (I certainly intend to, someday), or just go bar hopping if a cold beer is more your thing.
Park du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark
Galleries Royales Saint-Hubert/Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen
Musée des instruments de musique/Muziekinstrumentenmuseum
To do
As you can see merely from the list below, Brussels has plenty of museums (and we didn’t even visit all of them!), and they cover a pretty broad range of interests. If you want to learn about the military history of the city, or about its involvement in the automobile industry, if you want to look at some art, or wonder at the size of dinosaur fossils — Brussels has you covered.
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique/Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België
Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique/Koninklijke Musée voor Schone Kunsten van België
To eat
I found plenty of vegetarian options in the city, a couple of which I list below. There were also plenty of options we didn’t get to try — a good excuse to go back!
Day trips from Brussels
We debated whether to visit Bruges or Ghent, or both, while on a day-trip (we almost nearly went to Amsterdam as well), but in the end decided to dedicate a bit more time to both Brussels and our chosen day-trip destination: Bruges. I would have liked to spend more time wandering its tiny cobble-stone streets, as well as visiting some of its museums, so while I think you can definitely enjoy a single day-visit, I would recommend staying for a bit longer, if possible.
Gold Colored Fox 