Brussels is a city of contrasts. It’s a city of old and new, French and Flemish, expat and Belgian. It is, much like my opinion of the place itself, divided. Having lived there for 6 months as a trainee I have developed a somewhat complicated relationship with city – much like a difficult boyfriend, it drives me crazy, but I love it regardless.
How: Eurostar from London St Pancras, Friday-Sunday, £66 return
When: 19th-21st April 2013
Weather: Sunny but windy
Grand Place, Brussels
Step away from the typical tourist traps – where to go
I could spend time telling you about the ‘typical’ places to visit: the Grand Place in the historic centre, the unique Atomium – a monument left over from the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, or the Manneken Pis the…ahem ‘charming’ bronze statue cum water fountain. Whilst these are certainly worth a visit you can read that in any travel guide so I’m taking the alternative route…
Take a step away from the Grand Place and you’ll discover a host of quirky bars. A few of my favourites are:
- Le Roi de Belges – with swings hanging from the ceiling,
- Goupil le Fol – a former brothel that looks like the inside of your grandma’s living room,
- Potemkine – something akin to the entrance of the Natural History Museum in London, reasonably priced with an interesting array of drinks on the menu including Pimms with Canada Dry
Brussels – a perfect autumn break
Places to eat:
The golden rule here would be to avoid the ‘restaurant street’ at all costs. This a street near the Grand Place, you’ll know because you’ll feel like you are in the middle of a maze, but the maze is made of restaurants, and every turning you take leads to more restaurants. Here you will find overpriced, at best, average food. Again, the key is in venturing further from the Grand Place. Place Flagey has wide variety of restaurants that are considerably more ‘Belgian’.
Brunch at Oma’s in the up and coming area of St Gilles is delicious if a little pricy (129, Rue Jourdain). Maison Antoine at Place Jourdan claims to have the best ‘frites’ in Brussels but I find the stand at La Chapelle equally as nice with one tenth of the queue.
European Quarter
One cannot mention Brussels without the inevitable question of the EU – love it or hate it it’s a unique site to see and the Parlamentarium (http://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/museum/110-parlamentarium) – the European Parliament visitors’ centre – is a good place to start. It’s then just a short walk to the Rond-point Schuman and into the Parc de Cinquanteniare known as the ‘European quarter’. Here you’ll find a variety of bars and restaurants offering every type of food from across the continent. Kitty O’Shea’s the favourite hangout of the EU trainees known as ‘stagiaires’ has sadly closed. Place du Luxembourg on a Thursday night remains the place to be for any Brussels expat.
Brussels
Brussels may, at a push, have something for everyone, chocolate shops, frites, waffles and beer to name a few. And yet the European quarter coupled with divided neighbourhoods and endless construction sites leaves me feeling a little empty. It’s as though Brussels may be suffering from an identity crisis, but having said that – aren’t we all? What this could mean, however is that it’s the perfect city for a young professional European in their 20s.
Lauren
With a passion for languages and other cultures, Lauren has lived, worked and studied in France, Belgium and Austria and has travelled widely across Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond. She continues to pursue her international interests from her current base in London. Her favourite place to visit is Malaysia but she says her favourite trip was travelling through central Europe by train.