What to do when in Brussels

Waffles, fries, beer, chocolate, mussels… Belgium is famous for many things, also for its beautiful houses. I did a weekend trip to Brussels and unfortunately didn’t have time to visit other nearby cities and the weather wasn’t the best, but I can tell you about some cool things you should do if you decide to visit Brussels.

Grand Place

Of course the central square of Brussels can’t be missed, declared UNESCO World Heritage Site it has a very stunning architecture. There is always things going on, like the flower market, the light show at night or if you’re lucky you will even presence the flower carpet which takes place once a year. Some of the buildings you can find here are the Town Hall and the Maison du Roi, where the museum of the City of Brussels is located. The streets around are also very nice to walk through and always very busy.

Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert

It’s a lovely shopping arcade, mostly with luxury boutiques, jewelry shops and chocolate shops. It’s the perfect spot if you get caught on a rainy day! All the chocolate shops had such amazing displays I couldn’t resist and bought several boxes. Fortunately, I could resist the temptation of eating them all when I bought them and some I even took back home and they were all delicious!

Comic murals

Walking around Brussels you will probably run into more than one comic mural even if you’re not looking for them. If you want you can find a map on this link which will help you locate most of them. They are made by Belgian artists, like Hergé and his famous Tintin or this one called Brousaille by Frank Pé.

Manneken Pis

This famous statue is, in my opinion, highly overrated. It is a small 60 cm bronze statue of a little boy taking a pee on a fountain. It is always surrounded by people trying to take a picture of it, so good luck reaching the front! There’s a collection of hundreds of costumes they sometimes dress him up with, so if you’re lucky enough you’ll find him in one of his outfits.

Try Belgian food and beer

Surely, once you visit Brussels you should try their specialties. You can find these things all over the city. There are many shops specialized in fries in the streets near the Grand Place, waffles are also found on display nearly in every street with tons of different toppings. If you want to try Belgian beer (which you definitely should) you can go to the street Rue du Marché au Charbon, here you will find many bars or try Délirium Café, with a very particular decoration.

Have you visited Brussels? What other things would you recommend to do on a budget?