boccaccio28

I will be renting an aprtment in Brussels for a week. I want to be in the center of the city. Does anyone know what neighborhoods I should look in and what I should avoid? Thank you.

lavandula

Anywhere around the railway stations is a bit yuk (Gare du Midi, Bruxelles Nord, Rogier). I am also not so keen on Bourse (dirty) but close to Bourse is the fashionable Place-St. Géry. Lots of cafés. St Josse is also a bit undesirable but I don't know if you'd get the offer of an apartment there. And of course there are areas like Anderlecht which are a bit industrial, but again you'd never get the offer of an apartment there. You may find some apartments in the Rue Haute area, which is not that far from Bruxelles Midi but it's an area being gentrified and is trendy now. The European District is 100% fine but empty after dark. I anticipate you will find many apartments in Ixelles, and many near the Avenue Louise - very desirable real estate and good transport connections to the centre, and maybe one or two apartments in parts of Schaarbeek / Schaerbeek, which is mostly also quite nice except for some bits in the north.

If you post here again with some choices I (or someone else) can evaluate for you if you wish.

Lavandula

outwest

Last year we stayed at the Four Points Sheraton near Avenue Louise in Ixelles and really loved the surrounding neighborhood—we would definitely stay there again (in fact, we'll be there in about 3 weeks!) We walked almost everywhere and only used the tram and metro a few times.

lavandula

Just another thought - you might just include some information about what you plan to be doing and what you want to be close to. If you're sightseeing, most places in the centre (i.e. within the ring) are pretty OK safety wise, number one for convenience, but with the downside that they can be quite noisy - many people working locally prefer not to live in the centre for that reason. But it depends what you prioritise - if for instance you thought you wanted to be out late at night enjoying restaurants and bars (i.e. part of the noise, as it were) and would get home late, I don't think you need to take that factor into account.

Lavandula

Vttraveler

I agree Ixelles is a great area. Last fall we stayed in an apartment friends are renting on a long term basis on Rue Souveraine near Place Fernand Cocq and really enjoyed the neighborhood. you can rent apartments for short stays in the area, too. this is outside the ring referred to in the last post but still very convenient.

We could walk to the center city (Grand Place, museum quarter) from the apartment or get the metro at the Louise or Porte de Namur stops. There were markets and many good restaurants nearby.