A few hours in Brussels
 

Hi All!!

We will be taking the train from AMS to Brussels Midi Station to catch the EuroStar to London.

We wanted to take in a bit of Brussels since we have to stop there anyway. Although we can only be in Brussels for 4-5 hours, does anyone have any thoughts of sites to see around the station?

Grand'Place, obviously. It's just five minutes from the station (walking distance).

There're some Brussels experts here who'll be able to tell you more.

i believe the grande place is 5 minutes from staton centrale., not midi.

you can give yourself a nice walking tour back to midi, though, from that area, weather permitting, it would be very pleasant.

Yes, that's right -- sorry I missed that.

Take a train to Central then if you don't want to walk. There're very frequent train connections (it's just one stop).

Yes, that's sorry -- sorry I missed that.

Take a train to Central then if you don't want to walk. There're very frequent train connections (it's just one stop).

The Grand Place would be perfect, of course -- some good shops, a few museums, interesting to see in itself due to the architecture.

It's not just one stop from Midi, though, it's about four. I would take the tram myself.

I think that I must be thinking of the trains coming in from the airport -- it's one stop between Midi and Central on those trains, isn't it?

But, yes, I guess there're trams and such, which I've not used.

But in any case, even Midi is within walking distance of Grand'Place. I once actually had rolled my luggage between the two because of a traffic jam (so I got off the cab). But using public transportation would be a good idea if you don't feel like walking.

We did a day trip from Paris and went to Grand Place. We took an underground trolley from midi to a stop near the Grand Place. The best part of our day was a visit to a museum dedicated to Comic Strip Art (Tintin etal). It is the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee located in the Waucquez Warehouse on 20 rue des Sables. We walked there from the Grand Place. It wasn't far. They had a great onsite restaurant where we had lunch. We walked thru the Galeries St. Hubert, one of the first covered shopping aracdes in Europe, to get to the museum. We spent about 2 hours at the museum and then a couple walking around and shopping. We took the TGV back to Paris early evening. I think you could do at least a portion of that sort of thing. Try a travel book for advice or of course, this forum.

4-5 hours is enough time to see atomium,Manneken Pis, grand place & eat a waffle. you will need to be able to leave the environs of the station area using the metro (day ticket €3.6) to accomplish all this though.

You can take a open-top bus just outside Central Station. They depart pretty frequently. Then, hop on/off as you like. However, you should reserve time to walk around the Grand Place as suggested by others, so you may not have time to get off at any of the stops.

Ask the bus driver how long a round trip is. Cost should be under 20 euros. You should be able to get a good overview this way.

i think the tour bus is 11 or 13 euros max.

good idea.

There's an excellent menswear store just opposite the back of the Royal Windsor Hotel near the Grand'Place.