From Chicago- planning a tentative trip from London to Brussels in the Fall (late September, early October) of 2008. Need advice on cheap flights (or alternative transport), reasonably-priced but nice hotels and any other helpful information (like, where to eat?!). Been to Europe before but never Belgium. Thanks!

Hi Zola,

I am taking the Euro Star to Brussels (and onto Brugge) in late September from London. I purchased the tickets online.

How long are you planning on staying in Brussels and what are you looking to "do" while in Brussels?

The Eurostar goes from London to Brussels. I personally prefer that over flying. Tickets are cheaper if you buy further in advance. If you're only needing 1-way, sometimes it's still cheaper to buy a r/t ticket and just throw away the return.

Brussels hotels are very business-oriented, meaning that the rates are high during the week but significant discounts on weekends. If you can time your visit to Brussels on a weekend, you can save up to 50% on hotels.

sorry I meant to tell you - you can fly one way for about 90.00 USD from LHR to Brussels. I opted to spend the night in London and then move on the next day to Brussels because I did not want to chance the flights not coordinating and I am traveling with an eleven year old and by the time we got into Brussels it would have been very late after traveling from the West Coast.

Your budget airline choices are Heathrow-Brussels International on BMI and Gatwick-Brussels International on Brussels Airlines.

The Eurostar is the comfortable, relaxing, and carbon neutral way to go. Much better than flying.

MomDDTravel:

My initial plan is to stay in Brussels for only a few days- but it may be extended. I will be visiting a friend who is from Italy. I probably will be interested in restaurants foremost- but I'd like to see the monuments, perhaps the EU and NATO headquarters, and- if time permits- a little of the Flemish and Renaissance art displays. I hear things are cheaper on the week-ends because of the crush of dilpomats during the week.

zola - if you're remotely interested in Flemish art, you CANNOT miss the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. It is truly a gem of Flemish paintings - van Eyck, Bruegel etc.