We have a layover on our way from San Francisco to Venice in Brussells.......no one on this site makes Brussells sound very good. Our layover is from 7:35 to 3pm.....shall we leave the airport and see anything?? Anything worth seeing and are they close enough??

Please help...you guys are good!!

<i>Our layover is from 7:35 to 3pm.....shall we leave the airport and see anything??</i>
Play it by ear. After clearing passport control and customs see if you can find a locker to park your carry-on things. Then find the train station in the airport. There is a train every 20 minutes that takes 25 minutes to the city. Keep track of your time then decide if it is worthwhile to continue. Brussels has 3 train stations, Nord, Centraal, and Zuid/Midi. Get off at Centraal, a few blocks from Grand Place/Grote Markt.

<i>Anything worth seeing and are they close enough?? </i>
You'll have to decide that for yourself. There have been several good threads on Fodor's this week discussing Brussels. Use the search box to dig them out.

&quot;no one on this site makes Brussells sound very good&quot; Not sure about that - I for one love it and I don't think I'm the only one.

Yes I had a great time while I was there.

If you are arriving at Brussels airport very early in the morning, it will not take you long to clear passport control (if you get off the plane and walk very quickly to beat everyone else). I would say get off at Centraal station and see a few sights like the Grand Place, much more fun than hanging out in the airport for several hours when there is something to see fairly close by.

The ticket to get from the airport station to the middle of the city is only 2.80 euro (unless it has gone up in the past few months). You would have plenty of time to have a little lunch in the city and get back to the airport for your flight.

We loved Brussels, too. I second the notion of seeing the Grand Place. While we enjoyed other attractions, if you have limited time see the Grand Place. There is enough to keep you occupied during your layover. (And more than enough food and chocolate for a lifetime!)


Enjoy,

cy

I did the same trip in August; , arrived in BRU early AM and took the train to Brussels because the Airport was so depressing and there was nowhere to sit, much less lay down. When I got to town everything was still closed, only some breakfast cafes open. I'd been to Brussels before, so after 2 hours of traipsing around I returned to the airport, pretty exhausted and jet-lagged. The train trip was worth it if only to see The Atomium from the window of the train (had a story about that!)

I tried to purchase a lounge pass at the airport, but no luck. I was allowed to go to the the Regent (or something like that) lounge, which was actually only a meeting room, because I had been a member, who knows why!!! I spent a half hour checking my e-mail.

Then I did what I should have done in the first place, which was go to the Intl terminal where the Venice trip was leaving, &amp; found a room with some open benches. They were hard as a rock but at that point I was so tired I would have slept anywhere.

I found the BRU airport folks very unhelpful, and long story short, almost missed my flight to Venice because I got wrong information &amp; was at the wrong gate!!!!! Luckily I was able to hear them calling my name and just made the flight!!

Brussels is fine, it's just the timing that's difficult.

We visited Brussels last year quite by accident, as we missed our connecting flight and ended up having to stay the night and fly out the next day. We quite enjoyed ourselves. As mentioned above, the city is very close to the airport and you can catch the train directly at the airport so getting there was very easy.

I would head towards the Grand Place and just stroll around. There are tons of cafes and restaurants, and the chocolates are heavenly. We had a lovely afternoon just strolling around town; or at least until a thunderstorm rolled in unexpectedly and we ended up soaked trying to run to a train station!

Tracy