Public Transportation in Brussels
 

I tried looking at the web site and too many options.
What are my choices as a tourist for public transportation within Brussels?
To travel from Brussels Centraal to the airport is that a tram, subway or train ride?
Can train tickets be purchased individually?
What would Uber or a taxi cost from to/from the Airport and Centraal Station (approximately how long)?

Thanks

Subway is the easiest, buses have their own lanes avoiding most traffic.
From the airport train or bus (#27 IIRC).
The bus stops in front of the Euro Parliament easy walk to Shuman subway stop.

No need for Uber or taxi unless dragging suitcases.

There is no Uber in Belgium.
Train to Zaventem airport; buy ticket at the airport or online via
https://www.belgiantrain.be/en

Tickets are valid for any train that day. You can buy it in advance and either print or put the ticket on your phone. Price is always the same, wether you buy in advance or on the day.

In Brussels as Tulips said you take the train to and from the airport at Zaventem - trains go through Midi (Zuid), Central (Centraal) and Nord (Noord) in that order. The other modes of transport (but not to the airport) are metro (i.e. underground suburban train), tram and bus. Don't bother with tram or bus unless you are visiting one of the outlying areas (bus 71 to Place Flagey) or are staying somewhere in the vicinity of Avenue Louise (trams into the city run the length of this street). The metro runs in a bifurcated 'ring' around the city. As a tourist you might conceivably use the metro a bit to go to Heizel (the Atomium and Mini-Europe), to Mérode to see the museums in Parc Cinquantenaire, to De Brouckère to visit the area around Place St-Géry (think cafés open at night) or the shopping street Rue Neuve, or possibly Schuman to see the European Quarter. There is even a hotel directly above De Brouckère metro station, and a metro station at Central (near most hotels that foreign visitors stay in) as well as the train station there (confusing, I know, but they are two separate systems). If you are doing a lot of on-and-off public transport you might benefit from a JUMP card, which can be loaded with a 24-hr ticket or a 48-hr ticket, and can be shared by the two of you (but you would need to buy 2 X 24-hr tickets on the same card). More on the transport in the Brussels area here: www.stib-mivb.be

Lavandula

trainride. everything else: buses, trams. De Lijn has an app, or use Citymapper or some such

I'm sure you really meant underground urban train.

Thanks. I read everything once and I'll read it again.
What I was asking was when is the train used. It appears to go to/from the airport and to different cities.
Metro, tram and bus. These appear to use the same ticket system. I'm still a bit hazy on what to use here.

We'll most likely we'll stay in the area of the Centraal train station.
Are tickets for any train destination valid all day or does this only apply to the airport?
We walk a lot and are not really indoor museum goers unless it's for something that we consider special for us.
So what I usually is put together local destination in a route and we basically walk a good part of the day.
Depending upon the distance and if there's a sequence that's better than another, we could take a Metro out and work our way back walking unless it's really far and we'd Metro back as well.

So what I'll do is put together a list of places from my two threads as well as my reading on the internet and Youtube videos. Then I put them together in groups.
We try to avoid buses as these are often victims of traffic and my wife suffers from motion sickness. Trams, subways and trains are usually fine. It's the buses.

Train tickets are valid for any train on the day you booked. This is the case for all train tickets on regular trains in Belgium; intercity trains that only have a few stops, or local trains with lots of stops.
If you book a high-speed train such as Thalys, you book a specific departure with seat reservation. But you would not usually take these trains within Belgium.

In Amsterdam you couldn't buy individual tram tickets though our hotel had them and sold them to their guests.
How does it work in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp?

>I'm sure you really meant underground urban train.

I guess I do; from my own city 'suburban' is an apt description, perhaps not so much in Brussels where the suburbs start a way out. Thanks for the correction.

Lavandula

www.stib-mivb.be

Read the section of the website on single tickets. You can't just buy a single paper ticket. For all tickets you need a MOBIB card (which I incorrectly called a JUMP card above; JUMP is the ticket, not the plastic card), which you load up with credits (tickets). A 10 journey ticket is a good thing. When you enter the station or the bus you validate the card by holding it near or in front of the machine, which then beeps and a green light goes on or you see a V. If there are two of you you do it twice, and you have to stay together at all time while travelling.

Lavandula

>So what I usually is put together local destination in a route and we basically walk a good part of the day.
Depending upon the distance and if there's a sequence that's better than another, we could take a Metro out and work our way back walking unless it's really far and we'd Metro back as well.

If you want to walk the city then there are a number of cartoons on the sides of buildings (the Comic Strip Walk). Comic strips are a thing in Belgium. This is a neat thing to follow when the weather is good. Another walk might be an Art Nouveau walk which will take you right out of the centre of town. I think the tourist information centre has information on the walks, you can download brochures for free: https://visit.brussels/en/lists/walk

Lavandula

Lavendula,
Does a 10 journey ticket also require a plastic card?

Yes, all journeys require a plastic card but you only need one between the two of you and some cards are collector's items. Mine has smurfs on it :). You need to buy it at places like the big stations - where are you arriving at in Brussels?

Lavandula

Lavandula,
We're arriving at Brussels airport and will either train to Centraal or taxi. We'll decide later.
What's that plastic card called and is it purchased at a kiosk or machine?

It's called MOBIB. Honestly, it's not that complicated. Read the posts,

Hi Myer,

A good opportunity to buy the MOBIB card is from a kiosk at Gare Centrale metro station, probably just a short walk from your hotel. There are two types of kiosk, some offer more complex services which you don't need (the BOOTIK) and there are some no frills kiosks (KIOSK). This link tells you which stations sell the MOBIB card, and when you get there a human being can handle all your requests and questions:

www.stib-mivb.be

So you could start off your trip by catching a train from the airport, or a taxi if you are so inclined (taxi fare calculator like this one, there are lots online: https://www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-brussels/358 ), and then when you get to your hotel take a walk to the metro station and buy your MOBIB and 'ticket/s'.

Lavandula

...and I did not mention there are also vending machines but in your case a kiosk is maybe a better option :) (check the link above for locations)

Lavandula

Brussels is a small city, you can also walk along Brussels you will discover a lot of things