travel advice for Brussels
 

I will be spending the summer working in Brussels and would appreciate any tips for an enjoyable trip, especially about places to visit and ideas for "weekend excursions" to other cities in Europe - and how to get to them! I am a college student, and this will be my first time living outside the US, so I will appreciate any and all advice!

Go browse through a variety of guidebooks and choose the one that appeals to you.

Since you will be spending several months in Brussels, you should at least visit the nearby towns of Leuven, Brugge, Antwerp, Ghent and Dinant.

You should also have plenty of time for one or two visits to Amsterdam, Paris and London (via Eurostar).

Finally, since you will be so close, don't miss Luxembourg City - one of the great "secrets" of Europe.

During the summer months there are all kinds of big beach parties along the Belgian coast...going with some friends should be fun, as long as you're careful about the people you hang out with and the substances you imbibe. Of course you will also want to visit Paris, Amsterdam, maybe somewhere in Germany or Switzerland, do a cheap Ryanair flight to Italy or Prague...the opportunities are nearly endless.
If your budget can't spring to even the lowest train fares on Thalys and a rail pass of some kind isn't practical, remember the Eurolines bus services are quite cheap.

Summer is a great time to be in Belgium (if the weather is ok at least). If you like music, there are fabulous music festivals every week. The biggest are

http://www.rockwerchter.be
http://www.pukkelpop.be
http://www.folkdranouter.be

Also, there are the city festivals of Ghent (15-25 July approximately) and Leuven (13-15 August).

Check out what's-on-calendars and ask around in your working environment once you get there. Belgium is a tiny country and all other cities and places are easily accessible by public transport.

Spend a weekend in Knokke-Heist on the Belgian coast. There are so many things to do; particularly in August.
Daytrips to Gent, Brugge and Antwerp are easy and nearby. Amsterdam, Paris, London can also be easily reached by train.

Stardust is right - there are festivals going on all the time in Belgium in the summer.

Some other music festivals in Brussels include Couleur Café (world music) - www.couleurcafe.be
and the Eu'ritmix festival - http://www.euritmix.be/

In my opinion, the best Brussels guidebook is the Timeout guide to Brussels (also covers Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp and some other daytrip destinations) - great for shopping, eating and drinking recommendations and with good descriptions of the different areas of the city.

Another good source of info (+ events listings)is the local English language "expat" magazine the Bulletin, which comes out every week.