Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium.
The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country. It is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, and is separate from the Flemish Region (Flanders), within which it forms an enclave, and the Walloon Region (Wallonia), located less than 4 km (2.5 mi) south.
Getting to Brussels
= = 1 Brussels Airport (BRU IATA also referred to as Brussels National or Zaventem after the municipality it is in). This is Brussels' main airport. It has good train connections with the rest of Belgium, and with many European capitals and other major cities.
Worth seeing
Brussels' rich history left it dotted with countless landmarks, some of architectural beauty, others of monumental proportions. In the medieval centre, nearly every building has its own story worth exploring! The surrounding Pentagon, roughly corresponding to the outline of Brussels in the Renaissance, adds many more attractions to the list of must-see attractions.
- 01Grand-Place
- 02Palace of Justice
- 03Atomium
- 04Cinquantenaire Park
Things to do
Brussels has a large variety of activities to offer, regardless of the weather. Strolling through the medieval centre and enjoying waffles or fries on the go is a favorite for locals and tourists. When passing the
- 01Stock Exchange
- 02Kinepolis
Where to eat
There is plenty of good eating to be had in Brussels. Most people concentrate on the three classics: mussels (moules in French and mosselen in Dutch), fries (frites in French and frieten in Dutch) and chocolate.
Getting around Brussels the local way
- Get inCalais and Dunkirk (France), a short drive from western Flanders, receive dozens of ferries a day from Dover in England.
- Get inThe overnight ferries to Zeebrugge from Hull were axed in 2021, though ferries still run from Hull to Rotterdam (Netherlands), which has good road and rail access to northern Flanders.
- Get aroundA look on the map shows that Brussels is a good starting point to explore Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Namur and Leuven on day trips.
- Get aroundLiège is beautiful, but too close to Germany to be a good base for day trips.
- Get aroundHitchhiking near the bus stop should get you a ride in less than 5 minutes during traffic hours.
- Get aroundJust hitchhike on the emergency lane at this point, in the portion near the tunnel.
From Wikivoyage: Belgium, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-08.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Busoni (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons.
