Brussels Travel Forum

Hi,
we are planning to go to belgium on december as a newbie, Got 2 questions, for now...

1. where is the best place hotel we could stay at?budget is flexible as long as its reasonably priced, near the tourist spots.

2.we are travelling via eurostar, how far is it from then grand place?

thanks a lot!!

there are many reasonable places right at the heart of brussels within walking distance of all the major attractions. there are some good pages on brussels on VT
you can take a taxi from the train station, and also there is the metro. the train station is not within walking distance but i would say about 3 km. there is gare du midi and gare du nord. both are more or less equidistant from the centre
enjoy bruselas and eat some nice chocolates..

The Grand Place is a short walk away from the Centraal station. Once you get of the Eurostar in Zuid/Midi you can just take about any normal train going north, as they all call at Centraal. There are something like 20 trais per hour, so you wouldn't have to wait long. Once in Centraal you can just follow the signs.

1. Best-placed hotel would be any of those near the Grand' Place/Gare centrale, e.g. Ibis Off Grand' Place (that's its name, to distinguish between this and at least 2 other Ibises in Brussels). The Méridien is bang opposite the Gare centrale (not noisy, trains run underground), and therefore handy not only for the GP but the Cathedral and the Galeries St. Hubert, as well as the metro to Heysel for the atomium etc..
Another possibility is the Marriott, which is opposite the Bourse, on the other side of the GP from the Gare centrale; from Gare du Midi you would take the underground tram (follow metro signs then e.g. tram 55) 3 stops to Bourse and take the exit signposted for rue A. Orts. This will be closer to the Winter Market, although if you want to be almost in it, you could also go for the well-rated Welcome Hotel which is by Ste. Catherine metro station (but, to get there from Midi it would be best to take the metro direction Simonis to Arts-Loi and change there, as the change from tram to metro at De Brouckère is so long you might as well walk to Ste. Catherine from DB).
2. According to Viamichelin it is indeed 3 km from Midi to GP, but while you can get to Gare centrale from Gare du Midi by metro, this is quite a long way round and you have to change at Arts-Loi; the most direct way is either by train (which should be included in your Eurostar ticket as tickets to "Brussels zone" are valid to any railway station in the city) as described, or else by tram to Bourse. Trains from Midi that call at Central and Nord include the airport trains, which may be easiest for you to find.

Your Eurostar ticket will say "Any Belgian Station". The best way to get to the centre of Brussels is to take any train from Gare du Midi (where Eurostar arrives) to the Gare Centrale, which will bring you into the old tourist centre.
On your return do the same thing - you may as well make use of the free ticket.

Any of the Ibis, Accor, Best Western hotels will be fairly reasonable. Do bear in mind you are in a capital city and pay accordingly.

It is a great city to visit - have fun!!

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info...weve managed to book our hotel a short walk from the eurostar station which also offers transportation to Grand Place.hopefully itll be a worthwhile weekend;-)!

Well that's a shame because anything a short walk from the Eurostar station (Gare du Midi) is in a horrible part of town!