Brussels Travel Forum

On the 9th of July, I will arrive from Paris by train at 9h47 and leave Brussels at 19h43. Can anyone suggest how can I spend around 9 hours going sightseeing?
Thanks

Go for a long walk. Seriously, it just nice to go to the Grote Markt and area, admire the buildings, people-watch, maybe have a long lunch at one of the many restaurants.

1) Take a local train one stop to Gare centrale, it's included in your ticket from Paris since this is to "Brussels" which covers any Brussels station even if Thalys stops at Gare du Midi. All trains going from Midi to, for example, the airport will stop at Gare centrale which is 5 minutes' walk from the Grand' Place.
2) Outside Gare centrale you will find hop-on, hop-off tour buses which are probably the best way to get around town if you have no clue what you want to do. Since the buses can't go into the Grand' Place and Galeries St. Hubert you will have to visit those on foot afterwards, I would suggest you leave them till last because then you will know how much time you have left, and also there are plenty of restaurants around there.
3) To return to Midi you can again take a train from Gare centrale, included in the price of your ticket from Brussels to Paris. But if you happen to find yourself on the other side of the Grand' Place, e.g. the bar area of St. Géry, it would be quicker to take the underground tram (pre-metro) from Bourse or De Brouckère, which will cost you, in July, €1.80 for a single ticket.
4) Alternatively, if you get yourself a guidebook and public transport map and work out for yourself what interests you, you can do the whole thing by public transport with a 1-day "jump" ticket, which currently costs €4 but prices are due to go up by July. You can buy this from machines either in the metro station at Gare du Midi or, if you follow the signs to "rue couverte" (to the right of the metro entrance), the furthest platform of the tram station, straight ahead as you come out of the railway station under the bridge.

Thanks Gaminari, I will follow your advice.