Brussels Travel Forum

My wife and I will be in Brussels for a total of about 8 hours. Can anyone give some recommendations of things to do, places to see?

There are plenty of things to do and to see in Brussels. Perhaps you might like to read the Brussels tips from VT members on this site.

There are plenty of museums in the city. Choose a couple of them to visit. You could take the hop off bus that stops near the main attractions in Brussels. So that you'll be able to see various areas in the city.

There is a great car museum

Main tourist activity is (a) see Mannekin Pis; (b) have lunch in the main square. Anything else depends on your bag - there may be an Art Nouveau tour, or go to the cartoon museum. Visit the Royal palace (open when the king's on holiday), or visit the Atomium and mini-Europe.

Remember that you need to clear customs and check in for your flight with time for security. Plus there is transportation time to and from the airport. At best I would say you only have about 5 hours.

The good news is that although the airport is characterized by very long straight boring hallways immigration did not seem to involve long lines or delays. There is a conveniently located baggage storage place if you need it and the train provides an efficient and low cost method to get from the airport to the center of Brussels. Trains leave and arrive from the lowest floor (the basement). You will see the ticket sales window one floor above the train platform floor. The central station is the second stop.

Although there are some very nice museums, unless the weather is bad I would think that you would want to just spend your time wondering around soaking up the ambiance. The center of this should be the Grand Place. The municipal museum is a modest affair that could be included in this wondering and would probably take you 30 to 45 minutes to visit. Although relatively expensive compared to what I am use to, the food is very good so I would suggest that you either go to a VT recommended restaurant or just chose one that appeals to you and eat a leisurely meal.

good luck, bob

You might like a visit to tha Atomium. Great view over the city from the top ! They regularly have special exhibitions inside. This is the website : http://www.atomium.be/Main.aspx?lang=en
This is the official Brussels website : http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm?id=4000, maybe you can find something here.
There also are a lot of museums in Brussels, here you can find most of them : http://www.ilotsacre.be/site/nl/default_nl.htm
In the centre, you have to visit the most famous inhabitant "Manneken Pis" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis) (the official site : http://www.manneken-pis.com/intro.html)
He also has a female equivalent, the less known and not so old "Jeanneke Pis" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanneke_Pis)

Have fun !
Jessika

The army museum at La Cinquantenaire is enormous. And I seem to recall its being free too! Includes a tank park and a naval display. And from it you can climb to the top of La Cinquantenaire itself, alongside the gilded goddesses.

We will be staying in Paris and going to Brussels for the day via the TVG train line. I assumed that since we will be leaving from Paris we would not have to through customs. Is this not the case?

Even if there were customs/immigration (and I'm sure there aren't), they would all take place on the train.

Train journey is about 1h15