So why Belgium? Belgium was never high on my list of places to visit; in fact it wasn’t on any list up until a year ago! Especially as there are still a small handful of major cities in Europe that I still must visit, that I’m more eager to see. Athens, Madrid (although that is planned later this summer), Milan and Budapest.
Given that this is one of five holidays this year, and the year we are hit with the “cost of living crisis”, I needed to do something/go somewhere that wouldn’t cost the earth. The fact that I could travel from St Pancreas, London on the Eurostar train was a plus, no airports or flying! Not that I mind flying, but this was a refreshing change! Another attraction was that the country is relatively small with very cheap internal trains, so I could do 4 days here visiting 3 or 4 cities on a sort of whistle stop tour.
Belgium (to me) has always been famous for its beer (Belgian Beer) and Bruges, a popular destination for short breaks/weekends away. Knew very little about Brussels, other than it’s the home of the European Union, the city doesn’t really have any major landmarks, or at least not historic ones, so the more I researched, the more I liked.
Very mixed reviews from friends who have been here, one friend really didn’t rate Belgium and absolutely hated Brussels, the other enjoyed their time and my parents (and their friends) loved the place even though it rained every day they were here!
I have 2 nights in Brussels, 1 night in Antwerp and 1 night in Bruges. Maybe half a day in Ghent. It’s May 2023, my birthday week, summer, and shorts wearing weather has only just kicked in, super excited!!
Spring 2023 
4 DaysUpon arriving, it was too early to check into my hotel, I headed to Frites Atelier, a restaurant (also do take outs) selling fries (or Frites), but these are not your McDonald’s standard or Bob Carvers! These are gourmet frites, with a topping of your choice and sauce. There was an Indonesian peanut topping, a Thai chicken topping alongside others, but I went for the Flemish beef stew topping with truffle sauce.
These were the best chips I had ever tasted, and the topping could have been a dish on its own, so nice! There are 3 restaurants here in Belgium, and 2 in The Netherlands.
Everyone I know that had been to Brussels, had heard of this little famous statue, The Manneken Pis (pissing man). It’s a small brass statue that… well… pisses into a little stone bowl! It’s very tiny (the statue!!) and nothing more than a gimmick really. But very famous in Brussels, and is something that pops up a lot when researching things to do.
They re-dress this little man in different outfits, every so often. I can’t tell what he is dressed in in this photo I took?
But also there is a Jeanneke-Pis (pissing girl) and a Zinneke Pis (pissing dog), which no one seemed to have heard of. So, I went in search of them all. The first one I came to, which was right near my hotel, was the pissing dog, which is course is my favourite.
A great attraction of many cities across Europe is its city main square. Stockholm, Wrocław, Lisbon, Vienna, Salzburg and Hallstatt are ones I’ve sat in, and people watched within the last 12 months. This square was no exception, giving the sun was shining an aperol spritz was in order.
The square was stunning and very hard to get pictures that do it justice. I went back in the evening as daylight turned to night, I was very lucky with the sky. Just stunning.
It’s a bold claim, but honestly I think this is the most stunning square in the whole of Europe, especially in the evening.
Before I headed to get food and to my spa, I came here, mainly, to see the royal palace. However, it was under construction and had in front of it one of the worst banners I’ve ever seen!
All was not lost, it was a nice evening and at this time there was a sculpture trail (if you’ve read my other pages, you know what a sucker I am for those). 22 sculptures of Le Cat by cartoonist Philippe Geluck. They reminded me a little (on a cartoon level anyway) of Vigeland in Oslo.
Ok so it wasn’t exactly “Time Out Market, Lisbon” (best street food market ever, right?!), but it was good! Really cool decor, around 20 vendors, I went for pasta.
I had seen these spa day experiences on Instagram where you get a bath in beer (or so you presume). I love a nice relaxing spa/bath, so this was right up my street, and definitely there to impress my 500 Instagram followers! Lol
So, you don’t actually get a bath in the beer, the bath is filled with water and yeast, then you get a choice from 3 hops (based on smell) and they put this in a small bag which sits in the bath and also acts as a scrubber. I was a few minutes early for my session, but they had the room ready and so let me in, so I got a full hour in the bath before I had to get out and dried.
You only shower before the bath and advised to leave your skin in showered until the next day, as the yeast and hops are good for your skin. Lovely experience, the only thing is, I’d liked to have played my own music on Bluetooth or had something relaxing played, instead it was some sort of medieval music, not my thing.
I think it cost around £100 for the hour, but you get a tap with unlimited beer next to you for the duration.
I’m not really into politics, didn’t even vote in the Brexit referendum! But one of the things that Brussels is well known to me for, was the European Union. So, I headed here, impressive building, seeing the flags of the members lined up on the outside, and so iconic (I don’t think that’s the right word to use) that the British flag was here, but now it’s not!
I went into the museum part where they take you through the history of how the EU was formed, to present day (no mention of Brexit though). Then I went into the actual parliament building, not much else to see other than the big round room where the MPs sit and make legislation. Still, impressive, and great to sit in an historic building.
I’ve always enjoyed model villages, and when I found out about this one, it went straight on the itinerary. It’s quite a famous one too, it features something from all the countries in Europe to a 1:25 scale. The England section is so funny, since Brexit they have painted yellow lines on the path as you enter and put-up Custom signs. Then outside Westminster there are Vote Brexit picket lines and Boris Johnson is there.
A number of models for London and Paris but I was disappointed with the Scandinavian parts, only the town hall from Stockholm was part of Sweden, they could have done their beautiful Storget square. I don’t remember seeing anything for Oslo, they did have Nyhavn there for Copenhagen which was good.
Great views from the top, particularly of the model village below. On the lower deck (or ball) there are light exhibitions which were also good. If you visit Brussels and miss this out, then I don’t think you have missed much. But I purchased a joint ticket for Mini Europe and the Atomiom, so only paid 10 euros, not sure what it would have been as a single ticket.
I wanted to do some sort of brewery tour, and being in Brussels there are many. This was a quick 30 minute flash tour of a small brewery just 5 mins from my hotel. This was perfect for me, 30 minutes was enough to see their brewery, learn the basic processes and not get too bored! There were 2 glasses of beer during the 30 mins, and then you are left with 4 other beers to drink afterwards! They were pretty strong too!
They are usually small groups, and I was 1 of 3 people, the other 2 were French. So, the guide took me around first on my own and then then 2 French people. So, it was like a private little tour. I learnt that it takes around 7 hours and 2 people on the day inside the brewery to start the brewing process. From then on, the beer sits in a barrel for at least 6 weeks (different lengths of time depending which beers) before it can be bottled and drank.
I can honestly say this small city surpassed my expectations; I really enjoyed it. I had heard mixed reviews, and so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I planned several experiences such as the Spa, the Brewery Tour and Mini Europe, so I knew I wouldn’t be bored for my 2 days here. What I wasn’t expecting was the strong French influence, especially in the architecture. I loved walking the streets both evenings, the atmosphere was amazing with all the cafes and tables and seating on the side of the streets. With all the restaurants and street food vendors dotted around, the smells of food were everywhere. The metro system was very easy to use and get around. I would definitely return, even if it was just to spend a few days with a friend eating and drinking our way around the city!
Third morning, first thing after breakfast, I packed my stuff and jumped on a train to Antwerp, around 45 minute journey for £10. The train station, Antwerp Centraal, is also noteworthy and a very grand building.
First thing I did after dropping my bags off at the hotel, was to walk up the Main Street (my hotel was right opposite the train station) and headed to the market square. Very different vibe here than to Brussels, here it feels like it’s got more of a German/Dutch influence.
At this point I googled the geography and languages of Belgium and indeed this checks out. In Brussels (and that area of Belgium) the main language is French, and Dutch this side where Antwerp sits. Just like Brussels, the city’s streets are lined with cafes and outdoor seating, it feels a lot more Mediterranean/European here than it does back home in the UK. Strange as we have generally a similar climate to Belgium too.
It was 12pm, the sun was shining, and I had spotted a little café/restaurant called House of Waffles, right in the market square. I went savoury and had the BLT, waffles with bacon, eggs and salad. I wasn’t disappointed.
First thing on the final day I jumped on the train and headed to Bruges. Just a side note that the trains systems here are super easy and cheap. The cost of a ticket doesn’t go up astronomically the day before departure like it does in the UK.
Again, a completely different vibe to Brussels and Antwerp, but being a medieval city that was to be expected. The small, cobbled streets and quaint little buildings were lovely on the canals, and of course the weather being absolutely amazing made everything ten times better anyway.
Honestly, I could have just walked around for hours in the sunshine from one bar to the next, finding nice seats in the sunshine to sip on a cold glass of wine, and I pretty much did just that.
I only did two stand out things here, I went up the Belfry tower for some amazing views over the market square, and a visit to the chocolate museum with demonstration.
Honestly, the chocolate museum was nothing to write home about (or on here)! It was mostly aimed at kids, and the demonstration lasted all of ten minutes, I expected more.
The belfry tower was 10 euros to climb, worth it for me as I’m always looking for views at height. As per usually it was a thin narrow/spiral staircase to climb, I’m not sure how many steps but it didn’t seem like too many. Equivalent to around 6 or 7 floors, I think. You only had around 40cm width around the top! So, no way could you pass anyway, it was one way only. Great views.
Yes, Bruges is very touristy, not that I was surprised one single bit! It reminded me very much of my visit to Hallstatt in Austria, 8 months prior, not because of the culture or architecture but because of the way in which tourists visit. At around 5/6pm the busses must depart for all the people on day trips. I remember Hallstatt went from being a crazy busy place in the day, to a ghost town in the evening. Bruges didn’t exactly turn into a ghost town, but after I had been back to my hotel to have an hours sleep and a shower, I came out of my hotel to see the crowds in the streets reduced by about 75%, and a lot of cafes closed.
I loved Belgium and I would definitely return for a short/2 day break, especially Brussels. I don’t think there is anything more I would particularly want to do than what I did this time, other than to enjoy more food and drink, so I think it would certainly need to be in the summer. As lovely as Bruges was, there is nothing to return for. Perhaps I could do a half day visit to Ghent next time, which I wish I had done this time instead of Antwerp. But all in all, Belgium has a big thumbs up from me!
