Affiliate Disclosure: I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through links on our site, including Amazon. Your support helps sustain this site.
---
Brussels is the largest city and capital of Belgium. It is also the seat of the European Union and therefore is also known as the capital of Europe. Cultures, communities, languages, races, lifestyles, all converge here in this city. It is a fascinating place — which I frankly do not think gets quite enough love. And, to that I will agree, it is not a loveable place. It is not picture perfect, it is definitely rough around the edges and it’s also not exactly the safest city. But. BUT, it’s still worth spending your time enjoying. I think two days in Brussels is a really good amount of time. I actually spent four days here on my recent trip, but if you only have a weekend in Brussels, that’s enough to skim the surface and see the highlights. So, here are my tips for a weekend itinerary in Brussels.
Table of Contents
Day 1: Walk and Look
Morning
Start your first day in Brussels off with a simple breakfast at Yuka Coffee Bar.
I am a chaser of chai lattes and this little cafe has a delightful one. There is only a small selection of pastries, but a chocolate croissant is a great choice in my opinion. It is flaky and buttery and a reminder that the Belgians do pastries just about as well as the French.
There is a small amount of seating in this cafe and there is wi-fi. The staff are very friendly and work quickly to get your hot drinks out. You can also get your drink to take away which can be useful if you are late to meet your guide for your walking tour.
Go on a free walking tour.
I think walking tours are a fabulous way to start off your time in any city. These tours give you a really great lay of the land and can point out spots you might want to go back to later.
In Brussels I recommend using Ambassadors for your tour. This company is as local as you’ll get — while not Brussels based, they are Belgium based. And the guides are locals with a passion for sharing their city.
You’ll go in depth on the history of Belgium. Your guide will touch on its colonial past, its royal family, why beer and chocolate are so important to the culture. And so much more. It’s also great to have access to a local for any questions you might have. These could be about that history lesson they just gave you, or where they recommend going for the best fries.
Remember though, these tours aren’t charged, but tipping is very much expected. Unless you have an atrocious guide you should always be tipping at the end of a tour. In my opinion a rate of €5-10 per person is appropriate based on how well you feel the guide did.
Afternoon
Have lunch at Fritzguard.
This is a cozy pub-like atmosphere with a great selection of Belgian fries on the menu. You might think of fries as a side dish, but here they can very much be your main course. I had the lightest option — a bowl of fries with a topping of white truffle oil, parmesan, parsley, and salt, and even that I struggled to finish on my own. I can’t even imagine how filling the more decadent options must be.
You can get bowls of fries with toppings like octopus or beef. They are massive and probably best shared.
Along with fries there are other menu options like burgers, wings, falafel, nachos. There are also waffles on the desserts menu if you can handle any more after your main meal.
And, of course, there is plenty of beer to choose from to wash it all down.
Enjoy a view of Brussels.
You’ll probably pass through upper Brussels on your walking tour in the morning, but I recommend going back to scout out a few of the best viewpoints in the city. The first is the cafe at the top of the Musical Instruments Museum. You can access the cafe without having to buy a ticket for the museum. I recommend getting a drink of course, and then see if you can snag a seat by the window to enjoy your drink with a gorgeous view.
Another great viewpoint is a lot further afield in Duden Park. This park is to the south of the city center. You can get there with about a 30 minute tram ride.
Evening
Get dinner at Le Pré Salé.
Yet another Belgian specialty is a bowl of freshly cooked mussels. Mussels were once very plentiful along the Belgian coast and thus very cheap. This made them a dish that was popular amongst commoners who didn’t have a lot of money to spare. And if there is one thing we can learn from the common folk it is how to make a simple dish excellent.
The classic way to serve mussels these days is a very simple white wine and butter sauce. In my opinion, anything more than that is so unnecessary and ruins the perfectly delicate flavors of the mussels.
And hopefully you’re not too sick of potatoes after your lunch because these are almost always served with a side of fries.
Grab a waffle for dessert.
I can’t think of a better way to top off a bowl of hot mussels than with a beautiful, warm, sugary waffle. But, be careful, those displays of waffles coated in layers of whipped cream and candy, those aren’t what you want — promise. Belgian waffles are very fluffy and light so that amount of topping will turn them into a soggy mess. Instead, you want a Belgian waffle totally plain — or with just a light coating of sugar on top. And, you also want to make sure the waffles are made fresh and not simply reheated from earlier.
While there are a lot of shops around town, one of your best bets is to find an ice cream cart that also makes waffles as they will surely always be fresh. So take a walk, digest your dinner, and see if you can spot one.
Night
Finish the day with a beer at La Porte Noire.
And now to wash it all down with a Belgian beer of course. It’d be pretty hard to find a bad place for beer in Brussels, so it’s all about finding a vibe that you’re into. I like the kind of dark, medieval vibes at La Porte Noire but then I was in Brussels in February so it fits that moody weather.
If you’re visiting in a warmer month you may want to opt instead for a bar that has a patio such as Cherry Bar.
Day 2: Iron and Mussels
Morning
Begin the day with breakfast at Santos Palace Shop Speciality Coffee and Tea.
Another spot for a chai should you be as obsessed as me. Also a place to get a morning waffle if you’re ready for another.
This little cafe is definitely a popular spot for office workers in the area. It does have seating but not a great deal of it, so watch like a hawk for anyone leaving and make sure to snag a table as soon as it opens.
As well as the chai and waffle you can also get all of the regular coffee drinks plus other basic pastries such as croissants.
Head Out to the Atomium.
On the outskirts of town is the famous Atomium. This large structure, in the shape of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, stands 102 meters (335 ft) tall. It was built in 1958 for the World’s fair.
Now, it serves as a museum. After purchasing a ticket you go up to the top “ball” where you get great views all across Brussels. After that you can explore the museum which shows you more about the building of the Atomium and the World’s Fair. There is also a space which holds art exhibits inside.
As a part of your ticket price you will also gain access to the nearby design museum which is worth visiting simply because it is nearby and free.
To get to the Atomium, you need to take the number 6 metro all the way out to Heizel. From there you’ll easily be able to see the Atomium which is about a five minute walk from the metro station.
Afternoon
Get Lunch at Chez Léon.
This is a really basic, but excellent, traditional Belgian restaurant. The menu is impressive with quite a few classic options like mussels done several different ways, or alternatives like a number of pasta dishes. It’s highly recommended to make a reservation as this is quite a popular spot.
You might find that the service here is a bit brusk — but the lack of over the top friendliness is one of the things you should know about Brussels and Belgians so that it doesn’t end up putting you off.
Finish the day with shopping around the city and through the covered passages.
I’m not a big shopper, as in I don’t love to just buy soulless, mass produced clothes that will fall apart in two wears, but I do really love to wander cities window shopping, popping into local boutiques, and pick up a few souvenirs. These days, my souvenirs consist of nice smelling soaps, fancy teas, and local food specialties — in Brussels that is of course chocolate.
In Brussels I really liked the shop Moule à gaufres where there is a lot of TinTin, Smurfs, and other comic book characters local to the city. There are souvenirs, books, and more. And another shopping area not to be missed — definitely more for window shopping (and the architecture) than actually buying anything, is the covered passages. There are several different passages, you can see a map of them all here. These are also a great escape should you encounter any rainy days while you’re in Brussels as they are all fully covered and enclosed.
Evening
Have your final dinner at Café Georgette.
I don’t think one weekend is enough time to get sick of a cuisine, so hopefully you’re not bored of Belgian food at this point, as Café Georgette is another really classic, simple, genuine Belgian restaurant. If you’ve fallen in love with mussels or Belgian fries and want one final plate of them, you’ve got them here. Or if you somehow have avoided them so far, don’t pass up this final opportunity. But, if on the other hand you’re feeling a little weighed down by all of that, you can also choose a salad or a burger off the menu.
Night
Wrap up the weekend with a drink at Beer Capital Brussels.
I’ve already gone over how important beer is in Brussels. So there’s no better way to wrap up your weekend itinerary for Brussels than at a bar that has over 2,000 beers to choose from.
Yeah, three zeroes. But listen, I’m not even going to pretend like I have a clue of what beer to recommend you even if that list had zero zeroes, so ask the waitstaff and they will gladly help you narrow down your selection. Or, go wild and play a bit of Russian roulette with it all.
Where to sleep in Brussels
If you want to stay somewhere very central I can recommend the area around Grote Markt. It is true that some might say this area is not the nicest, but it is so easy to walk to literally everywhere from here. And I felt very comfortable and safe here (though I have a high risk tolerance). I stayed at the hostel Latroupe Grote Markt which was very big and a bit impersonal, but it was also very clean and comfortable.
Alternatively, for a nice private room in the same area, check out Boutique Hotel Saint-Géry.
A nicer area, which is slightly less central, is Ixelles. This neighborhood is long, so you’ll want to stay in the northern part of it to make sure you’re not too far from the city center. For a budget option there, check out the three star Beverly Hills Hotel (yes, I’m sure it’s in Brussels). Or, if you want to go a bit more upscale in the same neighborhood, Le Louise Hotel Brussels – MGallery is a good choice.
