48 Hours in Brussels, Belgium

In true European fashion, while we were living in Amsterdam for a couple of weeks we decided to take a weekend trip to Brussels. One of our favorite things about Europe is how easy it is to go see another country, but that’s another conversation all together. We had heard mixed reviews about the Belgian capital, but being only a few hour bus ride away we figured we would check it our for ourselves. After all, it was a great excuse to try some fresh Belgian beer!

Day 1 – Walking tour and Waffles:

As soon as we arrived we dropped off our bags and jumped on a walking tour to see the main attractions and hear a bit of the city’s history. You may have noticed that we’ve mentioned walking tours in a few of our city blog posts… that’s because we absolutely love them. They’re a great way to get an introduction to a new city, learn about the history and burn off a few of the calories we know we’ll be putting on later.

In just three hours we learned about the Grand Place, the Town Hall, Maison du Roi, the Comic Art Scene, The Stock Exchange, Galeries Saint Hubert, Mannekin Pis, The Monnaie Opera, St. Nicolas’ Church, River Senne, The Royal Square, Mont des Arts, the birthplace of Tintin, and more!

We took the SANDEMANs Free Walking Tour and highly recommend doing a free tour with them anywhere they are offered. They are the most organized and professional free tour we have been on and always have great guides.

St. Nicolas’ Church

Mannekin Pis

After getting a run down on Brussels highlight reel, we decided that it was time to try some of the famous Belgian Waffles. We heard the best place to do this was at the Waffle Factory, located just a short walk from the Mannekin Pis (If you’re on the corner looking at the Mannekin stay to the left of him and it’s just one block down on the corner of the street). We tried both the Brussels waffle and Leige waffle and have to say the Leige was our favorite… sorry Brussels.

Even though on day one we got a late start in Brussels (arriving around 1pm), we saw a lot of the city! Our night ended walking around the streets and getting a bite to eat at a small cafe.

Day 2 – Belgian beer and more beer:

After indulging on delicious waffles from the day before, we were getting pretty thirsty, and what better way to start the day then with some Belgian beer?!

To get a taste of some authentic Belgian beer we made our way to Cantillon Brewery which was established in 1900 and still maintains the same brewing process from the day they opened.

Visiting Cantillon is like going back in time and seeing how beer tasted at the turn of the 20th century. They are known for brewing Lambic, Gueuze, Faro, and Kriek beers all of which are very different than the usual beers served on tap at most bars. Lambic beer is so different it isn’t even carbonated because of the way it’s brewed in the open air, but all of the beers were delicious and we even picked up a couple bottles to bring with us!

Although we loved having some of the traditional Belgian beers from the 1900’s, we wanted to get a taste of some modern beers as well and made our way over to Moeder Lambic.

They have a huge selection of beers on tap and a very knowledgeable staff that will help you make a selection based on your beer preferences if you’re not sure which one to order (we weren’t).  Also, they have one of the best quiches we have ever tried. That might be random since we’re talking about Belgian beers, but this was no ordinary quiche and we had to mention it.

After a few beers we made our way back to Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, an enclosed passage with boutiques, bookstores, chocolate shops and cafes. During our walking tour we visited this area, but didn’t have time to explore and thought it would be worth a second visit. The Les Galeries Royales is divided into three parts: the Queen’s Gallery, the King Gallery and the Princes Gallery. It’s a great place to do some window shopping.

To end our second day in Brussels we headed over to the Atomium. The Atomium is a nine sphered structure that was built for the world fair in 1958 and has now become a popular tourist attraction. The spheres are open to the public and house various exhibitions.

At the end of each day we were very happy to be heading back to Sofitel Brussels Le Louise. As you would expect from a Sofitel hotel, Sofitel Brussels Le Louise effortlessly combines luxury with comfort and convenience. Located in the Avenue Louise, it’s surrounded by some of the most beautiful shopping streets in the city as well as being centrally located and a short walk or subway ride to the Grand Palace and many other tourist destinations.

The entire hotel is designed beautifully, from the curved purple sofa in the lobby to the pink crystal chandelier greeting guests as they make their way up the escalator. While walking through the hotel there is a softness seen through the design and chic style with the decor. Besides the interior, Sofitel offers guests an outdoor terrace to relax either for a drink or to enjoy the weather (depending on the time of year).

Sofitel Brussels Le Louise also has some of the most comfortable beds we have ever slept in. Known as the Sofitel MyBed, they’re almost too comfortable (if that’s possible), because it makes getting out of bed in the morning nearly impossible. If it wasn’t for the breakfast buffet waiting for us downstairs we might have stayed in bed all day. Although we think this blog post would be a lot shorter if that had happened.

For those looking to visit Brussels, from our experience a weekend is the perfect amount of time to explore this city. We left feeling we accomplished a lot and saw most of the highlights. Plus there is only so much beer and waffles you can eat!

Thank you Sofitel Brussels Le Louise for hosting us during our 48 hours in Brussels.

As always, our opinions are our own as we Talk Travel. 

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