City break in Belgium – Travel Guide, Budget & Itinerary

[:ro]Arcade du Cinquantenaire[:]

Despite its size, Belgium packs a lot of beautiful experiences for any type of traveler. Things to do in Belgium include exploring cities with a rich history and a modern culture, tasting the famous fries and waffles, Christmas markets, visiting over a hundred chocolate shops, and let’s not forget about its famous beer.

Our guide will help you find the best attractions in Belgium.

Quick Facts

Capital: Brussels
Language: Dutch, French and German.
Currency: € Euro is the official currency in Belgium
Plugs/Electricity: Type E plugs are standard, the ones with two round pins. 220 volts AC, 50Hz.

When to visit Belgium

During the winter months (November – March) the weather is mostly cold, a perfect time for skiing and enjoying the Christmas Markets.
In Spring and Autumn temperatures are lovely and usually with fewer tourists.
June – September (Summer) months bring the high temperatures like in most European cities. And with lots of sunshine, the waves of tourists are also arriving in Belgium. So be sure to book everything in advance.

Budget for a City Break in Belgium

Although Belgium is a wonderful country, is far from a budget-friendly destination (like most of the north-west European countries :)) ).

For our city break in Belgium, we spent almost 500 Euros per couple (excluding plane tickets and souvenirs), with a budget of 160 E per day.

But there are a lot of things you can do to help your wallet. For example, Belgium has a lot of free attractions. See here a full list of museums in Brussels to plan your trip. Tip: all museums are free on the first Wednesday of each month.

Here are some of our expenses, so you can better prepare your budget for your next trip to Belgium:

Accommodation	Food	Transport
49 Euro/night in Bruges	1-2 Euro/Waffle	20 Euro train ticket
60 Euro/ night in Brussel	4 Euro a big portion of fries	7.5 Euro round subway ticket
	14 Euro breakfast for two
	0.80 Euro water bottle

How many days to spend in Belgium?

We recommend a minimum of 3-4 days to visit Belgium. It should be enough to briefly discover the most beautiful cities: Bruxelles, Bruges, Ghent. You can see the highlights of each city in 1-2 days. We recommend spending more time in the smaller and more magical cities, like Ghent, Bruges, and Antwerp. And less time in the capital.

How to spend 3 days in Belgium

Itinerary Overview:
Day 1: Arrive in Brussels, and explore the city highlights
Day 2: Go for one day to Bruges
Day 3: Visit the scenic city of Ghent
Optional Day 4: Spend one day in Antwerp

6 traditional foods

Belgium has a variety of eating options that will suit all budgets and tastes. But there are some dishes that you should not miss:

Fries
Mitraillette
Mussels
Belgian Beer
Waffles
Belgian Chocolates

Getting Around

In Belgium, it is very easy to get around. They have a well-developed train and bus network, along with plenty of expressways and motorways. We used trains, buses and the metro in Brussels while we were out and about. Public transport is very well organised so we didn’t need to rent a car.

Brussels South Charleroi Airport

By Bus

Landing at Brussels South Charleroi Airport we had to take the bus to get to Brussels. We used the public buses, not the private ones, and it cost X Euro. After a few minutes, we arrived at Charleroi train station from where we continued our journey to the city by train. The bus was clean and the driver was quite eager to get to the destination, going quite fast.

By Train

We used the train on the following routes:
– Charleroi – Brussels (and return)
– Brussels – Bruges (and return)

In total, we had 4 train journeys in Belgium. We bought the tickets online through a very simple process. The trains are exactly as you would expect. Not too late, clean and very comfortable.

We made the Brussels – Bruges journey in the evening and had a commuter train, which stopped at almost every station. But slowly and surely it made its way to Bruges. On the return, Bruges – Brussels, we had a fast train which although it used a longer route arrived faster, and was much more comfortable.

By Metro

In Brussels, we also used the metro to get to some of the sights, including the Atomium, more easily and quickly. The metro is more of an underground tram, but it does its job, especially during peak hours when traffic can be a challenge. Metro tickets can be bought directly from stations and don’t forget to validate them too. Some subway stations are hidden by buildings and it’s quite easy to miss them, but once you’re in the station the maps and information displayed help you not to get lost.

Where to Stay in Belgium

Since Belgium is such a small county and has an excellent train system, you have lots of flexibility when deciding where to stay during your 3 days trip in Belgium.

You can choose to stay in any one of these cities and day trip to the others, move every day to a different city, or take one day trip and stay in two different cities–the choice is yours!

Personally, we recommend staying in Bruges: it’s the most gorgeous city in Belgium (in our opinion), and it’s mainly frequented by day-trippers means you’ll be able to enjoy the city’s quiet evenings.

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