Long weekend in Brussels?

[BenWRXSEi]

Not a typical holiday destination, I grant you, but the OH has family in Brussels and we said we'd go and visit. We'll be there for four days over the May bank holiday, and will be driving over. I'm a little concerned as most of the things I have read suggest it will be boring as feck

Any suggestions on things to do/places to visit? Happy with cultural stuff/sightseeing as well as bars and restaurants. We'll try and escape to Bruges for a day but it looks like we'll have to kill 2-3 days in Brussels itself.

Also, any recommendations for decent beers to try?

[The Leaper]

Brussels is great for art nouveau stuff, particularly buildings and interiors. If this is your bag, arrange to go on one of the organised trips, well worth while.

R.

[5potTurbo]

There are some nice things to see in Brussels, but I'd take the train to Ghent or Bruges!

[toon10]

Brussels is nice for a couple of days. The square is lovely and plenty of nice bars and places to eat in the centre. The urinating boy is dissapointing, looks like a small garden ornament from B&Q. Like other have said, get over to Bruges. It's a stunning place to walk around and there's always the brewery tour and belfry to see.

[a311]

I recently went on a stag do, I'm still wondering why it was chosen as a stag do destination.

However myself and many others commented how nice a place it would be to take the other half, plenty to do and see, nice cafes etc. They make nice chips too.

[C0ffin D0dger]

BenWRXSEi said:

Not a typical holiday destination, I grant you, but the OH has family in Brussels and we said we'd go and visit. We'll be there for four days over the May bank holiday, and will be driving over. I'm a little concerned as most of the things I have read suggest it will be boring as feck

Any suggestions on things to do/places to visit? Happy with cultural stuff/sightseeing as well as bars and restaurants. We'll try and escape to Bruges for a day but it looks like we'll have to kill 2-3 days in Brussels itself.

Also, any recommendations for decent beers to try?

The wife and I had a long weekend there some years ago (before kids) and absolutely loved it. We saw some sights but the main highlight was the food, drink and relaxation. We did the Cantillon brewery tour which is good if you're into you're beer, went to the chocolate museum which was ok, went to the Atomium which again was ok but not the greatest thing I've ever been to. Aside from that just enjoying the sights, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. Recommend the waffles, chocolate sauce, ice cream and Advocaat if you have a sweet tooth (or need an energy boost!).

For beer one of my personal favourites is Rochefort 10 which is very strong but doesn't taste like it so be warned. The Delirium Tremens bar is worth a visit, they have the Guinness world record for the most number of different beers for sale, over 2000. The menu is like a phone book

[BenWRXSEi]

C0ffin D0dger said:

The wife and I had a long weekend there some years ago (before kids) and absolutely loved it. We saw some sights but the main highlight was the food, drink and relaxation. We did the Cantillon brewery tour which is good if you're into you're beer, went to the chocolate museum which was ok, went to the Atomium which again was ok but not the greatest thing I've ever been to. Aside from that just enjoying the sights, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. Recommend the waffles, chocolate sauce, ice cream and Advocaat if you have a sweet tooth (or need an energy boost!).

For beer one of my personal favourites is Rochefort 10 which is very strong but doesn't taste like it so be warned. The Delirium Tremens bar is worth a visit, they have the Guinness world record for the most number of different beers for sale, over 2000. The menu is like a phone book

Great, thanks for that. Sounds like it won't be a completely wasted weekend then, the brewery tour certainly sounds right up my street! And the Delirium Tremens bar

We'll aim to get out to Bruges for a day as well, probably on the way back

[Old Merc]

Why not visit http://www.autoworld.be/the-museum-building ?? its in a lovely big park and there are other museums next door.Plenty of bars and restaurants in the area.

[schmalex]

Take a trip to Leuven - about 25 minutes from Brussels and it's absolutely stunning. Loads of micro breweries, a couple of stunning squares around the church and lots of shopping