Belgium’s Brussels and Bruges Itinerary
Here’s my Brussels and Bruges itinerary for my recent trip to Belgium just before Christmas. Ideal for couples who are looking for free & easy things to do around Brussels. A day trip to Bruges is highly recommended as this medieval town is a very captivating place to visit.
Top things to do in Brussels include a visit to the Grand Place and Manneken Pis, try the Mussels & Frites and waffle, drink more Belgian beer and of course, don’t forget to buy the Belgian chocolate. Have you been to Brussels or Bruges yet? If yes, share with me your best experience there.
Do follow my adventures on Facebook here and Instagram here.
Day 1:
- Eurostar train ride from London to Brussels (Brussels-South Railway Station or better known as Brussels-Midi/Zuid Station) in 2.15 hours. Train tickets for 2 were €164.
- Check into Hotel Novotel Brussels off Grand Place. An extremely convenient location that you could easily walk everywhere. 3 nights cost was €312.30.
Hotel Novotel Brussels off Grand Place 
Our hotel room - Dinner at Chez Leon. Best Mussels & Frites! Bill for 2 was €70.60.
Best place for Mussels & Frites 
I could eat this everyday! - Walking around Grand Place. Their Christmas lights were so pretty!
Couldn’t take my eyes off those pretty Christmas ligths! 
Day 2:
- Breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. Bill for 2 was €38.40.
So many different kind of bread! 
Healthy looking breakfast 
Where’s the meat?! - Manneken Pis. Cute but it’s so small!
The one and only pissing statue 
It was so much smaller than I’d imagined - Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula.
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula 
- Brussels City Museum. You can find all the costumes of Manneken Pis here. Entrance tickets for 2 at €16.
Some antique collections 
Tapestry anyone? 
I like his pose 
Can’t get enough of this cute little one? 
He’s everywhere here! 
All the Manneken Pis costumes over the years - Lunch at The Waffle Factory. Their Lunchwhaf/ Lunch waffle is stuffed with meat and cheese and vegetables! Lunch for 2 was €19.80.
Sweet Belgian Waffle 
Savoury lunch waffle 
Meat & Cheese! - Royal Palace of Brussels. Massive but lifeless.
Looks like the Buckingham Palace 
For some reasons the palace had no Christmas lights on their tree - A walk in Brussels Park.
A walk in the park in winter 
- Palais de Justice, Brussels. It was under massive renovation.
The largest courthouse in the world - Wandering around Sablon area of Brussels. Lovely neighbourhood.
They have lovely parks here 
Love this neighbourhood - Beer at Delirium Café, a bar with more than 2000 types of beer, brewery memorabilia & live music on Thursday evenings. Beer for 2 was €8.00.
What not to love about Belgian beers? 
Lots of thirsty people at the bar - Dinner at Le Marmiton. A cozy 2-story Belgian eatery, opened in 1979, with exposed brickwork, stripped floors & gilt mirrors. Dinner for 2 was €92.85.
Fish was good here 
Lamb was good too! 
Day 3:
- Train to Bruges from Brussels Central Station in 1.15 hours. Brussels Central Station is right behind our hotel, Hotel Novotel Brussels off Grand Place. Train tickets for 2 were €57.20.
- Breakfast at Books & Brunch for 2 at €31.
Another healthy breakfast 
At least I got meat in my breakfast this time - Explore the beauty of the historic city of Bruges, which is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO.
- Church of Our Lady, with the famous white marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child created by Michelangelo around 1504. Entrance tickets for 2 were €8.
Madonna and Child 
- Browsing 400 original works of art by the great Spanish masters Pablo Picasso at Expo Picasso at the historic Oud Sint-Jan (Old St. John) site. Entrance tickets for 2 were €20.
The one and only picasso 
Some of his early sketches 
Worth visiting if you like Picasso - Markt (The Market Square), located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 hectare.
Love the colourful Market Square 
- Canal boat tour for 2 at €16. Known as the “Venice of the North”, Bruges canals’ have 54 bridges with direct connection to the North Sea. This 30 minutes boat tour will show you the part of Bruges you will never see on foot.
- Lunch at Bistro den Huzaar. Lunch for 2 was €65.70.
Beef stew was extremely tasty 
Pasta was good too 
- Torture Museum Oude Steen Brugge. Entrance tickets for 2 at €14.
Does anyone want to take a seat? 
OMG Human Barbeque 
- Train back to Brussels.
- Dinner at Dinner at Chez Leon. Too good we had to come back for 2nd serving. Dinner bill for 2 was €72.50.
We added fish this time around 
More mussels please! This time we ordered a different sauce
Day 4:
- Breakfast at Mokafe. Bills for 2 was €20.20.
They love bread and eggs here 
My Croque Monsieur 
- Shopping at Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. This is one of the oldest covered shopping arcades in Europe built in 1847. The best place to buy Belgian chocolate.
Lovely shopping arcade 
Belgian chocolate! 
Love their Christmas packaging - Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Entrance tickets for 2 were €16.
Belgian paintings are quite different 
Great place for art lovers 
- Quick lunch then Eurostar train back to London.
Are you planning to visit Brussels or Bruges? I hope my itinerary would help you to plan your trip a little better. Feel free to ask my question if you need help with your trip. I hope everyone will have a great time in Brussels and Bruges like I did.
14 comments
I never thought I would want to go to Brussels until now. Your photos look amazing, I’m definitely adding it to my life now!!
I came into your post expecting to salivate over the chocolate but I did not anticipate how much I would twitterbate over the deli… Mate. Ran out of rhymes. I have been to Holland any number of times and I have a clear and visceral memory from your post about how good the breads, meat and cheeses are. Even if you just buy them at the gas station.
Such an eventful yet stress-free itinerary! Grand Place is gorgeous in the evening when the lights were on. That mussels and frites at Chez Leon looks mouthwatering. I can see why you revisited it on the same trip!
By the looks of it, you made the post out of this trip combining breathtaking sceneries with delicious food. Le Pain Quotidien is a great spot! Wonderful food, laid back atmosphere. I love it as well.
Lovely photos, brought back memories. I visited the beautiful fairytale Belgian city of Bruges few years ago. I say fairytale because wandering around Bruges especially at night makes you feel like you are in the middle of a film set :-). I really loved this city: romantic cobble stoned streets, cozy sidewalk cafes, dreamy canals, ivy covered houses, historic churches, charming market squares…
I have been wanting to visit Brussels for so long now, and this post just confirms it even more! During the Christmas time, everything looks so pretty and festive! Also, all those food snapshots you took look absolutely delicious
What a great itinerary for visiting Brussels and Bruges! I’d love to visit Belgium one day. The food looks amazing there!
I love Brussels and Bruges! Those mussels look so yummy! I remember eating those with frites all over the place! Looks like you had a lovely trip and did a lot in 4 days!
I love the all the little fountain statues!! Christmas time in Europe is so magical! And the food looked so tasty, kinda made me hungry!
Love this! So great to have a preplanned already tested itinerary! I’ve been hearing a lot about Bruges lately – would love to go. All the food looks so tasty and fresh too. Also love that you give price breakdowns.
Good sights, and good eats…but..the BEER. I’ve never had a proper Belgian Ale from the source. Are the rumors true Allison?
Wow, this is a wonderful itinerary for Bruges and Brussels. You managed to photograph all the points of interest and lots of delicious looking food. The waffle with banana on looks especially delicious.
I absolutely loved Brussels, but only got to spend a few hours there as we were just doing a day trip from Amsterdam by bus. It was beautiful (and there was so much food I didn’t get to try, wah!) I’ll have to go back and write down some of these places to visit from your itinerary! Loved all the photos and ideas, wonderful post!
During my Eurotrip last year, I thought I would love Paris more as a romantic city. But I was wrong. I found Bruges to be more adorable and romantic!
Nice knowing you Allison and thanks for sharing this! In the midst of updating my Bruges travelogue myself.