Key Post: Brussels

hello,

Can anyone recommend a reasonable hotel in Brussels? Less than 80/90 euro per room per night? I am going there in August, probably for 3 nights.
Also, I am hoping to get the train from Paris to Brussels, does anyone know how much this costs?

Thanks in advance

Re: Hotels/budget accommodation in Brussels?

Also, I am hoping to get the train from Paris to Brussels, does anyone know how much this costs?

The [broken link removed] runs from Paris to Brussels - fares [broken link removed]. I'm not sure if there's a non TGV slower/cheaper alternative. I guess you're doing something in Paris that you're heading to Brussels from there rather than flying direct?

Re: Hotels/budget accommodation in Brussels?

We stayed in the Sleep Well hostel in Brussels a few years ago. It was great value for a decent if plain double room, right in the centre You will find them on a web search.

Brussells

Check-in Date: 16 Aug 2003 (Sample date)
Number of Nights: 3

NH Brussels City Centre
Chaussee De Charleroi 17
Bruxelles 1060
Belgium
Total room cost: $177.68 E-Special rate (Note $dollars) 3 nights for the price of 2


Ibis Waterloo
€183
[broken link removed]


I do not know what the quality is but here is a link to a few more

[broken link removed]

Re: >>Hotels/budget accommodation in Brussels/Belgium?

Some other posts

MAC
Unregistered User
Here's another interesting place to visit

This is beside the old Heysel Stadium

www.atomium.be/

MAC

PMU
Unregistered User
Brussels/Brugge

One of the problems for the tourist in Brussels is that most of the good and good value restos are in the suburbs (e.g. in the Ixelles area). I’d advise staying away from the restos that line the streets in rue des Bouchers and petite rue des Bouchers near the Grand Place. It’s a real tourist trap and there are a lot of rip-off tricks here - like the fabulous and inexpensive meals advertised outside not materialising on the menu when you are inside, no availability of fixed price menus, etc. And the food really isn’t that good. But in this area Léon de Bruxelles (Chez Léon) is OK for inexpensive Belgian cookery, and if you want to pay Irish prices Aux Armes de Bruxelles is excellent. Also one of the tackiest things to see in this area up l’impasse de la Fidélité is the Jeanneke-Pis statue of a young girl urinating. (I kid you not). Nearby there is a not bad and cheap pizza place Le Jardin d’Italie. Ricotta and Parmesan on rue de l’Ecuyer is the kind of place that would appeal to a woman, romantic atmosphere, etc. I definitely recommend Parnassos on rue au Buerre between the Grand Place and the Bourse. The lamb is excellent. Head west to place St Catherine and you have a great choice of fish restos, in particular l’Huitiere. For real traditional Bruxelles cooking there is Au Stekerlapatte on rue des Prêtres near the Palais de Justice. There are plenty of excellent and slightly pricier restos in the streets around place du Chatelain near the Sean O’Casey pub (rue du Bailli, tram: Trinité / Lesbroussarts). If you like organic (‘biologique’) cooking you could try Tan a resto with a philosophy on rue de l’Aqueduc in this area. But stay clear of the house wine which wasn’t so good when I was there. For something different you could try Le Raquin Chagrin for Reunion cuisine on rue Prince Royal, between place Stéphanie and chausée d’Ixelles (metro: Porte de Namur). In the Euro quarter (metro: Schuman) there are lots of decent and inexpensive Italian and international restos around rue Archimede, rue Franklin, etc. Not much between them but La Brache is one of teh better ones. For Japanese try Momotaro on ave. d’Auderghem but service is slow. And the ‘Irish’ pubs, James Joyce (basic but not bad), Kitty O’Shea’s (not too good) and the Wild Geese (expensive) are close by. Or if the weather is good walk down rue Foissart by the Council building to place Jourdan and eat al fresco in any of the restos around the square. A good site with reviews of restos in Bruxelles (en français) is the Petit Futé guide: www.lepetitfute.com/city_guide/bruxelles/index.php

fobs
Registered User
re: Flying to Belguim - where to go,hotels advice etc...

Travelling to Belguim on the 25th of March until the 28th of March. got cheap Ryanair tickets (101.08 euros return for 2 from Shannon incl. taxes and charges). Thinking of going to Brugge for 2 nights and Brussels for 1 night. Anyone been to Brugge and is it nice? Want to know What hotels to stay in Brugge/Brussels that are nice but not extremely expensive ( can afford to splash out a little as the airfares are so cheap!) Also any advice on what sights to visit or travel guide books/maps that you found useful etc...

Jildy
Registered User
re: Flying to Belguim - where to go,hotels advice etc...

Metropole hotel right in the centre of Brussels is lovely and not sso expensive. You can book any tours etc... from the hotel if you like . Take the bus trip (hop-on / hop-off) service and you can see all the popular sights this way. There isn't much in the the form of shopping in Brussels and it is hit and miss with grub. The beer there is lovely though but once you have had 3-4 pints people start to look at you a bit funny as most of them go out and have either a coffee or 1 pint or 1 glass of wine... Nice spot to visit but I don't know if I would go back....

Maceface
Registered User
YHA

When we went, we were on a real budget as we were interrailing.
We stayed in the Youth Hostel (the YHA one about a 20 minute walk from the train station). About a 5/10 min walk to the centeral square.
We got a twin room with en-suite (although we wanted a double), but it was really cheap.
They also had a resturant on site with good food for about a fiver!
Probably too cheap for you but it was really clean and excellent location.

hotels

I got a good deal on www.hotelclub.net for the IBIS hotel, St. Catherine. Good location, very near shopping area and lovely resturaunts nearby. I think it was approx €75 per room per night, but if you stayed 3 consecutive nights you only paid for 2 of the nights, so that made it excellent value.
Plus they do the nicest toasted cheese sandwich in that hotel that I've ever had in my life....mmmmm!!
No air con in the room I was in, so that might be something to watch out for.
Train from Paris to Brussels costs between 40 - 60 euro, and is really comfortable + super fast.
Enjoy!

Re: hotels

Can anyone recommend a reasonable hotel in Brussels?

Try Laterooms - I did a quick search and saw Brussels from around 80 squid (Euro) a night.

I have booked with them before without problems, though as with any booking agent, I always find it's a good idea once you have a booking / confirmation number from Laterooms to then ring the actual hotel to confirm that they can see the booking.

Better safe than sorry - it's better to sort out any potential problems with the booking at home before you go rather than on arrival at 23:00 in a hotel reception when you are tired from travelling all day and they don't speak much English...

Some other posts

arokili
Registered User
Brussels this weekend any tips??

There are Eighteen of us heading over to Brussels for the Weekend. Have been checking out some info on the net. Just wondering if anyone has any good tips or advice to offer. Have any of u tried the Flea Markets are they good or will we not bother??
Xmas party weekend so there wont be much sight seeing .........but will make every attempt to go to Bruges.

PMU
Registered User
Re: Brussels this weekend any tips??

See my post above on restaurants. Here's one on the bars:

If you want to visit some pubs, well, drinking in your average Belgian bar, i.e. in bars frequented by Belgians, is equivalent to drinking in a public toilet for atmosphere and you really won’t feel at home unless you have a large moustache, tattoos, wear a gilet, and enjoy sitting around, sipping a half pint and feeling sorry for yourself. So, to save you the trouble, based on my personal experience, here are some pubs worth checking out. My favourite A La Mort Subite on rue Montagne-aux-Herbes-Potagères (they brew their own beer), the Greenwich on rue des Chartreux (possibly not the best place for a large group), Le Corbeau on rue Saint-Michel (dancing on tables at the weekend if you are into that sort of thing), A la Bécasse up an alley off rue Tabora (they brew their own beer), and L'Archiduc on rue Antoine Dansaert. Go up the alleyway off rue Marché aux Herbes for one of my favourites L'Imaige de Nostre Dame (a large group won’t fit in here), and further up the hill on rue Marché aux Herbes on the left is Au Bon Vieux Temps again up an alleyway. Visit Le Cerceuil on rue des Harengs for something rather kitch. (Don’t let the smell of urine in the corridor on the way in put your off). If you want something traditional go to Le Cirio on rue de la Bourse and order a ‘half and half’. Skip the Falstaff on rue Henri Maus on the other side of the Bourse – service is lousy. All the above are in the area of the Grand Place / rue Neuve / Bourse. There is a group of trendy bars - the Zebra, Mapa Mundo and le Roi des Belges - west of the Bourse around Place St.Géry, and there’s also a decent bar inside Les Halles de St.Géry. ’Irish’ pubs include the James Joyce rue Archimede (fairly basic and one of the best. It’s also open until dawn on weekend nights), the Wild Geese rue Livingstone (expensive for what you get), and Kitty O’Shea’s on boulevard Charlemagne (not that good). All these are in the Euro Quarter near rondpoint Schuman. My favourite Irish pub was the Sean O’Casey on the corner of rue Bailli. (You’ll need to get a tram to rue Bailli / Lesbrousart to get there). The Bank further on up rue de Bailli was really cool but is now a dump. O’Reilly’s on place de la Bourse is a real dump, so cross the road instead to Le Meteko on boulevard Anspach. As for things to do, if this is a ‘stag’ type weekend and you are feeling foolhardy you could go up to rue d'Aarschot at the back of the Gare du Nord which is Brussels’s incredibly cheesy ‘red light’ district. There are ladies (most well past their prime and others that possibly started out as blokes) in the windows. Note that it is extremely dangerous around here, not only on rue d'Aarschot, but on the roads near it and on the connecting roads from Gare du Nord, and late at night around nearby place Rogier. As I’ve not had any personal experience (if you get my drift) I can’t say what the ladies are actually like. If you venture up here be on your guard at all times.

brianbmcd
Registered User
Re: Brussels this weekend any tips??

Loads of restos around the Grand Place. Strongly recommend a visit to Brugges about 1 hour by train!

Brian