One of the reasons we moved to London was that it enabled us to travel to nearby European cities on weekends instead of taking a massive European holiday. We have been truly inspired by the Travel Man, Richard Ayoade. Richard hosts a TV show that take him and a guest to a city travelable from London for 48 hours. He maximises some of the world’s most popular destinations in a bite size time frame by fitting as much of the city into 48 hours i.e. a weekend. We love his catch phrase – “We’re here but should we have come!” and have been pronouncing it every time we land in a city just like he does in his show.
Brussels
Brussels is the capital of Belgium and since the second world war it has been an important part of the European Union and the centre for EU and international politics. It attracts tourist from all over the world due to the architecture, history and and cuisine. Every two years since 1986, Brussels has been displaying the flower carpet in the Grand-Palace.
Things to See and do
- Flower Carpet
- Brussels Town Hall
- Royal Palace of Brussels
- Grand-Palace
- Mont des Arts
- Mannekin Pis / Jeanneke Pis
- Free walking tour
- Mok Coffee & Café Capitale
2018 Flower carpet displaying the culture of Mexico
A nice quiet spot from the hustle and bustle
Interesting collection of “artwork”
Café Capitale
For breakfast we headed to Cafe Capitale and had coffee and toast. Although the food and coffee was nice, it did seem rather pricey.
The Jeanneke Pis hidden away in an alley way
Interesting store with lots of good quality home goods Dille & Kamille
Transport
Getting to Brussels from London is quite straight forward. Taking a direct train with Eurostar will get you in Brussels city in two hours.
The city is a walk able city and there was no need to catch public transport around the city.
Accommodation
We stayed at a modern hotel in the central of the City. 9Hotel seemed quite new and was quite cheap for the price paid. We took the advice from previous reviews and requested a quiet room and were pleasantly upgraded to a larger quiet room upon arrival.
The room was adequate in size, fit with modern finishings and even included a Bluetooth speaker.
Finally – “We’re here but should we have come?”
The good:
- It was nice to see the flower carpet
The bad:
- Very little vegan options
- Lots of tourists
- A bit seedy and dirty on the city fringes
- Eating out can be pricey
Total Cost Breakdown: £360.36
Transport: £202.00
Accommodation: £78.04
Food & Drinks: £80.32
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