Today I am writing about what to do in one day in Brussels. The city is small enough therefore you can get a good feel of it in just one day.
I was on my way to see friends in another Belgian city. This trip was my first visit to Belgium, so I spent a day in the country’s capital, famous for its chocolate and fries.
Mr E and I booked two nights in the Van Belle hotel, located fifteen minutes from the city centre on foot, at Chaussée de Mons 39. The hotel is unassuming but perfect to spend the night without splashing out on accommodation.
An overview of activities you can do
Hunting for waffles in Brussels
Brussels is famous for its chocolate, fries and waffles. I began my day hunting for waffles. You can find waffles in many cafés.
Two sorts of Belgian waffles
You can find two types of waffles in Belgium: the Liege waffle and the Brussels waffle. The Brussels waffles are blonder, lighter, more rectangular, have deeper squares, and smooth edges. The Liege waffles are more caramel-y as it contained pearled sugar, smaller, chewier and have rounded edges.
Meeting the Manneken Pis
On our way, we came across the Manneken Pis, the statue depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain, along the way. He is tiny, and the day I saw him, he wore a warm soldier costume. I can understand him. It is pretty damn cold in Brussels in February. Cover up, especially if you intend to pee in the street.
Back to my waffle. I have no particular place to recommend for this one because, at first, I did not like my white and black chocolate waffle. It was delectable but partially cooked. I discovered later on that this is how they are eaten here.
But, well, I prefer my waffle well-cooked, please. Medium-rare is only for my steak.
Tourism in Brussels and (mostly chocolate) shopping during this one day in Brussels
The Grand Place
Besides eating, exploring Brussels is another great activity on a day out. Brussels is a small city with the Grand Place and its opulent buildings at its heart. These edifices are Baroque guildhalls of the former Guilds of Brussels, the city’s Town Hall, and the neo-Gothic King’s House building, containing the Brussels City Museum.
Comic murals
We admired all the comic murals like the one on this page’s featured image. Indeed, Brussels is the comic strip capital. And while strolling through its streets, you can identify comic heroes like Tintin, Corto Maltese and many more on numerous murals. Here is a link to a comic strip trail.
Chocolate shops
Then, second comes shopping in the modern or vintage chocolate shops that sell chocolate in all shapes and flavours. There are so many shops, take your pick. We went to Pierre Marcolini’s store. He is a world class chocolatier. I tasted his chocolates. They are delicate and refined. A real delight.
A taste of Belgian food
Then it is time for lunch. The restaurant we originally wanted was closed. Therefore we chose Publico (Rue des Chartreux, 32) in the heart of the city centre with its trendy decor and jazz music. The menu is also intriguing.
We had jambonneau (knuckle of ham) with mustard sauce and potatoes, a delicious Belgian speciality. And the bill was reasonable. We paid 15 Euros per person for a soup, some very nice bread, our main dish and a drink. That lunch was delectable.
After a nap at the hotel, we went out, hunting fries (frites) this time.
Beers at the Delirium Café
Well, for a city famous for potato fries, we had trouble finding even one friterie, a traditional restaurant, kiosk or van serving fast food, particularly fries). Our first experience was not satisfying; I won’t mention the address.
We kept on exploring the city and decided to have a specialty beer in the Delirium Cafe (Impasse de la Fidelite 4). It had a pleasant vibe and a multicultural clientele, including French speakers on our left and English girls on our right. Aaaah. I forgot! Belgium is famous for chocolate, fries, waffles and beers.
This bar is known for its long beer list with over 2000 brands. It was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for the most varieties of beer commercially available.
Fries, I mean “frites”
And then on our way back to the hotel, guess what? We found a friterie and more particularly, we found “La friterie du café Georgette“, rue de la Fourche.
People lined up in the street waiting for their turn. For us, it was a sign that the friterie served good food. We eagerly awaited our turn until we realised that the friterie did not accept credit cards. For a European capital, Brussels lacked some modern conveniences: no free WI-FI in the hotel, numerous signs of “no credit cards accepted”, and not so many cash machines either.
After obtaining some cash, we happily went back queuing in the cold for our fries. Our order? One cone of fries with a samurai (spicy) sauce and a meatball. All Belgian specialties. Mission accomplished. It was delicious. The crunchy fries are cooked in beef fat. Forget about any diet in Brussels!
Post edit 2023: we also got curry ketchup with our fries. It is a nice alternative to the samurai sauce.
Future plans in Brussels
I would like to go back to Brussels. It is a laid back city. And when that time comes, I will have two new missions: find a chocolate workshop and visit the Comic Museum.
POST EDIT 2023: Returning to Brussels
We came back to Belgium in April for a long weekend. And guess what? We also spent one day in Brussels and it was similar to the first trip.
But this time, we went to the Brussels Comics Figurines Museum. The idea was to go to the Comic Museum in the first place, but then we decided that the figurines one sounded more fun as we had a little boy with us. He enjoyed himself without having to know all the characters.
The museum is owned by a collector. It gathers a high numbers of comic figurines of all the most important comic figures: Tintin, The Smurfs, Asterix, Obelix and their entire village, some Marvel heroes, and some Star Wars figurines. It was truly delightful to walk this memory lane.
We also “met” Jeanneke Pis, the female counterpart of the Manneken Pis. The bronze statue depicts a little girl with short pigtails, squatting and urinating on a limestone base. The statue is located north of the Grand-Place, on the eastern side of the Impasse de la Fidélité. It is now protected from vandalism by iron bars.
And of course, we could not leave without meeting with Zinneke Pis, the bronze pet of the Belgian peeing family statues. Zinneke Pis lifts his leg to pee onto a Brussels street pole. You can find him at the corner of Rue des Chartreux and Rue du Vieux Marché aux grains. Unlike Manneken and Jeanneke, Zinneke is not a fountain but just a statue.
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