Brussels - Post Report Question and Answers
What are some interesting/fun things to do in the area? Can you recommend any “hidden gems"?
Just go do local stuff and you'll have a good time. Shop at the markets. Buy local products. Drink Belgian beer. Take the train to other cities for half off on the weekends and discover other places in Belgium. I think it's an underrated country, and for that reason, it's a perfect place to live and explore. - Aug 2024
Visiting the trolls in Boom, Belgium - Apr 2024
Buy Derek Blythe's various books e.g. Hidden Belgium, Hidden Brussels, Hidden Flanders, etc. Lots of hidden gems in Belgium, and closer parts of Germany and Netherlands, which are so close they feel like "local trips." - Feb 2023
Beer, chocolate, waffles. - Jan 2022
There are a lot of cool hike and bike experiences in Belgium. Biking through water, biking in the trees, and the troll hunt hike are a few of our favorites. Each year in September, Brussels does a car free Sunday where the entire city becomes pedestrian only. - Oct 2021
Too many... Bruge, Gent, the Hague ... - Sep 2020
People love day trips to Bruges and Ghent, Amsterdam, Paris and London are just a few hours away. Christmas markets in Belgium and Germany. Brewery tours, cheese tours, tulips in the spring. Hiking. - Sep 2020
Visit the beautiful city of Dinant, about an hour from Brussels. Take the chocolate making workshop at Laurent Gerbaud in Brussels. Visit the new Wolf Food Hall in downtown, a fun upscale food court. Get the book "Hidden Brussels" for all sorts of recommendations. For great coffee, visit OR Coffee at Place Jourdan. Check out the awesome weekend markets at Place Dumon in Stockel, and at Place Wiener in Watermael-Boitfort. - Mar 2020
Wallibi is a decent amusement park that used to be owned by Six Flags. My kids also love Center Parks. You can find them all over Europe and are a nice break especially in the winter. They are basically fancy camping parks except instead of campers you stay in concrete little bungalows. There is a huge indoor waterpark that is included in the price and then there are a ton of extras from paintball to water skiing to a sailing. - Feb 2019
See above - Feb 2019
If you like antiques/flea markets, there are "brocantes" all over the place! And they're a good excuse to explore the area. If you're into WWI and WWII history, there are loads of museums, battlefields, etc. - May 2018
Not many gems stay hidden in the internet age. Visiting other cities in the area, eating food, drinking beer, etc. are all great things to do. - Jan 2018
Too many to count - museums, beach, historical sites (like Waterloo, Brugges, etc.) forests, river rafting with in reasonable distance, etc etc etc. - Aug 2014
See my entry above on "advantages of living here" - Bouillon, Ghent, Dinant, Maasmechlen, Bruges, Abbaye d'Villers, Oostende, Namur, Liege, Tongeren - the list just goes on... - Jul 2014
Hard to say - there are lots of fun things to do but while Brussels is a relatively nice place to live; this isn't Paris or London! - Apr 2014
Sampling the various types of chocolate, beer and gin throughout the country. Hikes in the Ardennes. Looking for interesting antiques. - Jan 2014
There's soooo much to do and see and you can do it by car, train, or plane. - Jan 2014
Trapist Monk monestaries for beer, chocolate shops, lace shops, frites, waffles, walking in the rain. Leaving the city and seeing Europe. - Oct 2012
Beautiful cycling trips through Flanders, weekends in the Ardennes hills, shopping in Antwerp. - May 2012
You can get anywhere in Europe by train, car, or budget airline. Also, I had low expectations about the city of Brussels and Belgium, but it has pleasantly surprised me. It's a easy place to live and the Belgians are fairly polite in public. The food is excellent. - Jan 2012
Museums, theatre, music venues. - Nov 2011
As mentioned above, the best thing to do in Brussels is to go somewhere else. - Aug 2011
Way too many to enumerate. Seriously. There is something happening at least every weekend in Brussels and Beyond. You will NEVER be bored here. Ever. - Jul 2011
Museums, art galleries, restaurants, cafes. - Jun 2011
Travel, check out festivals, go shopping - Jun 2011
Food, beer, chocolate, museums, clubs, bars, parks. Short train rides to Antwerp, Gent, Leuven or Brugges. - Jun 2010
Tourism, art, movies. So much to do. - Jun 2010
Sightsee, eat, go to museums, travel. - Mar 2010
Museums, battlefields, shopping, biking, hiking, and the list goes on. If you are bored here then you are not trying. - Jul 2009
