I%26#39;m staying at the Radisson SAS EU hotel for the weekend in a couple of weeks and looking for some help/advice. I%26#39;ve been looking online but I%26#39;m getting a bit confused with all the information available!!
Is there a tram/bus/metro station near the hotel and if so how near?
Can anyone recommend...
...a good place for breakfast as I%26#39;m not paying 25euros in the hotel?
...some good places for a meal that isn%26#39;t just seafood/mussels and that isn%26#39;t going to break the bank?
...a bar or bars that has a good selection of beers, is a bit traditional but isn%26#39;t going to be jammed with tourists?
...anywhere that we should go apart from the obvious places ie Atomium, Grand Place. Can be a bit out of town. Would be nice to do something a little different to every other tourist.
...any of the parks particularly nicer than the others? Guess this only applies if the weather is good!!
Not asking for much am I! :o)
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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There are two metro stations nearby called Maelbeek and Trone (5 mins walk) as well as numerous bus stops on Place du Luxembourg, which is just a minute from the hotel.
There is a little cafe/restaurant on Place du Luxembourg called Au Tout Bon, which I have heard is quite good and reasonable, although I have never eaten there myself.
The best restaurants and bars are in the city centre. For restaurants, try around the Grand Place, you will be spoiled for choice. For bars, try the St. Gery area which is just behind Place Bourse and not far from the Grand Place. Bars I would recommend are Le Bison, Mezzo and Mapamundos.
If you get a chance, pay a visit to both the Military and Automobile musem in Parc du Cinquantenaire (Metro station Merode)
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1) Neither Trône on line 2 nor Maelbeek on line 1 are all that close, especially if you have luggage, they are both about 10 minutes%26#39; walk from your hotel. If you come on the Eurostar you will arrive at Gare du Midi: your best bet from there is the no. 27 bus which starts from outside the station (follow signs to %26quot;rue couverte%26quot; and once outside, turn left; but you might want to go down to the metro station to buy multi-trip tickets from the machines there as there are none next to the bus-stop - you can buy individual tickets on the bus but for €2 instead of €1.50) and stops in Place du Luxembourg just around the corner from your hotel (stop is called Luxembourg, the stop before it is Meeus and the one before that, Trône). You could also take a train (e.g. to Luxembourg!) which will stop at Gare centrale, Gare du nord, Schuman and then Gare du Luxembourg which is right next to the Radisson SAS EU. Loads of buses stop in Place du Luxembourg but no trams. Here%26#39;s the transport network map: http://www.stib.irisnet.be/FR/34000F.htm
For train timetable you would fill in (from) Bruxelles-Midi and (to) Bruxelles-Luxembourg on here: http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/ ; your ticket to Brussels should be valid to any railway station in Brussels so you wouldn%26#39;t need to pay for this trip.
2) The Place du Luxembourg is full of cafés and restaurants, Le Tout Bon is on the corner of the square and rue du Luxembourg, I also like the Leopold (café belonging to the Hotel Léopold) in rue du Luxembourg. There is also Arthur%26#39;s right opposite your hotel but I am not sure if it is open on weekends.
3) For Belgian beers, although it is now run by an (English-speaking) Pole, I recommend Beermania, not far from your hotel. Coming out of the hotel, walk left to the traffic lights, cross the street (rue de Trône) and walk left again 1 block to L%26#39;Horloge du Sud, then turn right (Ch. de Wavre), follow the street to the right and it is just after the bend, see www.beermania.be.
3) and 4) It depends on what sort of parks you like, but I like the Parc de la Woluwe which also qualifies as being off the beaten tourist track. If you fancy a 3-5 km walk you can take the metro to Stockel (e.g. from Maelbeek), come out of the BACK of the station (up the steps) and follow the trail that lies before you. After 3 km the trail crosses the Avenue de Tervueren, where if you are tired you can take a tram (39/44 from in front of the Tram Museum) back to Montgomery and get back on the metro, or if you cross the Avenue you will be in Parc de la Woluwe (which, therefore, you could also reach directly by tram from Montgomery to a stop called Chien Vert). The trail ends near Demey metro station (turn left at the end and you can%26#39;t miss it) from which you can return to Maelbeek, or wherever.
It is also fun to take the no. 44 tram from Montgomery to Tervuren (it goes through the Forêt de Soignes), where you can visit the Africa Museum or just walk around in its park. You can get to Montgomery on the metro from Maelbeek, direction Stockel.
Another thing a lot of tourists miss is to go up the Cinquantenaire archway (nearest metro, Mérode), which is free. Entrance from inside the Military Museum, which is also free: once inside, turn left and I think the lift is signposted with something not immediately obvious like %26quot;panorama%26quot;. The lift takes you to the 4th floor then there is a staircase. View is not that fantastic but there aren%26#39;t many places in Brussels where you can get that high up.
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Thank you both very much for your suggestions. I shall print them off and take them with me :)
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