My husband and I will be visiting Brussels for three days in early May. We will be staying at the Hilton (boulevard de waterloo). From what I gather this hotel is not very central, but I was hoping that it was in walking distance of areas of interest (Grand Place, Le Sablon etc). Could someone give us a bit of an idea of what to expect and what the area is like (buzzing with shops, restaurants and bars, or maybe more like a desolate island of concrete hotels)? Is it reasonably safe at night time?
We%26#39;re planning on taking the train from the airport to take us into Brussels city centre. Does anyone know what station best to get off, and how far the walk is to the hotel?
And last but not least, any tips from locals or visitors about informal eating places? I%26#39;m thinking small, intimate, candlelight, interesting decor, nice plain food (with at least a vegetarian option or two)... I know in Holland you have the eetcafe%26#39;s - anything similar in Brussels?
Thank you - Silvy
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Take the train to Zuid station and then the metro to Louise/Louiza. 3 stops...A Jump ticket costs 1.50 eur. The hotel is a rather large tower block as you surface. You can%26#39;t miss it!
It is a 5 minute walk to the Sablon across a samll park and down a few side streets. Eat at Wittamaer for cakes! Stare at Pierre Marcolini%26#39;s chocolates and buy them at the in-hotel boutique. Good nightclub next door to hotel - a bit posh. Opposite the best shopping street in Brussels - Avenue Louise. Plenty of all sorts of restaurants there or in Sablon area. If it%26#39;s Friday/Saturday eve just pop in one you fancy and book a table.
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Thanks Marmotte for your wonderful advice!
I assume a jump ticket means it%26#39;s both valid on the train from airport to Zuid and on the metro, and can be bought at the airport?
Again, much appreciated!
Silvy
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Forgot to say: if you want gourmet food try the Maison du Boeuf restaurant in the Hilton. It lost it%26#39;s Michelin star, mainly because of the service I think but the food is excellent. it is a bit formal but still good value. Also avoid at all costs rue de Boucher near the Grande Place. It is a tiny narrow street full of tourist pavement cafe traps. Have a walk down it for the entertainment but don%26#39;t eat. Overpriced tourist junk with typical ripoff menus that never really exist. However, %26#39;t Kelderke at the top of the Grande Place, whilst being a bit touristy is actually very good for typical Flemish food and not badly priced. I would stick around the Sablon, though for well priced food where locals eat.
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%26quot;I assume a jump ticket means it%26#39;s both valid on the train from airport to Zuid and on the metro, and can be bought at the airport?%26quot;
I don%26#39;t know why you would make this assumption, and in fact it is incorrect - there are several JUMP tickets (for 1, 5 and 10 trips) which are essentially issued by Brussels city transport (STIB/MIVB) - metro, buses and trams - but while they CAN be used on Belgian Railways (SNCB), this is only within the city limit and Brussels Airport is outside it, in Flanders.
Therefore you would need to buy a Belgian Railways (SNCB) ticket for the trip from the airport, which I believe costs 2.80 EUR: the airport train stops first at Gare du Nord, then Gare centrale, then Gare du Midi and the last-named is the only one on metro line 2 to Louise which is the closest metro station to your hotel. However when you change to the metro (i.e. to the city transport system), you would have to buy a ticket for 1.50 EUR for a single trip, or any of the multi-trip etc. options offered by the machines and ticket desks in Gare du Midi metro station. In other words, for this option the total journey cost airport - Louise is 4.30 EUR.
Alternatively, the STIB airport BUS ticket (3 EUR) is valid for transfers to other STIB buses, metros and trams within 60 minutes of first punching the card on the bus, but to use this to get to Louise you would have to get off the bus at Schuman, take metro line 1 from there to Arts-Loi (Direction Erasme/Roi Baudouin, 2 stops), and change there onto metro line 2 (Direction Delacroix, 3 stops) to Louise. Here is the metro map http://www.stib.irisnet.be/FR/31000F.htm
As for restaurants, the Sablon is not far from your hotel and is full of them, or you might like the Amadeus in rue Veydt:
www.resto.be/ware/details.jsp?businessid=68
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Thanks for setting me straight, Gaminari. I visited the Planitram website, explaining the public transport fares in Brussels. I was unaware that Brussels Airport was outside city limits - my bad.
Thanks for your tip on the Amadeus.
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