Day in Brussels...Worth it?

my boyfriend and i are planning a trip to europe this summer and we are starting with 4 days in amsterdam and heading to paris for 5 days, before heading south to spain.

i would like to stop in brussels on the way from amsterdam to paris--hope off the train, have lunch, wander around a bit then get back on and head to paris that night.

i have heard that brussels is beautiful and a must see. i figure we%26#39;re in the area, so why not...but i haven%26#39;t gotten a sence that there is so much there that we should stay over night.

is it worth it to do soemthing like this?

also are there places in the station to lock up our packs?

thanks so much!

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If you are coming by Thalys, you will arrive at the Gare du Midi, and should catch a local train one stop to Gare centrale; if you are coming by InterCity train this is better as, it stops at Gare centrale anyway. You can do the highlights of Brussels in a day, as the Grand%26#39; Place is only 5 minutes (downhill) from Gare centrale, the Galeries St. Hubert are close by, and if you must see the Manneken Pis, it%26#39;s also less than 10 minutes walk from the Grand%26#39; Place. Of course you won%26#39;t have time for any museums but if there is nothing you particularly want to see that won%26#39;t be a problem. There are good restaurants in the Galeries St. Hubert (e.g. La Taverne du Passage) and near the Grand%26#39; Place, e.g. Aux Pavés de Bruxelles one block away down the street that leads to the Manneken Pis. On the opposite corner you have Dandoy whose upstairs café is the best place in Brussels for waffles.

Yes there are both lockers and left-luggage offices (%26quot;consigne%26quot;) at the railway stations and the cost is comparable, it is something over €3 per piece for a certain number of hours.

I do definitely think it is worth stopping off in Brussels to see the Grand%26#39; Place, as you are passing through the city anyway. At the moment it takes 3 hours on the train between Amsterdam and Brussels and only 1 1/2 between Brussels and Paris, although the distance is almost the same; but the Amsterdam-Brussels link will get faster when the high-speed line comes into operation for Thalys, sometime later this year.

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AppleBrooklyn

You really must stop off in Brussels, if for nothing else to stand in the Grand Place and take in the atmosphere. To my mind, it%26#39;s the most beautiful square in the whole of Europe by a very wide margin!

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hi.

it is such a wonderful city!you must definatelly see it for yourself.

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Definitely worth it, I would even consider spending a night at Brussels so you can go to Bruges.

Grand Place is right off Gare Central and worth an afternoon if you want to make it a pitstop. Mont des Arts is a short walk from there and worthwhile, imho.

There%26#39;s storage at Central, both lockers and a storage place.

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