On Sunday I am leaving Amsterdam to Brussels at 7am and returning to Amsterdam at 9pm same day. Can someone recommend which train to take ( Eurostar, Thalys, or InterCity), What station is best to get off in Brussels? What to see ? Since a lot of restaraunts are closed on Sunday, Would anyone recommend where to have breakfast, lunch and dinner? In addition, is there any bus tours available on Sunday?
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thank you,
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In your other post, you mentioned that you%26#39;d be travelling in April, so I%26#39;m assuming that it is not the next Sunday, March 25, on which you wish to travel.
Using April 23 as a date to check rail times (too avoid all the complications that arise near Easter) ....
Leaving Amsterdam Centraal at 07:26 on the Intercity train you will arrive at Brussels Central at 10:21 . No changes required. The Thalys and Eurostar require reservations and have additional costs that make them unsuitable for such a journey.
Leaving Brussels Central on the 20:39 Intercity you will arrive back in Amsterdam at 23:38 . No changes required. Since the trams and Metro close down a bit after midnight, this train option lets you use public transport to get to your lodgings.
Leaving Brussels Central one hour later on the 21:39 Intercity gets you into Amsterdam at 01:15 and requires 2 changes. Because of the changes it takes longer than the 20:39 train.
This information was obtained from www.bahn.de .
For a one day visit the Central station is the best. Click on %26quot;Brussels Attractions%26quot; to the left or check out a guide book for suggestions on what to see. If you have any special interests or hobbies, you might ask the group whether those interests have a venue in Brussels.
You%26#39;ll be on the train during breakfast, so eat a hearty breakfast at your hotel (if offered) or pick up some items when you are at the Amsterdam rail station. There are numerous restaurants almost anywhere you turn in Brussels. Pick one that is crowded during the normal meal times and you should be happy. I figure the crowd probably knows something. Note that the menu is always posted out front or in a window and you can check it for prices to avoid any nasty surprises.
As you exit the Brussels Central station look for the Meridien hotel. That is the correct direction in order to find the Grand Place and numerous bus tours are offered from that area.
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Eurostar does not go from Amsterdam to Brussels anyway - it is linked with Eurotunnel so can only travel between Brussels/Paris and London. As has been said, InterCity trains are best but as has not been said, one reason is that you can get off and on these at the central station which is only 5 minutes from the Grand%26#39; Place. Thalys starts/terminates at Gare du Midi so you would have to take a local train one stop between there and Gare centrale, or else the underground tram (pre-metro) to/from Bourse. The hop-on, hop-off buses start outside the Gare centrale but you would not have missed anything by getting on at Bourse instead (on the Falstaff side) since the buses cannot go into the Grand%26#39; Place (or, of course, the Galeries St. Hubert), you would have to do this on foot.
It is difficult to recommend where you should have lunch and dinner (you won%26#39;t want to wait until you arrive in Brussels for breakfast, surely? It%26#39;s 3 hours on the train..) without knowing whereabouts you are likely to be in Brussels at these times, and it is impossible to recommend where you should be without knowing what sort of things interest you, but if you want coffee when you arrive I would suggest somewhere in the Grand%26#39; Place e.g. Aroma, opposite the Town Hall (unless you want somewhere more traditional e.g. La Brouette on the narrow end of the square near Aroma).
For lunch, and (if you have time) dinner, perhaps Arcadi at the end of the Galeries St. Hubert, that is to say the opposite end from the entrance by the Grand%26#39; Place, or else La Taverne du Passage in the gallery itself, but I do not second the recommendation to %26quot; go where the crowds are%26quot;: in the tourist area of Brussels this could lead you to the rue des Bouchers and petite rue des Bouchers which are full of first-time visitors and which (with the exception of Chez Léon, Aux Armes de Bruxelles and some others that do not employ barkers to get you in) are certainly not full of locals. Actually if you look at previous questions and answers on this very subject you will find lots of recommendations.
As far as dinner is concerned, if you want to be back in Amsterdam by 21:00 you would have to be on a train by 18:00 (if there is one) and as dinner is not usually served in Brussels until 19:00, if you want to eat around 16:30, this would have to be somewhere like La Taverne du Passage or Chez Léon that serve meals continuously from lunch-time till around midnight. Alternatively, you could have afternoon tea somewhere, e.g. the best waffles in Brussels at Dandoy in the rue de l%26#39;Etuve, one block from the Grand%26#39; Place on the street leading from there to the Mannekin Pis (which begins with the bronze bas relief of T%26#39;Serclaes). They also serve things like quiches there.
If by %26quot;on Sunday%26quot; you mean tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be much better than today and if you have time to visit the Sablon area it is nice to sit at one of the terrace cafés there, especially outside Wittamer. The art and antique shops in that area and the furniture etc. shops in the nearby Marolles (rue Haute and rue Blaes) are all open on Sundays because of the antiques market in the Sablon, although you will be too late for the flea market in Place du Jeu de Balles.
I also highly recommend the Musical Instrument Museum, which has a roof-top café with a great view of Brussels. The nearby Musée des Beaux Arts also has a number of cafés and restaurants which you can use without having to pay to enter the museum.
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This is really helpful, guys. I appreciate you recomendations even though I haven%26#39;t specified my interests, but I am pretty much flexible and open for anything.
I decided to go to Brussel on April 16 ( Sunday) since I am traveling to Denmark on Tuesday April 18, I thought Sunday would be better to see Brussels in case something unpredictable happens ( train delays, etc)
On the other hand, if you think Monday would be better, I will change my plans.
Thank you all,
Taya
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I have to repeat, it depends on what you want to do! Shops are closed on Sundays (except in the Sablon area as mentioned), while most museums are closed on Mondays. So if you want to go shopping, you would be better off coming on a Monday, whereas if you want to visit any of the museums (or their cafés/restaurants), you would have to come on a Sunday. You won%26#39;t have any problem whatsoever finding restaurants open in the Grand%26#39; Place area on a Sunday OR a Monday (but a lot of things in the Sablon area close on Monday because of being open on Sunday..).
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I had lots of these same questions - this was really helpful, thanks!
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