Safety in Brussels

Any tips on crime? I will be visiting from December 22nd to 26th and was wondering what things are like at night time?

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Brussels is a pretty safe city though it does have its problems with pickpockets in the tourist populated areas.

The main area to avoid is the neighborhood around Gare du Midi (Brussels South Station). This is the station you would arrive in if you take the Eurostar train and there have been issues reported of aggressive pickpockets and muggings. However I take the train from there all the time and have never had a problem. As long as you keep an eye on your things, you should be fine.

In the evening the area around the Grand Place and the Sablon are quite safe. Also around Place Stephanie/Avenue Louise/Chausee de Waterloo if you are having dinner or visiting a pub/bar. Avoid the area (Marolles district) behind the Palais de Justice at night.

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Tips are exactly the same as for London: be streetwise, try not to look like a tourist, don%26#39;t put your wallet in the back pocket of your jeans unless you want to lose it, especially on the metro, and don%26#39;t let sight-seeing distract you from any bags, especially back-packs, and especially (from previous report on here) when there is a crowd around the Manneken Pis. The main crime problems in Brussels are burglary and car-jacking, neither of which affect tourists. I am astonished to read of any need to avoid the Marolles at night, I pass through quite often at night and catch a bus in rue Haute on the way back from dinner there or in the St. Jacques area, and have never experienced or even heard of any crime problems for visitors to that area. Of course there are no guarantees anywhere, at any time, but having no car I regularly walk about the city at night and the only place I have ever felt unsafe was in an area of St. Gilles - the commune containing the Gare du Midi - but even then, nothing actually happened, and I doubt that a tourist would be in that particular area anyway. On the other hand I have twice been pickpocketed in the metro, and I have heard of bag-snatchings in the rue Neuve (main shopping street), in broad daylight!

I would advise you to take precautions to minimise losses in the event of problems, e.g. carry a photocopy of your passport and leave the original in your hotel. It is obligatory in Belgium to carry an official identification document at all times, and if you have to report anything to the Police they won%26#39;t even deal with you without it - including if you are reporting the loss of your passport (you would have to go to the British Embassy first in that case)! Strictly speaking they can detain you for 24 hours if you aren%26#39;t carrying official ID, I have actually known this to happen to a Brit although this is undoubtedly because, when asked to produce it, he was rude to the policeman. In fact, if you do come into contact with a Belgian policeman, mind your attitude - they are not as tolerant of provocative behaviour as British ones and they are armed.

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To clarify on the Marolles, this is the only location where I have ever felt personally at risk in the evening as I was being shadowed by two or three shady characters who used a 10 or 12 year old child to approach me for assitance (a common ruse.). Fortunately as soon as I caught up with my companions they, slank off.

It could have been bad luck on that evening but again, as long as you keep the street smarts Belgium is fine.

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I found Brussels quite safe. I was with my 13 years old brother and even in Gare Midi we didn%26#39;t have any problems.

You have of course to watch out yous stuff and as in any other place small or big, and avoid small alleys.

Have a really nice time and Meryy Christmas

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Well, I tend to believe that Brussels is not that safe as claimed by the locals. Of course, if you ask any local people in any country, they tend to tell you that their country or city is basically safe, which unfortunately is not what you are going to experience as a tourist. My wife and I just stayed for 3 and a half days in Belgium including Brussels, Bruges and Ghent. Brussels is the only a-bit-rough city I experienced among the three. The day time is basically ok as long as you keep sufficient precaution. However, I felt that the %26#39;clock%26#39; in Belgium is around one or two hours later than any European countries. Around 9 o%26#39;clock in the morning a lot of times you can%26#39;t find people in the some metro stations. This means that you need to be a bit careful in some rough areas in the city even at 9, especially at weekend. At night, Gare du Midi and Gare Du Nord area should be avoided. City center also has some strange folks late at night (after 9:30). We assumed that it was safe there, but we were wrong. A friend of mine who had been living in Brussels for one year parked his car in the city center. We had a nice dinner in the famous dining street. When we got out around 9:50 at night, we were followed by some young guys until the parking lot. They even planed some strategies to rob us. We were saved at last by the cameras and also perhaps by God, or luck. Anyhow we managed to get out, but definitely horrified. So, be careful about Brussels at night. I have visited most of the major European capitals. Brussles is one I would recommend not to walk around at night unless you know for sure the circumstances. I talked with some people in Brussels and were told that there are several parties fighting for the election then and consequently the safety issue was neglected. In day time just keep sufficient attention to your bags. If you really want to experience the Belgium culture, I can recommend some very nice cities like Ghent and Bruges (extremely safe).

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Well, I tend to believe that Brussels is not that safe as claimed by the locals. Of course, if you ask any local people in any country, they tend to tell you that their country or city is basically safe, which unfortunately is not what you are going to experience as a tourist. My wife and I just stayed for 3 and a half days in Belgium including Brussels, Bruges and Ghent. Brussels is the only a-bit-rough city I experienced among the three. The day time is basically ok as long as you keep sufficient precaution. However, I felt that the %26#39;clock%26#39; in Belgium is around one or two hours later than any European countries. Around 9 o%26#39;clock in the morning a lot of times you can%26#39;t find people in the some metro stations. This means that you need to be a bit careful in some rough areas in the city even at 9, especially at weekend. At night, Gare du Midi and Gare Du Nord area should be avoided. City center also has some strange folks late at night (after 9:30). We assumed that it was safe there, but we were wrong. A friend of mine who had been living in Brussels for one year parked his car in the city center. We had a nice dinner in the famous dining street. When we got out around 9:50 at night, we were followed by some young guys until the parking lot. They even planed some strategies to rob us. We were saved at last by the cameras and also perhaps by God, or luck. Anyhow we managed to get out, but definitely horrified. So, be careful about Brussels at night. I have visited most of the major European capitals. Brussles is one I would recommend not to walk around at night unless you know for sure the circumstances. I talked with some people in Brussels and were told that there are several parties fighting for the election then and consequently the safety issue was neglected. In day time just keep sufficient attention to your bags. If you really want to experience the Belgium culture, I can recommend some very nice cities like Ghent and Bruges (extremely safe).

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I agree with LEE800180, Brussels is quite unsafe.

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Well without any specifics to tell us why, you don%26#39;t give your opinion much weight.

Personally, on 3 visits, in the city center, even late at night, I never had a problem of any kind.

It%26#39;s like any other big city, there are beggars here and there, drunks here and there, people out to steal your belongings here or there.

Brussels, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin...

On two of my visits I was on my own walking around. No problem, day or night, not even walking around the dreaded Gare Midi area. Maybe because it was daytime lol.

Now that we%26#39;ve heard from the one person who almost got robbed, perhaps I can be the first of the millions who did NOT get robbed to post...

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Have, actually, read a bit on other forums that the level of muggings might be a notch higher in Brussels than, say, Paris. One report was provided by a corporate/business type who has lived and worked in Brussels (also London and elsewhere) and gave details of personal experience. You might search Fodors Europe forum.

I think many travelers are in vacation mode or maybe a little naive and discount the notion that large cities may harbor criminal activity, although certainly not to the extent one can experience in the good ole USA. The fact that many, many people haven%26#39;t seen or felt it doesn%26#39;t mean it doesn%26#39;t happen.

So the usual advice - avoid deserted-looking areas, safeguard your belongings, and usually stay away from train station areas. Not always true, but often true.

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Irishfan,

actually in another Brussels thread I elaborated with details, situations, just yesterday.

However the whole thread disappeared... the inital post was

detailing a list of things to avoid or beware of in Brussels

I just added addition items on the list %26quot;avoid/beware%26quot;, explained how I personally witnessed failed muggings and the technique used by thieves and the lack of assistance from the local police.

Talk about heavy handed censorship on tripadvisor...