A short visit in Belgium

I’ll never understand why travellers will go from Paris and Amsterdam, and go right through Belgium. Although less popular than other European capitals, Belgium will capture you with its whimsical and laidback style. Whether it’s getting an authentic Belgian beer from a local pub or exploring the museum of art in Bruges, you’re sure to feel at ease in Belgium.

In this article, I’ll be showing you around two of the cities I visited in Belgium- Brussels and Bruges. We will start with Brussels - the capital of Belgium, with museums, excellent beer and a pissing man statue.

As soon as we got to Brussels, I was eager to start exploring and with the sunsetting, we headed out quickly to the main square with hopes of finding a Belgian waffle shop.

The main building in the square is so beautiful, and the gold really stood out with the sunset in the background. Spinning around in the square, you’ll see some of the most beautiful buildings in Brussels, with authentic Belgian chocolate shops lining the square’s edges.

Something I love about Europe is the central squares in cities, whether it’s Trafalgar Square in London or the Piazza San Marco in Venice, it’s a meeting place for people and usually boasts the city's most spectacular buildings.

Belgium is no different. In the square itself, there were locals everywhere sitting down and chatting or dancing and listening to music. The next morning, we met a local tour guide at the square again. By day, the square took on a different energy completely as it filled with tour groups and tourists. To get a great look at the square and capture some photos, I’d recommend going at sunset.

We started off the next day with another Belgian waffle for breakfast because when you’re only in Belgium for a few days, it’s almost mandatory to eat a waffle every time you’re hungry. From the main square, if you walk towards the “Pissing Man statue”, there are waffle shops galore. The one right by the statue is inexpensive.

The Manneken Pis or Pissing Man statue is quite small but you’ll see replicated versions of it in shops all over the city. The Brussels City Museum even has a Manneken Pis costume. You can pretty much get any souvenir item possible with a picture of this statue on it. Although it’s not much to look at, it’s worth seeing just to say you’ve done it.

Everything in Brussels was walkable and although metro is available, it was easier for us to just walk rather than trying to figure out the transport system. All the sights we say were within a thirty minute walk from the main square, maximum.

The Palace of Brussels is behind these museums, including the adjacent Park of Brussels. The  Park is bound to be filled with locals lounging and kids playing, it’s naturally spacious and an easy area to cut through to walk to your next destination.

A short walk from the park is the European Union buildings, which have their base in Brussels. The buildings cannot be entered, however I found it cool to see the place where some of European Union’s decisions take place. The area has notable statues that detail some of the history of the EU and a piece of the Berlin Wall.

The top two highlights of Brussels for me were the main square and the next place we stopped- the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. This stunning church is just off from the main old town, making it easily accessible. The grandness of it, complete with art inside, was spectacular.

All the sights I’ve mentioned above are close enough that you could do it all in one day, and still have time to stop for a bite to eat along the way. If you’re staying for a long time or the weather is bad, I’d recommend heading to one of the museums near the central station. All the museums are in the same area including MOOF for retro cartoon figures, Brussels City Museum mentioned above, the chocolate museum, the BELvue Museum of Belgian history and democracy, the Musical Instruments Museum, a fine arts museum, the Belgium Jewish Museum, the Museum of Erotics and Mythology, and the famous Magritte Museum. Magritte is a renowned Belgian artist, with a surrealist style resembling Dali.

After all this sightseeing, it’s important to take some time to do as the Belgians do and sit down for a pint of beer. Belgians are known throughout the world for their beer, and it will not disappoint. One of the oldest pubs in the city is near the city square, titled A La Mort Subite or Sudden Death. It’s decorated so you feel transported back to the 1920s and the beer has the same traditional and authentic Belgian flavor. For a light drink, I tried the Raspberry Beer from A La Mort Subite and it was delightful.

After exploring Brussels for a day, we took a quick train ride to Bruges.

Bruges is a smaller city but is gaining tourist’s attention, and for good reason. The Bruges Old Town is a UNESCO world heritage site, with buildings dating around the 16th century. If you look closely at some, they will even have the date they were built on them. Needless to say, walking through Bruges is like walking through a museum.

One of the first things we did in Bruges was hop on a boat tour around the city’s canals. It seemed very touristy so we were skeptical but found the tour to be educational and allowed us to see the city from a completely different angle. If you can get by the corny jokes of the boat driver, it’s well worth it to learn a bit about Bruges’ history.

Like Brussels, Bruges’ main square is a sight to marvel at. This square, however, is more busy as it also has horse carriages and the occasional vehicle driving through it. On certain days, the square is transformed into a local market with flowers, meats, and of course - waffles.

When in Bruges, it’s a must to rent bikes. It’s not as dangerous as other European places, because Bruges has so many little side streets to explore. My favourite part about the bike ride was heading out to the city wall, and biking through the green space there that borders the canal and has some of the traditional windmills. Off the square and in a hotel is Bruges Bike Rental, which is the only place we saw that had bikes available for rent.  

We also went to the Historium Brugge in the main square. I’d recommend this for kids and families as the interactive experience and story is built for that audience. As visitors walk through the museum, there are various videos that detail the story of two young people growing up in Bruges.

Bruges has plenty of museums including the Frietmuseum, The Archeological Museum, Bruges Beer Museum, and Salvidor Dali Exhibition.

Bruges also has plenty of places to go for a traditional beer, some with patios along the canals. I loved the cozy feel of the Half Moon Brewery. Some of my favourite Belgian beers were Kwak, Brugse Zot, and Hoegaarden. Belgium is seriously a beer lover’s dream.

If you are staying in Bruges, be sure to book in the old town section. It’s an extremely safe city, and our host recommended going for a stroll at night to see the city at dark. At night, you’ll notice different things about the interesting historic buildings and get to explore without many tourists around.

Just walking around Bruges and exploring the streets is interesting. Each building has a different historical story. Our tour guide from the boat tour told us that some houses will have their windows covered over. This was because, at one point in Bruges’ history, they were taxed based on the amount of windows they had. So, to pay less tax the windows were covered up. Although the tax is long gone, the window coverings, among other points of interest, are nods to the history that lives on today through the well maintained city of Bruges.

Belgium is a place that took me by surprise. I had no expectations for this place, and it truly left me wanting to go back. I certainly think Belgium has a lot to offer and in just a few days, these two cities are sure to impress even a seasoned traveller. Exploring European cities is great but imagine adding in traditional and world famous beers, chocolate, and waffles. That’s what exploring Belgium is like, it combines the exquisite historical buildings and museums with the relaxing pub culture.