Top 17 Places to visit in Brussels

A little disappointing but nevertheless a good view

This iconic landmark of Belgium is hard to miss.

The atomium was the atomium… designed for the 1958 Brussels World Fair, it is a series of spheres that form a replica of a unit cell or iron crystal. If you venture up into it, you are provided with a panoramic view of Brussels.

You won’t find better cup-cake shop than Lilicup! It's the best of the best, la creme de la creme. Lilicup a.k.a the cutest doll house in town is located in the Chatelain area and surrounded by a selection a very cool independant shops like you can only find in Brussels. LYA loved the details of the fine dishes, the little piece of home made cookie on the side of the tea, the impressive list of different teas (jasmin, green, red, black…) and the fact that you can choose a big or small cupcake! Are you convinced yet? Go get some cozyness and crave your sugar rush with some Lilicup delicacies ^^

This avenue is well reputed in the capital and is often called the “Belgian Champs Elysees”. This large and long avenue is full of shops and international brands but is also hosting the most luxurious names such as Tiffany & Co, Hermes, Dior etc… There are also several nightclubs in the area. So as you see, many of its characteristics match the French Champs Elysees.

This Belgian brand is quite similar to what A&F offers but tends to be even more casual. The prices are more or less similar to A&F also, even though it is a little more “sportswear”.

The flea market at Place du Jeu de Balle on a Sunday is definitely, definitely worth checking out. It is a super quaint place, filled with dainty antique shops and there were some amazing things. If I could have brought it all home, I would have bought everything!!

Newly opened in the Belgian Capital! Worth a look inside and a picture with the male models but the prices are of course much higher than in the US and the collections are more restricted. Mainly basic pieces available.

This worldwide famous chain is Belgian! So of course you can imagine that they are present all over the country! In this restaurant you can both have lunch or breakfast or BRUNCH! I often go there when I am in town and never regretted it! Last time I tested the brunch with my friends and we all absolutely loved it! The decor is cozy, warm and traditional. I love to have lunch there and usually order the “chevre speculoos crumble salad” accompanied with a fresh home-made raspberry lemonade ;-) Prices are fair and service quite efficient. If you’re planning on going there for the Brunch, don’t go too late otherwise you might have to face the crowd and overwhelmed staff! Also for lunch time, if you go too late (around 1:30/2:00), all the dishes may not be available any more cause everything is fresh.

OMG the waffles are a must have, Soft yummy goodness topped with cream and strawberries or Nutella. Without the trip is incomplete!

This place has an amazing feel to it. The buildings, the small lanes and the open area between the 4 sides is all breath taking

Surrounded by scores of restaurants,ancient buildings...This place certainly has an old worlds charm.

Chocolates and Belgium cannot be separated. The chocolates of this place are so delicious specially the hazelnut encrusted bar

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula is just awesome. So huge and grand from the outside and so gothic and spectral from the inside. Built in 1047, this cathdral now serves the Archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels.

The next day started out predictably slow; it was a chore to wake up and not wish I was at home in bed but I got up anyways. We had barely scratched the surface of the beers we could consume but first I needed waffles. Waffles are all over Brussels and we decided to head back down to Grand Place to grab some (getting lost once again in the process). We ended up at the St. Hubertus Royal Gallery and grabbed some traditional waffles at Le Mokafe. There is just something so satisfying about a waffle covered in powdered sugar and is the best hangover cure you are going to get in Brussels.

My roommates and I called the bar our Harry Potter Bar because it was down a little brick alley which we attributed to Diagon Alley. The name of the bar is actually Au Bon Vieux Temps which is “In Good Old Time” in English and the bar has been around since 1695. It is an awesome little bar with a lot of history and a ton of great Belgian beers. The menu is just beer and wine and I would definitely go here for the specialty Belgian Beers. It’s a fun, small, dark bar to hang out in and drink with the locals. Also since it is dark inside you don’t feel as bad drinking beer in the middle of the day (and it’s a cultural experience as well). We tried a few traditional Belgian beers and then we saw “The Best Beer in the World” listed on the menu. It was a Trappist ale called Westvleteren and it was delicious. Only eight monasteries brew beer which can be called Trappist beer so any time you see Trappist beers I would order them no matter what. It is actually quite rare even in Brussels to find this particular beer in a bar as the monastery only sells their beer in small quantities from the monastery itself. So make your way to Au Bon Vieux Temps and have yourself a super rare beer, it’s totally worth it.

After waffles it was time to get back on the beer wagon and just on the other side of the Royal Gallery is Mort Subite, a bar that has been around since the 1920s. Mort Subite is French for sudden death and the bar and the brewery took on this name because the local bankers would come into the bar after work and play a dice game. The final game of the night was finished with “mort subite” or sudden death. Mort Subite is a brewery that specializes in Gueze, a sour beer, and lambics or fruit beers. Now before Brussels if you had offered me a fruit beer I would have declined and if it was a Belgian fruit beer you had offered me it would have been a huge mistake. Belgian fruit beers are amazing! I was first converted by Delirium Red, a cherry fruit beer, and then I couldn’t stop. I had more fruit beer in Brussels in a week than some people may think possible but they are delicious. None of them were sickly sweet and had just the right amount of actual fruit taste. While there are many fruit beers, Mort Subite wins in my opinion. They have a peach beer which is definitely my favorite, but the cherry and raspberry are delicious as well. So Alex and I had a few fruit beers at first but while we were sitting in the beer hall which has not changed since 1928 we overheard people talking about Gueze. Apparently the Gueze is a double fermented sour beer and you either love sour beer or you hate it.

This typically Belgian brand can be found everywhere in Brussels. The style is both casual and vintage. It is quite an interesting boutique to be discovered but the prices are expensive considering the style of the clothes. Concerning the shoes, there are 2 or 3 “galleries” in which you can go and that are full of shoes shops ! There is a lot of choice !!!

The miniatures tell a tale-magnanimity doesn't matter.