Brussels, Belgium

Went to Brussels for a day trip with Mimi. Its only an hour train ride from Paris. But since I bought the France Rail Pass, I decided to stop at Lille which is still in France but even closer to Brussels and take the Eurostar from Lille to Brussels. Cause by doing this, I only need to pay 3 euros for my reservation from Paris to Lille (since I have the rail pass) and 26euros for my Eurostar from Lille to Brussels. So my return ticket is only 58euros. If I take the train directly from Paris to Brussels, it will cost me around 100-120 euros return.... muahahahah so glad I bought the rail pass!!

Since its a day trip, I don't know how much I can cover and I'm really lousy with maps!! The garmin is not really helpful when you are walking and not driving!! Plus, I'm travelling with my mimi! When we arrived Brussels it started snowing lightly.... like now you see some snow falling now you don't kind....

Our first stop, outside the Bourse, a historical building in central Brussels which was home to the Brussels Stock Exchange since 1801

Then after that, we went to the Grand Place which is right behind the Bourse. The Grand Place is arguably one of the most magnificent squares in the world! It is surrounded by historical buildings all astonishing on its own!

If you face the Brussels Town Hall, you will see the Guild Houses on you right.

Guild Houses

The moving clockwise, you will see The House of the King (Maison du Roi) but no Kings have ever lived there!

Maison du Roi which is now a museum!

Then next is The House of the Duke of Brabant, an elegant old building.

No dukes ever stayed here too!







More guild houses

Further down you will see the Town Hall.

The town hall's gothic tower is an icon of Brussels and can be seen from around the city (due to its height!)

There is pretty nothing much to do at the square except gazing in awe at the parametric view. After we are done with pictures, we walked towards the Galleries Royales St. Hubert which is an exclusive shopping mall near the Grand Place.

Belgium Chocolates!!

After that we decided to have lunch and went to Rue des Bouchers to look for this restaurant recommended by my sis and also quite a few websites. Its actually in this street full of restaurants! Many guidebooks actually advise not to go to this street if you want real Belgium food cause those restaurants are mainly visited by tourists! BUT, except for Aux Armes de Bruxelles!! This restaurant is almost 90 years old and serves Belgium cooking that combines traditional cuisine with great quality.

At Rue des Bouchers




Yummy yummy cheesy cheese croquettes as appetizer


How can you go to Brussels and not eat mussels. A bucket of fresh mussels complete with moules frites. The mussels soup is extremely delicious! Mimi love it to bits!


The super delicious beef carbonnade - beef stewed in beer. The gravy is really super tasty!!


Me, very happy with my lunch


Believe it or not this is the best creme caramel that I've eaten!! Even much much better than the Ipoh one!! This one is really creamy, thick and smooth!! Yumz to the max!!


My mum say even the coffee is really good

Then when we came out from the restaurant, this was what greeted us. The snow got heavier and the whole city has turned white!

See the grand place is so different from the photos we took earlier! The blue christmas tree is all covered with snow....

After that, we went to see Manneken Pis, Brussels' favourite character - a small bronze statue of a boy urinating!

Me with Manneken Pis

Belgium waffle is a must when you visit Brussels! Lotsa varieties to choose from ;)

But I think the waffle was just ok only. Its a bit hard, not sure if its because of the weather! Cause both my sis who went before said that the waffles were really good!! Or perhaps I just went to the wrong shop!! But then I read that all the waffles stalls are just as good!

After that we took the metro to see the Atomium, the symbol of Brussels like how Eiffel Tower is to Paris. When we came out of the metro, the view was absolutely breathtaking!! Perhaps there are less people here compared to the city and hence the snow was really quite thick!!

On the way to the atomium


There were kids playing snow fight!








Photos with the atomium. My sis said that when it gets dark the atomium will lit up and it's quite beautiful! But its too cold to wait around for it to get dark!

Our last stop is the Saints Michael and Gudule Cathedral. This cathedral actually toke some 300 years to build!!

After that we went back to Grand Place for some souvenir and belgium chocolates shopping!! =D

Just in time to catch part of the illuminated Town Hall Performance


Fresh Belgium Chocolates at Leonidas


See the number screen at the back? You need to take a number to buy chocolates! I didn't know that and was wondering why no one is serving me! HAHA


My selection of dark chocolates! ;)

That sums up my day trip to Brussels! And guess what? The train back to Paris was delayed!! What's with me and trains =(