Two days is the right length for the core of Brussels, enough to see the Grand-Place, the chocolate and beer, the great museums and the comic-strip heritage without a rush. The city is compact and walkable, if hilly between the lower and upper town, so most of it links on foot with the odd tram or a single metro hop out to the Atomium. Base yourself around the Grand-Place and the Ilot Sacre so the square, the arcades and Manneken Pis are minutes away and you can duck indoors between the showers the oceanic climate delivers in most months. Day one takes the medieval core: the Grand-Place, Manneken Pis, the 1847 Royal Galleries, the Mont des Arts and the Fine Arts and Magritte museums, then seafood in Sainte-Catherine. Day two climbs to the Sablon for chocolate, rides out to the Atomium, and covers the Comic Strip Center and the mural trail before frites and a classic beer bar. Book the Fine Arts museum and, if you go, the Atomium online; almost everything else you walk up to.
Duration
2 days
Base
Grand-Place and Ilot Sacre
Mid budget
260 EUR
Best months
Apr · May · Jun
Picks sorted with our recommended base, Grand-Place and Ilot Sacre, first. Book early: the good-value rooms go weeks ahead.
Special occasions€€€Rocco Forte by the Grand-Place · Grand-Place and Ilot Sacre
A Rocco Forte five-star on a quiet lane a minute behind the Grand-Place, on the site of a 16th-century prison, with Tintin prints and Flemish art through the rooms. It is the smartest address in the centre, steps from the guildhalls.
from ~300 EUR/night
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Budget€Design hostel · Grand-Place and Ilot Sacre
A bright, well-kept design hostel a few minutes from the Grand-Place and Sainte-Catherine, with private rooms as well as dorms and a self-catering kitchen. It is a rare good-value central bed in an expensive-feeling capital.
from ~30 EUR/night
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Couples€€Boutique by the Bourse · Sainte-Catherine
A small design hotel on Rue du Marche aux Herbes, right by the old stock exchange, the Bourse, a two-minute walk from the Grand-Place. The dark, moody lobby and the central setting make it a handy, characterful base in the middle of Brussels.
from ~130 EUR/night
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First visit€€Colour-block design · Saint-Gilles
A cheerful design hotel themed around the Pantone colour system, in leafy Saint-Gilles near the Horta Art Nouveau houses and the Parvis cafes. A tram or short walk reaches the centre, and the top-floor rooms look over the city.
from ~110 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
Day 1
Morning
Start on the Grand-Place early with a coffee, before the day crowds, to read the gilded guildhalls and the Gothic Town Hall spire in low light. It is free and open, and this is the calmest the square gets all day.
TipThe square is free and always open, so see it twice: once by day for the gold-trimmed guildhalls and the Gothic Town Hall, and again after 10pm when it is floodlit and nearly empty of crowds. In even-numbered years a Flower Carpet of close to a million cut begonias covers the cobbles for a few days in mid-August, and a balcony view from the Town Hall or a first-floor cafe is worth the small charge that weekend.
Walk two minutes down Rue de l'Etuve to Manneken Pis, keeping expectations low for the tiny bronze fountain, and check whether he is in costume today. Take the photo and move straight on rather than joining the scrum.
TipManage expectations: the famous fountain is a 61cm bronze statuette on a street corner two minutes from the Grand-Place, and it is almost always mobbed. He is regularly dressed in one of hundreds of costumes on a rota, so check the day's outfit, take the photo in a minute and move on rather than queuing to get close.
Duck into the glass-roofed Royal Galleries Saint-Hubert, Europe's oldest covered arcade from 1847, for a chocolate at the Neuhaus that stands where the praline was invented in 1912. It is free to walk and a good first rain shelter.
TipOpened in 1847, this is one of Europe's oldest covered shopping arcades, a glass-roofed run of chocolatiers, cafes and a small cinema a minute from the Grand-Place. It is free to walk through and a perfect rain shelter, so time it for a shower; the Neuhaus boutique here stands on the spot where the praline was invented in 1912.
Afternoon
Lunch a couple of streets back from the Grand-Place rather than on the tout-heavy Rue des Bouchers, where a plate of moules-frites or a Flemish stew costs far less than the menu-waving terraces. Keep it light before the museums.
Climb to the Mont des Arts gardens for the free framed view back over the lower town, then take your slot at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts for Bruegel, Rubens and the huge Magritte collection. Book online to skip the desk; it shuts on Mondays.
TipThe terraced Mont des Arts gardens give a free framed view back over the lower town toward the Town Hall spire, and they sit at the door of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts. The combined Old Masters and Magritte Museum ticket is worth a half day for Bruegel, Rubens and the world's largest Magritte collection; book online to skip the desk, and note it closes on Mondays.
Evening
Come back through the Grand-Place after dark, when it is floodlit and the crowds have thinned, for the view everyone remembers. It costs nothing and takes ten minutes on your way to dinner.
TipThe square is free and always open, so see it twice: once by day for the gold-trimmed guildhalls and the Gothic Town Hall, and again after 10pm when it is floodlit and nearly empty of crowds. In even-numbered years a Flower Carpet of close to a million cut begonias covers the cobbles for a few days in mid-August, and a balcony view from the Town Hall or a first-floor cafe is worth the small charge that weekend.
Dinner in the Sainte-Catherine quarter, the old fish market, for oysters, moules or grey shrimp at a real seafood spot like the Mer du Nord counter rather than the tourist lanes. Go early, as the best kitchens fill up fast.
TipThe old fish-market quarter around the Sainte-Catherine church is where locals go for oysters, moules and grey shrimp rather than the tout-heavy Rue des Bouchers. Stand-up spots like the long-running Mer du Nord counter serve fresh fish and a glass of white to eat on the pavement; go early evening, as the best kitchens fill up and some shut by mid-evening.
Day 2
Morning
Climb to the Sablon for the city's flagship chocolatiers, Wittamer from 1910 and Pierre Marcolini, buying a small box to taste as you go. Step into the free Notre-Dame du Sablon church next door for its stained glass before moving on.
TipThe upscale Sablon square is the address for Belgium's flagship chocolatiers, with Wittamer, founded here in 1910, and Pierre Marcolini's dark boutique both on or beside it. Buy a small mixed box to taste rather than a big one, come on a weekend for the antiques market that fills the square, and step into Notre-Dame du Sablon church next door, which is free.
Take metro line 6 out to Heysel, about 20 minutes, for the Atomium, the 102-metre model of an iron crystal from the 1958 World's Fair. Book the timed ticket online, ride the escalators between the spheres, and allow time for the trip each way.
TipBuilt for the 1958 World's Fair, this 102-metre model of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times is a metro ride out to Heysel on line 6, about 20 minutes from the centre. Book the timed ticket online to skip the queue, ride the tube escalators between the spheres, and combine it with the neighbouring Mini-Europe park if you have children in tow.
Afternoon
Back in the centre, break for a late lunch, then start the free comic-mural trail with the map from the tourist office. The Tintin mural on Rue de l'Etuve is the classic first stop among the fifty-odd painted walls.
Visit the Belgian Comic Strip Center in its 1906 Victor Horta warehouse, tracing the tradition from Tintin to the Smurfs. Ninety minutes covers it, and the Art Nouveau building alone is worth the ticket.
TipHoused in a Victor Horta-designed Art Nouveau warehouse from 1906, this museum traces the Belgian comic tradition from Tintin to the Smurfs. Pair it with the free comic-mural walking route through the centre, where more than fifty painted walls turn street corners into strip panels; the tourist office hands out a map, and the Tintin mural on Rue de l'Etuve is the classic photo.
Evening
Eat frites from a proper fritkot such as Maison Antoine on Place Jourdan, running since 1948, with your pick of a dozen sauces. It is a short tram or walk from the centre and the queue moves fast.
TipEat Belgian frites twice-fried and served in a cone from a proper fritkot such as Maison Antoine on Place Jourdan, running since 1948, where the queue moves fast and a dozen sauces are on offer. Follow with a beer at a classic bar like A la Mort Subite or the tiny Delirium alley off the centre, which stocks hundreds of Belgian brews; ask for a Trappist or a lambic to taste the local styles.
Finish at a classic beer bar such as A la Mort Subite or the Delirium alley, asking for a Trappist or a sour lambic to taste the local styles. This is the easygoing, beer-first Brussels evening the day builds toward.
For 2 days, base yourself in Grand-Place and Ilot Sacre. The medieval core wraps the gilded Grand-Place and the tight restaurant lanes of the Ilot Sacre, so staying here puts the square, the arcades and Manneken Pis minutes from your door. It is as central as Brussels gets and lively into the night, but also the most touristy patch, with tout-heavy seafood lanes on the Rue des Bouchers where waiters wave menus at passers-by. Pick it for a first, short visit when you want everything on foot. Compare all neighborhoods in the full where-to-stay guide.
Got longer?
Brussels in 3 days →
Two days is the right length for the core of Brussels, enough to see the Grand-Place, the chocolate and beer, the great museums and the comic-strip heritage without a rush. The city is compact and walkable, if hilly between the lower and upper town, so most of it links on foot with the odd tram or a single metro hop out to the Atomium. Base yourself around the Grand-Place and the Ilot Sacre so the square, the arcades and Manneken Pis are minutes away and you can duck indoors between the showers the oceanic climate delivers in most months.
Base yourself in Grand-Place and Ilot Sacre for this itinerary. The medieval core wraps the gilded Grand-Place and the tight restaurant lanes of the Ilot Sacre, so staying here puts the square, the arcades and Manneken Pis minutes from your door. It is as central as Brussels gets and lively into the night, but also the most touristy patch, with tout-heavy seafood lanes on the Rue des Bouchers where waiters wave menus at passers-by. Pick it for a first, short visit when you want everything on foot.
The plan works year round, but April, May, June give you the best weather-to-crowds ratio.