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Belgium
The Mokafe cafe in Galerie du Roi 9 serves a delicious and complete breakfast for around six euros including mouthwatering croissants and real fresh squeezed juice.
In Brussels you must visit Cirio’s Bar in the Rue De La Bourse.
Founded by Italian magnate Francesco Cirio in 1903 it remains much as it was a hundred years ago - dark wooded panels, marble and shining brass.
Be sure to try the house speciality of a “Half and Half” - equal measures of champagne and white wine filled to the brim by bustling ultra efficient waiters.
Say hello to the cat “Minou” (French for “Kitty”) and lastly don’t forget to visit the magnificent turn-of-the-century toilets!
Brussels makes a great weekend trip with children.
Not so big and overwhelming, with so many "must sees," as Paris, but more than enough to keep you busy.
And there is loads of great chocolate - need I say more?
Don't miss MIM, with more than 1,000 ancient and rare instruments from around the world.
There is a lovely cafe overlooking the city on the top floor.
The best place we've found to stay with kids: Novotel Centre/Tour Noire. It has a cool hammam/indoor swimming pool surrounded by rocks which creates a very cool atmosphere. It is walking distance to Grand Place, also to many waterside restaurants and off-the-beaten path neighborhood places and playgrounds, good ethnic restaurants nearby, easy access to train station.
If you have more than a weekend, take a day trip to Bruges, Antwerp, or any other place in Belgium: distances are short!
Check out the fabulous Restaurant Vincent in Rue des Dominicains, where you walk through the kitchen to be seated.
No hidden secrets, the best steaks and the finest moules. Try the steak tartare, if you dare, prepared at your table with the freshest ingredients - and with amazing flair.
If you fancy a day of serious relaxation, and you're not the shy type, head to Grimbergen for a day at the thermal spa.
It's only €19 for the day and has a huge choice of saunas, steam rooms, jacuzzis and an open air swimming pool.
The catch is, if you want access to the Aquarius area, which has the pool and the best saunas, you have to be naked. There is a swimsuit section for those who prefer to cover their dignity, but it's kind of liberating, and certainly amusing, to hang out in the buff with the Belgians.
When travelling around the city by a hopper ticket for four euros which entitles you to unlimited tram and metro travel for 24 hours enabling you to see the most of this beautiful city.
Leave Brussels fast, and ride on red velvet seats to Cologne.
Return tickets are only £20 on the Belgian Railways Website (SNCB). Cologne is a great city: cheap, at £20 pp/pn in a 3-star hotel; excellent art galleries; and good beer.
If you are changing from Eurostar onto another train bound for a destination in Belgium, the Netherlands or Germany and the timings are tight, ensure that you are at the right end of the Eurostar for the exit-ideally coach 18, or a close number.
If you find you have been booked into a low number coach don't despair. Go the the Eurostar help desk on Waterloo station and explain your predicament. They will place you in a more convenient coach if at all possible.
Prepare your credit card, so you can eat, eat and eat some more! Brussels is a gastronomic paradise and to make the most of it don't hold back when it comes to price.
Ignore the restaurants just around la Grand Place (they may look wonderful, but aren't up to much) and instead go in search of the hidden gems such as Bonsoir Clara, La Manufacture and for a special treat Comme Chez Soi!
Trust me, you'll be drooling on the Eurostar all the way home!
Enjoy a wilder side of Brussels in the Bois de Cambre, the faded hippodrome at Boitsfort, and then wander or picnic for hours through the wild forests south of the city.
Take advantage of the city's bicycle scheme. Cyclocity points all around the centre and are marked on tourist maps.
You pay atround 1Eur/hr and drop bike off at a convenient point when you've finished with it.
If you’re enjoying the delights of Brussels, then we’d recommend taking some time out in Leuven.
One of Europe’s oldest university towns, a short hop from Brussels by train, it offers grand architecture alongside quiet gardens, café-lined squares, great shopping and a slower pace of life.
Try out Café De Werf, (for the best breakfast you’ll have anywhere), or nearby Domus, boasting an on-site brewery alongside many other Belgian beers and fine Flemish food.
The peaceful Begijnhof and botanical gardens are not to be missed, and on Saturday mornings the artisans’ food market is a must.
You must go to A La Mort Subite on rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères.
The name comes from a game they used to play called 421. Back in the day, employees of a local bank would while away their lunch hours playing 421 – and the loser, of course, was “sudden death” itself.
The room is enormous yet somehow each table provides intimacy (away from those crowds). As in a relaxed community of little tables holding hands.
Order a plate of cheese, salami and pickles and slosh back a fruity beer. Perfect when Brussels turns dark. The light in there is almost golden.
You might expect something special on ‘The Sacred Isle’ (Ilot Sacré), the area around Brussels’ Central station.
Among the many bars and restaurants surrounding the Grand Place is The Toone Theatre, 66 rue du Marche-aux-Herbes, providing three unique Belgian delights under one roof.
You can sample a rare local speciality ‘Plattekeis’ (cream cheese with radishes) accompanied by a choice of over 20 beers, including ‘trappiste’ monastery brews.
But the real treat is enjoying these while sitting on raised wooden benches being entertained with a puppet show, in traditional dialect, from the famous Toone Marionettes, whose performances date back to 1830.
A 3-day Eurostar weekend in Brussels? Make it Thursday to Saturday as most of the interesting restaurants/bars away from the tourist hordes around Grand Place, are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Stroll away on Saturday from the cobbled streets of Lower Town over to Rue Antoine ansaert/Sint-Katelijneplein for a fantastic array of restaurants, stylish shops and space in which to enjoy them.
Going to Brussels you must try the Gueuze Museum, its a museum, brewery and bar all rolled into one.
Brussels gets extremely hot and sweaty in the height of summer. If you are there at this time of year and happen to be in the vicinity of the European institutions/Rond Point Schuman, you could do worse than pick up a picnic and head to the Parc du Cinquantenaire for a relaxing afternoon.
When evening falls, head back into the centre and go for a beer at the sinister ultraviolet coffin bar (Le Cerceuil, Rue Harengs, off the Grand Place). Oh, and the best chocolate is Leonidas.
Take the Open Top Bus tour from just outside the Grand Square (main plaza) up to the Atomuim.
It is the best way of seeing the sights and the views are spectacular of the city.
Visit European parliament and arrange a visit to meet your MEP - hardly any UK citizens visit their representatives and it is always interesting to walk the corridors of power and see how many of the laws hat affect us are made.
Quick and easy Eurostar to Brussels - no fuss change connection for onward journey to Cologne a great city with plenty to do and see.
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