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Belgium
Thanks indeed to the Two Hairy Bikers for their suggestion to try this fantastic restaurant. The food was gorgeous and the staff were obviously selected for their efficiency as much as their looks. We dined like kings and yet the meal came to about 100 euros, a bargain. I'd love to go back and try the steak & chips and some more wonderful Belgian beer. Try it, you will not be disappointed.
Belga Queen Brussels
Rue Fossé aux Loups 32
1000 BRUSSELS
Phone:+32 2.217.21.87
Fax:+32 2.229.31.79
Email:info.brussels@belgaqueen.be
Brussels is a colourful, charismatic and stunning city, full of rewarding surprises, it is least of all “boring”.
Don’t bother with the slightly eccentric and haphazard metro system – just walk. Central Brussels is small enough to potter round in a day.
Aim for the splendid Place du Grand Sablon (where you can get the best chocolates in the world) then head downhill to La Bourse and Grand Place and west into the trendy St. Catherine and St. Géry areas.
Make sure you take in plenty of good food and drink along with the stunning Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings that populate so many streets.
The best thing about Bruxelles/Brussel and the bilingual-Belgians is that they know all this; they just don’t go shouting it from every corner of the Grand Place.
I can heartily recommend buying the finest cheeses, meats and bread, beer and chocolates from the above areas, getting back on the Eurostar and turning all the other passengers green with envy as you tuck-in. Brussels is nearer than Paris too!
A visit to the African quarter in Brussels near Porte de Namur metro station makes an interesting change to the rest of the city.
Stroll down Chausee d'Ixelles and back via Chausee de Wavre, investigating the shops and bars along the way. The contrast with the rest of the city is heightened by the fact that the area is not out in the suburbs but close to the city centre.
Just the other side of the metro station are the antique shops and grand buildings of the Upper Town.
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!
You simply must eat at the fishmonger’s pavement bar, the Mer Du Nord on the corner of Place Sainte Catherine and Rue Sainte Catherine.
It’s perfect for a delicious tapas style seafood lunch particularly if you are on a tight schedule, it’s also excellent value: small glass of Muscadet €2 (we had several).
Practice your French and hone your ability to out-barter even the most masterly merchant in Europe, at the flea market on Place du Jeu de Balle.
Pick up a priceless rarity you never knew you needed, meet the locals and exhaust your euros surrounded by classic Belgian architecture, the shouts of stallholders and a unique, animated atmosphere.
Of course, when you can haggle no more, you can collapse at a local café with a glass of red and some sumptuous Belgian food.
My tip is to visit the bar La Mort Subite on rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères 7.
This bar has a superb selection of beers, which are reasonably priced, and is frequented by locals rather than being a typical tourist trap.
The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed and it's an ideal place to meet up with friends for a good natter.
If that isn't enough, last time I went there an opera singer started to sing, with the whole bar joining in. Beer, opera and conversation - perfect!
Try the Mappa Mundo bar in the Saint-Gery area of the centre of Brussels (2-6 rue pont de la carpe).
It's a great cosmopolitan bar, with a very nice atmosphere, it's not too expensive, and it serves lots of good Belgian beers (try my favourite... Faro.) and great food.
Plus it has a nice terrace , so it's perfect for warm days!
Take your first drink - a coffee or a trappsit beer at the magnificent art nouveau Le Cirio just around the corner from the Bourse metro ( 4 stops from the Gare du Midi).
Have your last drink at Au Laboureur close to the Gare du Midi.
And in between use the CAMRA Good Beer Guide to Belgium by Tim Webb to find your way round Brussels.
Hidden down a back street near the Grande Place is 'Goupil le Fol' a bohemian bar that serves fruit wine whilst you rest on battered comfy old sofas.
For football fans, a trip to see Anderlecht play at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.
It's like a small, tight ground where you get really close to the action and the home fans generate a great atmosphere.
And be sure to enjoy a pre (and post) match pint of Hoegaarden in one of the many bars around the ground.
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.
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.
Just a short walk from the Eurostar terminus in Brussels is the Cantillon Brewery, breweing traditional Belgian beer styles including gueuze and the cherry-flavoured kriek.
Get to Gare du Midi a couple of hours early when catching your train home, and tour the old, atmospheric brewery, before picking up some refreshments for the journey back!
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.
Forget the over-priced beer, there is a great dark tavern selling sweaty, salty, inexpensive cider by the blue ceramic jug full, just off the grand place, down the ally off the back left corner as you face the massive and beautiful town hall.
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