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        <title>Been there | Tips</title>
        
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        <description>
            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
        </description>
        
        
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                <title>Travelling by Eurostar?</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19460</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[You can’t go wrong with a room at the Be Manos – a new boutique hotel next to the Eurostar terminus with a five-star rating. It’s very chic and also has an excellent conference room.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Using your Eurostar ticket to the full in Brussels</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18600</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Remember your Brussels Eurostar ticket covers same day onward travel to all stations in Belgium. This includes Brussels Central Station, so you can use it instead of the Metro to get across town from Midi station to your hotel or meeting near Brussels Central.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Brussels city</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15018</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Brussels is so near to London with the Eurostar.  It is so nice to be able to meet up with a friend who works in Brussels (United Nations), from London for a day and return. Had it not been for Eurostar, we would not have been able to meet and bridge such a small distance gap between the two beautiful countries.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Unlimited city transport</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14914</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[This tip is good for not only most of the Eurostar destinations but also almost all cities and large towns in Europe.  <br><br>Go to the local information desk at the railway station or elsewhere, and buy a day ticket giving you unlimited travel on the city's transport system - bus, tram, metro, trolleybus etc.  <br><br>You can usually get a free system map at the same time.  Then spend your day riding around the city - not just the centre, but to the extremities of some of the lines.  You have a mobile grandstand from which to view the city without parking problems or the need to 'find your way'. <br> <br><br>You will see all sorts of buildings and all sorts of people, and really get the feel of he place.  Very highly recommended for Amsterdam, Bruxelles, Paris, and Strasbourg.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Eurostar value</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14901</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Eurostar tickets to Brussels are valid to any station in Belgium. You can get to Bruges or Ghent at no extra charge.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Change for the metro</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14898</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Take small change for the metro - it's a requisite for the musicians/beggars.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Jump card</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14892</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Make moving around easy by buying a 'jump' card for the metro.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Under 14s free travel</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14785</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Gateway to cheap train travel in Germany. Children under 14 travel free on Deutsche Bahn.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Ticket to ride</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14756</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Eurostar tickets are valid to Brussels Midi and all stations in Belgium, so you can use them to travel to other destinations without buying a further ticket. <br><br>Not that Brussels itself isn't lovely, but this is makes it even easier to get to towns like Antwerp, Ghent or the coast. And it's so much more relaxing than flying!]]></description>
                
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                <title>Train happy</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14749</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Use the train in Brussels - wherever you want to go.  It's got to be one of the best rail hubs in Europe, you can just hop off the Eurostar and switch platforms to be sure of a trip somewhere interesting. <br><br>The trains are always on time, there are plenty of trains and if you care about the planet - even better!<br><br>Take the train to Bruges for a fab day out and then back to Brussels for supper and some fantastic beers.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Bus tour bartering</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14745</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Don't accept the first price quoted to you by the touts for the bus tours. <br><br>Simply suggesting that you will look at the other companies will reduce the price by a few euros per person.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Art and transport card</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14743</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[You can buy a card that allows you to enter 25 top museums and use free transport  (STIB) plus have discount on tours, shops and leisure.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Don't talk to strangers, or MEPs</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14742</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[When travelling to Brussels or Strasbourg never engage a MEP in conversation, they can turn quite nasty. <br><br>Euro commissioners on the other hand often welcome a cuddle.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Brussels aliases</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14740</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[On your Eurostar ticket, it says 'Bruxelles Midi', what you may read on other station displays in Europe if you're travelling on from this station (or travelling back to it) is 'Brussel-Zuid' (or variant spellings thereof). <br><br>They are one and the same place. This can be confusing for the first time traveller as there are three Brussels stations.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Watch out for private train companies</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14717</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Be aware that, as well as the national rail operator, there are private train companies, on which 'standard' national rail tickets will not be vaild. Avoid a surcharge by making sure that you are on the correct train!]]></description>
                
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                <title>Take a taxi to Ghent</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14715</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Taxi drivers will negotiate a day rate if you would like to visit Ghent.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Free train travel</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14713</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Use the Eurostar deal with Belgian Railways to travel on from Brussels at no extra cost. <br><br>Take the Luxembourg bound train to Libramont and then the bus number 8 to Bouillon on the River Semois. Stay at the Hotel Panorama overlooking river, town, castle and hills. <br><br>Listen to the town carillon play the Ode to Joy. The walking in the river valley and on wooded hills is wonderful and the food in the town is excellent. Return, if you can, on bus 45 to Bertrix for spectacular views of the Semois, tiny villages and the hills. Take the train from Bertrix to Libramont and then back to Brussels.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Free trains</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14689</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Having arrived by Eurostar at  Brussels Midi station, onwards travel is free to anywhere in Belgium. <br><br>When scouring the departure boards, be aware that Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve are totally different places. I very nearly set off in the wrong direction, to what sounded like where I wanted to go.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Take the train from the airport</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14661</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Don't bother with a taxi from the airport to the city centre, catch the train from the airport for a fraction of the cost and half the journey time.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Take the tram</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14650</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[To see the city on a budget, buy a tram day ticket and ride on the extensive tram network.]]></description>
                
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