Brussels and Bruges advise

[Inchy]

Im off to Brussles and Bruges (2 night Brussels, 1 Bruges) in June for the wives birthday.

I know quite of lot of UTC posters like the bridge and decent beer so was looking for some advise.

Are there any must see places?

Is it worth booking on an organised beer tour? I like the idea of being shown the best bars but don't like the idea of having to socialise with strangers. Also if we find a bar we like we might wish to stay there and not move on with the tour.
Are there any self navigated beer tours?

Also looking at places to eat. Was going to book in at one of the many Michelin restaurants however I've realised the food will probably be wasted on us after all the beer, so looking somewhere convenient and decent, rather than some fine dining place where we have to dress up

Cheers in advance

[Spijed]

The Grand Place is the main square to see in Brussels, as is Manneken Pis, although it's not a big statue!

Lots of mussels and chips, strong beer, chocolate and waffles.

[RMutt]

I’m no expert but ‘wives’ should have an apostrophe after it I think. Expensive trip if you have a few!
Enjoy it though.

[Quickenthetempo]

I’m no expert but ‘wives’ should have an apostrophe after it I think. Expensive trip if you have a few!
Enjoy it though.

I think an F would be needed as well.

[Pickles]

I know it was light-hearted but a bit odd to pick up on someone's spelling and grammar when they've reached out for some tips.

Been to both Brussels and Bruges but a few years ago now so nowhere specific I can point out, sorry. Both pretty places and no doubt you'll find some good bars in both!

[Bosscat]

Last time we were in Bruges we enjoyed Lunch at "Le Panier d'or" in the Market Square... Drinking Kwak Beer 9% very tasty but 1 was enough...

[Tribesmen]

The Grand Place is the main square to see in Brussels, as is Manneken Pis, although it's not a big statue!

Lots of mussels and chips, strong beer, chocolate and waffles.

Kind of nail on the head with that , now the only thing i would add is try find the coffin bar it's just off the Square the tables are coffins and beer is sold in skull like mugs , hope it's still there as it's really different . Ohhh don't take taxis as they will rip you off , hey same everywhere but there you go .

As for Bruges go up the tower .

[Devils_Advocate]

Delirium Café in Brussels is definitely worth a visit. We did a guided beer tour the first night but that was more because we fancied a night in a big group exploring the city rather than necessity to find the best places.

[Rouwens_Weapon]

Hi Inchy,

It would be worth spending an afternoon in Ghent if you get chance, a beautiful university city with a river running through the centre, lots of nice bars.

Bruges - I would recommend doing the Brugse Zot brewery tour.

Brussels - Wolf market is a nice food option. Delirium cafe is a brilliant bar too

[durhamclaret]

Watch out for the strength of the Belgian beer, don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely but can be very powerful, last time I was there (long time ago) I was that pi**ed after a couple of hours I had difficulty walking in a straight line.

[RMutt]

I know it was light-hearted but a bit odd to pick up on someone's spelling and grammar when they've reached out for some tips.

Been to both Brussels and Bruges but a few years ago now so nowhere specific I can point out, sorry. Both pretty places and no doubt you'll find some good bars in both!

You had it right in your first sentence, light hearted. Sometimes predictive text or a simple slip of concentration can result in the happenstance of a result more humorous than was intended.
I hope Inchy took it in the spirit it was intended.

[Woodleyclaret]

We had a chocolate tour around 3hrs and you visited lots of chocolate shops and this included a hands on making our own chocolates

[tarkys_ears]

Couldn't recommend anything specific because it's been a fair number of years since I was there but what I would recommend is walking around the streets leading to/from the Grand Place. They're just thin streets full of bars and restaurants (every street I seem to recall) - and see what takes your fancy.

[Mad_tony_c]

We went in December. It was superb. We found posters of Vincent all around and brilliant restaurants and fantastic beer almost everywhere. Try delirium at your peril especially the 12 tasting trays. Agree with above taxis are super expensive. Get on the trams if you can and the rail system is decent too. And don’t leave your rucksack with all your belongings at kfc when you are going to the airport to come back like my brother did! There followed a panicked thirty minutes!

[mikeS]

Bruges - a tour of the city either by boat or horse drawn carriage. The main square has a great market and has plenty of places to eat. The Flemish beef stew and fries is delicious and you won't be stuck for choice on the beers. There's loads to sample. The fruity flavours are worth a taste.

[ŽižkovClaret]

The beer is f**king lethal. Pace yourself

[Tricky Trevor]

As said above The Grand Place is the hub. Mannekin Pis is down a lane off it. We went up the Atomium also a super view over Heysel stadium back then.
Didn’t like Bruges at all. The canals were stagnant and stunk and we got ripped off at a bar for using their toilets for the kids.
Enjoy.

[aggi]

Been a while since I've last been to Brussels but these are ones I remember liking:

La Fleur en Papier Doré
Poechenellekelder
Greenwich Café Bruxelles
Delirium Café
Café Mort Subite

[ArmchairDetective]

Me and a couple of friends did Brussels/Bruges in Feb. Good trip. Only been once so I think these recommendations are probably on the beaten track rather than off it, but some great places below.

Brussels:

Poechenellekelder
A great old little bar just next to Manneken Pis. Busy but table service only so it's quite relaxed. Each place at the table has its own name plate with the name and occupation of who I assume drank in that bar/seat many years ago which is quite fun. Nice atmosphere and a great way to get introduced to Belgian beers, there's tonnes on the menu and the waiters/waitresses all seemed to be able to give recommendations. They also do food but we didn't order there.

Delirium
Delirium practically has its own street full of bars. Got very lively on the weekend mind but maybe you're up for that.

Bruges:

Plenty of places to eat and drink. You won't be stuck. However we couldn't get into some of the restaurants we planned to visit. Seems its hard to get into decent restaurants without booking in advance.

Beer Wall
Great beer tasting menus and a patio on the corner of the canal. Lovely place.

Bones
All you can eat ribs. As long as you're drinking they'll carry on bringing you ribs. Found out later it was a chain aimed at tourists, but you wouldn't know.

Staminee De Garre
About as oldy worldy as it gets. Cosy but busy little place not far from the square. My friend stumbled over and into the table of people next to us as he got up to use the bathroom after an hour or two. Turned out the bar's own brew was 11%. Who knew.

We didn't do a guided beer tour. Could be good for Brussels as it's a bit more spread out and harder to stumble into decent places. But I doubt you'd struggle to find good places to drink in Bruges without a tour.

Have a good one!

[Claret86]

I went to Brussels last September with the Mrs for my birthday. The best places to go were round the grand place, lots of side streets with great bars and places to eat.
Deliriums cafe is excellent, basically a street of their own. You can do a pub crawl in one pub.
Greenwich cafe had beautiful art deco styling inside that my wife loved.
Cafe Mort Subite was round the corner from my hotel, same as Greenwich.
Pochenellekelder was a very quirky but excellent bar.
Found a few really traditional bars that were on side streets or down ginnels.
Been to bruges in 2013, Brussels in 2022 and going to bruges again this month and the food, beer and sights/culture are as good as it gets.
If you haven't booked already, I'd recommend flying into Brussels Airport (Zaventem) as opposed to Charleroi. Its a lot easier to access Brussels from. Charleroi can be a pain getting to and from

[Inchy]

Thanks for the advise. And I don’t mind having poor spelling. I’ve some how managed to scramble together a reasonable level of post graduate education, which just highlights the dumbing down of higher education.

I’m flying into Brussels. I noted that the Ryan air Brussels airport is half of Europe away from Brussels.

I’m thinking of designing my own walking tour of Brussels which takes in the main tourists sites (Grand Palace, kid statue with cock out) via a few nice bars and chocolatiers. I like a drink as much as the next man but I can’t just drink all day otherwise i will in bed by 5 .

Any museums or brewery tours recommended?

[SammyBoy]

Not got much to add other than I really didn't like Brussels I can't quite put my finger on why but it didn't really grab me - might've changed since 2009 though.

[timshorts]

Bruges is somewhere that you probably need to visit once, but after that you've sort of done it. You can talk across the walled part pretty quickly. I tend to use it to go to the bank, and the carrefour, but not much else since they shut the tintin shop.