Advantages: Too many to mention
Disadvantages: None

...This is an even year, which means that the Grand Place in the centre of Brussels is to be covered by a flower carpet - This only happens every other year in August. Visiting this city in July/August is cool as the Belgians like the French leave their cities for the country and coast. Brussels takes its name from Broekzele, or "village of the marsh", which grew up in the sixth century on the trade route between Cologne and the towns of Bruges and Ghent. Under the Habsburgs, the town flourished, eventually becoming capital of the Spanish Netherlands; later Brussels took turns with The Hague as capital of the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In the nineteenth century it became the capital of new independent Belgium. There is an English language weekly magazine, The Bulletin, detailing what's going on in the City rather like... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning architecture and lots of lovely different beers and chocolates
Disadvantages: Not a huge amount of well known attractions

...Although Brussels is the capital of Europe, it's often overlooked as a city break location due to it being sandwiched between its more famous neighbours, Paris and Amsterdam. Having lived and worked in Brussels for a year as a student, I have a rather fond regard for the place. I'll freely admit that it has not got as many well known attractions nor the je ne sais quoi of Paris. Indeed, neither has it got the same canal like prettiness or red light risquéness of Amsterdam. However, Brussels has a quaint charm all of its own, superb architecture and buildings, and let's not forget all that gorgeous chocolate and beer. ***SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE*** Belgium has a population of 11 million people split between Flanders in the North (where they speak Flemish) and Wallonia in the south (where they speak French). Although Brussels... Read review

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Advantages: Cosmopolitan with plenty to see and do
Disadvantages: Ridiculous hotel prices midweek

...Some say that Brussels is not the most exciting city in the world, in fact many would say it was downright boring. I say....NON! NON! NON!. While it may not quite compare with say, Paris, New York or Rio, it has a lot going for it. To try and cover all of the sights and attractions of Brussels in one review is impossible. Therefore, I have concentrated on my favourite places in this diverse European capital. ----------------- A Short History ----------------- The first written evidence of the existence of Brussels is from the year 977, when the German emperor Otto 2nd gave Low-Lorraine to Carl of France, who built a fortress there. In the middle of the 11th century the first city walls were built. The city thrived although it was controlled by Burgundy, then the Hapsburgian Empire. In 1695 Brussels was attacked... Read review

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Advantages: Competitive prices and friendly efficient service
Disadvantages: Not full service any more

...Introduction SN Brussels Airlines (SNBA) is the phoenix that rose from the ashes of Sabena in 2002, the former Belgium flag carrier which went bankrupt in 2001. Originally set up as SN Airholding in 2002 the airline merged with DAT in 2002 and became SN Brussels. In 2005 SN acquired Virgin Express which had operated out of Brussels and had a code share arrangement with the failed Sabena. On 7 November the airline assumed its current name. Today the airline has 38 aircraft in service with an average age of under 10 years; these include 26 of the Avro RJ line featuring both the 85 and 100 models of this quiet jet. SNBA covers an impressive 90 destinations including a well developed network in Europe and a number of little served locations in Central and West Africa. Prices, as with most airlines vary but within Europe at least... Read review

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Advantages: Location, size, quality service and comfort
Disadvantages: Some will not like the limited facilities

...I was fortunate enough to stay at Le Meridien, in Brussels a few weeks back after winning a competition. It was a novel situation all round as I would not normally be able to afford to stay at this quite exclusive establishment on my travel and subsistence budget and, even if I were I would be too busy to appreciate my surroundings. I do visit Brussels a lot for work and have stayed in many hotels (I reviewed the Welcome Hotel a while back and this remains one of my personal favourites for my business trips) but this was a nice change and most people enjoy a little bit of luxury once in a while. Ownership The Le Meridien chain is managed by the US based Starwood Group. This also includes the Sheraton, Westin and St Regis chains amongst others. They operate 888 hotels worldwide, 499 are managed and the balance are franchised... Read review

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Advantages: A city without the hastle
Disadvantages: Drivers are a bit nuts

...I lived in Brussels for just shy of a year and in that time I managed to visit all manner of restaurants and tourist attractions. For this reason I thought my experiences would make for useful reading on Ciao. The most important thing to remember about Brussels is that if you're just going for tourist type activities, there are two possibilities. Either you're the sort of person that enjoys museums and art, in which case you could keep your self busy for a surprisingly long time. Alternatively, if you're not all that interested in buildings of a "silence please" variety, then you could very easily overlook the highlights of Brussels. I know I did. During my first 9 months in Brussels, I have to admit that I simply worked and followed my colleagues recommendations on restaurants. This means I know a fair few restaurants... Read review

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Advantages: A superb hotel for a bargain price via Priceline
Disadvantages: I can't think of any!

...Mothering Sunday, 2004, was approaching and the 2½-year-old baby Josh nudged his proud father and suggested taking Amanda away for the weekend, which seemed like a great treat. Believe that if you will, but a bit of rather crafty pre-planning on my own part meant that I just happened to have a pair of cheap “Eurostar” tickets to Brussels already sorted out and I pointed my web browser in the general direction of “Priceline”, looking for a decent hotel. Not for the first time, I might add! It’s an exciting experience if, like me, you’re fairly cheeky. To cut a long story short, my offer of just £32 was accepted and we were allocated to the excellent “Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Brussels” – to give it its full title. I might add, in retrospect, that this was an absolute steal - just check out the rack-rate! Incidentally, Brussels... Read review

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Advantages: easy to get to, the Grand Place
Disadvantages: Mannakin Pis is dissapointing, takcy tourist shops

...Question What does one do when you want to celebrate finishing the taught part of a Masters degree and want to go away but are so broke even the cheapest trip to Spain is not an option? Answer. Book a very cheap flight for a mini break to Brussels the capital of Belgium. I did this in June 2003 and I had a great time. I flew with Ryanair from John Lennon airport in Liverpool to Charleroi airport in Brussels. Or so I thought it was in Brussels. It was near enough an hour from the airport to Midi railway station. The connecting bus is a rip off at 10 euros. Since there were four of us on the way there we took a taxi that cost us 35 euros (luckily we had Duskman who has a degree in French so he was able to negotiate a cheap fare). The airfare was really cheap. It only cost £20 for a return fare including all taxes... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant location, inexpensive, good concept
Disadvantages: Slightly under-equipped

...This year, ditching the sprouts and instead opting for Brussels alone, we headed to Belgium for Christmas. Since (a) there were 3 of us, and (b) we feared that restaurants and bars would be closed over the festive period, it was decided that an apartment would be preferable to a hotel room, and so in about September we booked to stay at the Citadines Aparthotel Sainte Catherine in the centre of Brussels. ~~ The concept ~~ I have stayed in other aparthotels before, but only in beach resorts on Spanish islands, so the Citadines approach was something new for me. The concept is simple: instead of getting an en suite bedroom, you get an apartment with a bedroom, separate living room / kitchen and a bathroom. The advantages are obvious: more room to move around in, more beds to sleep people on (our one bedroom apartment would have... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful and atmospheric.
Disadvantages: Very busy.

...Brussels has to be the most beautiful city I have ever visited. The aspect of Brussels that impressed me the most is that it has been so well looked after. There aren’t any horrible high-rise concrete buildings or tacky fast food restaurants. Everything is in keeping with the Baroque style of most of the buildings. I can’t help but think that if it were in England the atmosphere would be lost to excessive commercialisation as some areas of London are. The Grand Place is exceptionally beautiful. It is a square in the centre of the city. When I visited it the flower carpet was on display. A large area in the centre of the square had been sectioned off and flowers had been laid on the floor in a pattern with a fountain in the centre, it was amazing. The buildings surrounding the Grand Place are stunning. The town hall... Read review

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