BRUSSELS HOTELS AND CITY BREAKS INFORMATION
By: Simon O’Flynn | Posted: 30th August 2007
Travel to Brussels and find the cosmopolitan capital of Belgium, and home to a variety of architectural styles, including gothic cathedrals and churches, classical facades like the buildings around the Royal Square. There are many beautiful art nouveau and art deco houses around the city, many making up the plethora of available accommodation in Brussels. A great place to start to explore the city on a Brussels weekend is the Grand 'Place, a historic market square, considered to be one of the most beautiful town squares in Europe. Every neighbourhood has its own market, the bird market, the flower market, the antique market and the flea market to name just a few. Even the hotels in Brussels are part of its history. Just a few of the amazing sights include the Hotel de Ville with a statue of St Michael on top, opposite the Maison du Roi, which holds the Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles. This is the St Mark's Square of Brussels, and is busy with tourists by day and with bars and restaurants by night. The Atomium, created in 1958 is one of Brussels most recognisable sights, and at over 100 metres tall it has a wonderful view for those who reach the top. Mini Europe has small scale representations of the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and more. Mannekin Pis, the world famous statue, can be found at the corner of Eikstraat/Stoofstraat, near the Grand' Place. For art lovers a Brussels city break can offer plenty of museums. Fans of surrealism can discover works by Magritte in the Museum of Fine Arts, where famous old masters by Rubens and Breugel are also housed. One of the most fun museums is the Belgian Comic Strip Centre, housed in a fantastic Art Nouveau warehouse, and includes displays on Tintin. There are also chocolate shops throughout the city which offer pre-packed gift boxes, or you can make up a selection of your own choice.
There is a wide range of cheap hotels in Brussels available to book as well as cheap city breaks!
BRUSSELS HOTELS
We have a wide range of cheap hotels in Brussels to suit families, couples and groups. Whatever class of hotel you are looking for, a Brussels city break is perfect for you.
SHOPPING
Belgium is famous for its chocolates, beer and lace but has many other treasures within its shops. You will find three main shopping districts when you travel to Brussels. They include the streets Boulevard Adof Max & Rue Neuve, Place Stephanie & Avenue Louise and the streets around the Grand Sablon, there are daily markets in different areas of the city. The Lower Town and avenue Louise and Ixelles has many food shops, crafts stores, boutiques and chains. The Boulevard Lemonnier is home to comic stores and second-hand book and record whereas the Grand' Place and the Manneken-Pis are the places to find chocolate and lace shops. Visit Rue des Eperonniers for old-fashioned gift shops antique jewellery and clothing and the Avenue Louise and boulevard de Waterloo for the boutiques of Chanel, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Cacharel and Cartier. Finally, the Avenue de la Toison d'Or is the place for mainstream gift shops and high street clothing stores like Springfield or ProMod.
NIGHTLIFE
Brussels is full of bars, which have a huge selection of the national drink - beer. The largest concentration of bars lies around Place St Géry, a ten-minute walk from the Grand Place across boulevard Anspach. All bars open until at least midnight, many until 2am or 3am. All music styles are catered for in the city's clubs, from jazz to 60s and 70s to commercial. Drinking in Brussels is a way of life and can be an almost 24-hour experience. The Fuse nightclub often has the best international DJs playing at the weekends. As well as the vast range of hotels in Brussels, it has a superb selection of restaurants where you can find cuisine from any country of the world to suit any budget. It also has more Michelin-starred restaurants per square mile than any other city in Europe.
Jazz dominates the live music scene in Brussels and its influence has been strong since the 1920s in a cluster of venues, finishing in the annual Brussels Jazz Festival.
INFORMATION
Language: Flemish, French and German. Most Belgians also speak English.
Currency: Euro
Airport: Brussels
Author Information:
Simon O’Flynn is the Commercial Director of the Low Cost Travel Group, one of the UK’s leading and fastest growing online travel companies. He has about many years of experience in the travel industry and is full of passion and knowledge that it takes to really make a business like this thrive. For more info, visit: Lowcostbeds, Lowcostholidays, Lowcostcruising
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Tags: eiffel tower, flower market, old masters, museum of fine arts