Great atmosphere and friendly people–and they speak English - Brussels
Brussels PropertiesCity BrusselsCountry BelgiumWorld Region Europe ReviewsAn unpleasant cold c...
Brussels - Brussels I visited Brussels in early December. I was passing through on my way to Bruges and had to switch trains there so...
Brussels was the first place in Europe I ever visited. I landed there and spent most of my first trip to Europe there, because I had friends there to stay with. Naturally, I was spoiled by them and therefore retain an extremely positive view of Brussels. But even without the personal care, I think you will too.
For one thing, Brussels, as the capital of the European Union, has a mix of people from all over Europe. The folks born and raised there are primarily French-speaking, but almost everyone speaks English: this can really help when you’re linguistically-challenged, like me or (ahem) most Americans. People are generally friendly and polite, if somewhat shy (by our standards), although I could ascribe that characteristic to European people in general, with some exceptions.
Brussels also has a good deal of architecture in the art nouveau style, built in its heyday. This alone does not particularly excite me personally (it’s just not a passion of mine), but for those of you who are excited by these types of things, Brussels has it in spades. At the very least, if it doesn’t particularly whet your appetite for the city, it does lend itself to a certain relaxed and attractive atmosphere.
Speaking of whetting your appetite, Brussels will do it. It has a variety of different foods, many of which of course are French-inspired and/or in origin. I had the best chocolate mousse of my life there in a restaurant near my friends’ apartment in downtown Brussels. Although the name of the place escapes me, it doesn’t matter; like Paris, just about anywhere you go to eat will have a higher quality of food than we would expect for the same price here.
And then there’s price: Brussels is a lot cheaper than many European cities, partially due to the exchange rate, I believe, but also probably because it’s just not as big a destination as, say, London or Paris (at least, for Americans). But you’re missing out if you don’t at least try a few days there.
I recommend taking at least a few days there, staying downtown and simply walking or using the excellent public transportation. Do check out the Grand Place and the usual tourist places, but also take some time to just explore the city and its atmosphere; it’s not as overwhelming as its larger European capital counterparts, and you really can just walk around and not end up too lost or disappointed in what you find.
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