Brussels Hotels

Chocolate moulded by surrealists and beer poured by old masters.

What makes Brussels special? Seafood in great restaurants, the smell of hot waffles on a cold winter's day, cafes and pubs that never close, the cosmopolitan but neighbourly feel, forests practically on the doorstep, pheasant and truffles in autumn, comic strips, designer shops...

Central Brussels is divided into two main areas, the Lower and Upper Towns. The Lower Town comprises the medieval city centre, built around the imposing former market square of Grand Place. The area is easy to get around on foot, its cobbled streets leading to popular quarters such as Ilôt Sacré, Ste Catherine, St Géry and Marolles. The Upper Town, to the southeast, has a vastly different atmosphere. The traditional base of Brussels' French-speaking elite, it's home to wide boulevards, major museums, chic shopping areas around Sablon and Ave Louise, and monumental buildings including the Belgian parliament. Most of Brussels proper is surrounded by a motorway - the Petit Ring - but there are interesting sites beyond the centre. The glass-and-steel EU quarter is bordered by the trendy Ixelles district, known for its many Art Nouveau buildings. To the north, the Domaine Royale is the residence of Belgium's royal family.

Brussels is alluring any time of year. Most visitors arrive between May and September, when the weather is at its best. Unfortunately, the lovely temperate beauty of the place can be undermined by considerable crowds at tourist sites and a scarcity of accommodations. If you're considering a weekend visit, Brussels is a particularly attractive option, as the majority of the city's top-end hotels drop their rates dramatically from Friday to Sunday. Don't settle for the first price you're quoted. From November to March, the weather is often wretched (right around freezing with plenty of slushy precipitation), and the number of tourists falls off dramatically. If you pack the right clothes and keep in mind that the daylight hours will be short, you can make the most of uncrowded museums and markets. And there's always a cozy cafe where you can escape the cold and rain.