"Brussels - Great Food and Architecture " a Brussels Travel Page by Johnscarroll

My partner and I visited Brussels in the middle of a month long tour through central Europe. Sadly, this city was the least interesting for us.

The archectecture of Grand Place is fantastic. The problem is, it's full of tourist trap restaurants. Happily, you can get some of the finest and most affordable cuisine in Brussels. But, you must walk a few blocks away from Grand Place and the surrounding restaurant filled alleys. Here, the waiters call out to you like carnival workers. None of the locals eat here, and I wouldn't recommend it either.

Our best meal was at Cafe de Crepes on Rue des Fripiers near the Stock Exchange. It was a tiny sidewalk cafe, filled with locals. We had a huge meal of crepes stuffed with seafood and chicken. Including wine and a salad for one, the total was only 27 Euro! That's about $32 - Amazing!

Avoid the narated bus tour. There are no live guides, just a recording. In my opinion, not worth it.

Don't bother with the Euroland Park. It's full of miniatures of European landmarks. Spend your time seeing the real thing.

Sadly, the nearby Automium was undergoing extensive renovation, so we weren't able to tour it. We always enjoy visiting interesting towers and world's fair sites around the globe. But Brussel's campus from the 1958 fair is now mostly exhibition space. Great if you're there for a convention, but not for tourists.

I do recommend a visit to the Royal Museum of Art and History at Parc du Cinquantenaire. It's of moderate size and very diverse.

We left Brussels a day early because our hotel was uncomfortable in the 90 degree weather. And, frankly, we had seen everything we wanted to see. Two nights is plenty for seeing Brussels. If you have more time, spend it in smaller towns like Brugge. I suspect that Brussels is a great place to live, but not so great to visit.