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Beautifully Brussels

It’s probably a little unfair to say that the complexities of Belgian humour can be symbolised by an underwhelming statue of a urinating boy, but the Manneken Pis (‘little man pee’) in rue de l’Etuve has become the semi-official symbol of the city, even inspiring a group of local fans to create a wardrobe of thousands of costumes, changed with ceremonious regularity.

Don't go home without

…tasting chocolate. The streets of Brussels are dotted with chocalatiers and only the most savoury-toothed cocoa-hater could make it through the stay without sampling some of the sweet ticky stuff. Try Pierre Marcolini’s ( on Rue des Minimes (+ 32 (0)2 514 1206), which launches its confectionary in seasonal ‘collections’ and has free tastings on offer upstairs. Chocolate not your thing? Sample the speculoos (spicy shortbread biscuits) at Dandoy (+33 (0)2 511 0326) on rue au Beurre – they’ve been practising the recipe for nearly 200 years.

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Getting there

City breaks in Brussels, Belgium

Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.

Planes
Brussels Airport carries flights from a wide variety of airports in the UK and US, and is 25 minutes by train from the city centre. Charleroi (where a lot of budget carriers, such as Ryanair, touch down) is south of the city centre, about an hour’s coach ride away from Brussels Midi station. Antwerp’s airport can be handy too.
Trains
Eurostar services link Brussels Midi station to London, Paris and Lille. Tickets to Brussels include travel to any other Belgian station. You can also hop on high-speed intercity services to Amsterdam, Cologne and Frankfurt.
Automobiles
The Fast and the Furious wasn’t filmed in Brussels, but it could have been – ‘Belgian road sense’ is on a par with ‘Zimbabwean political transparency’. Traffic laws are lax and confusing, pedestrian crossings are primarily street art, and – in any case – the city’s compact and navigable by foot and public transport. You can, however, rent cars at the airport from Hertz (www.hertz.com), Avis (www.avis.com) and Europcar (www.europcar.com).

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