belgium

When I hear Brussels all that comes to my mind is beers, waffles and chocolates. I've been in Brussels seven times (all of them for business) most of the times visiting the European Commission.  The first time I visited Brussels was in 2010 and since then I go there every year. It’s the capital of the European Union which hosts the European Commission (my previous job was related to the EC), Council and Union. Getting to Brussels The city has two airports, Brussels airport and Charleroi (flights at this airport tend to be cheaper since it’s not in the center of Brussels). From Brussels airport you can take the train to the city center which is about 30 minutes and costs 8.50. If you get off at Charleroi there’s a bus shuttle (10 euros) which takes about an hour to midi station from there you can get the metro to anywhere you wish within the city. Don’t get a taxi from Charleroi to Brussels city center, it will cost you around 150 Euros. If you are reading this and you are from Cyprus then you might know that Ryanair has cheap and direct flights to Brussels from Larnaca airport. I’ve stayed at five hotels including: HOTEL Bloom Pantone Chelton Alma Theatre My top choice is of course Hotel Bloom! Amazing rooms, very near the shops, they provide you with a coffee machine in the room. Loved it and stayed there twice. Pantone and Chelton are my next two top choices compared to Alma (centrally located but you cannot control the central heating yourself, you have to call reception all the time) and Theatre (in a rough area near the Red Light District so avoid although it’s relevantly cheap and nice). Beers, Chocolates and Waffles Brussels is about beers, chocolates and waffles. There are many stores selling a variety of chocolates each of them with its own special tastes. Marcolini is a famous for its chocolates and it’s located at the grand place. Delirium is my favourite bar which offers more than 2000 different beers from all over the world. They even have beer from Cyprus. Here you can [...]