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Brussels is a city that surprises you. Belgium’s capital wears two hats—buttoned-up seat of the European Union on one side, gloriously quirky home of comic-strip murals, surrealist art and the world’s best chocolate on the other—and the joy is in how easily the two mix. You can stand in one of Europe’s most beautiful squares in the morning, hunt down a Tintin mural after lunch, and end the day with a tasting flight from a menu of 1,500 Belgian beers.
The best things to do in Brussels are refreshingly walkable, clustered around a compact historic core, with a couple of unmissable outliers (the Atomium) and some of Europe’s prettiest day trips a short train ride away. This guide ranks the experiences worth prioritising, from the single must-see square to the tastings and trips worth building a day around. If you only do one thing, skip to Our Top Pick.
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The Best Things to Do in Brussels at a Glance
Brussels rewards a mix of the grand and the playful. The headline sight is the Grand Place, a jaw-dropping square of gilded guildhalls that’s among the finest in Europe. But the city’s real character comes out in the details: a tiny peeing-boy statue that’s the beloved mascot, comic-strip murals splashed across building walls, the space-age Atomium on the skyline, and food and drink—chocolate, waffles, fries, mussels and beer—that Belgium genuinely leads the world in. Below, we rank the experiences worth prioritising.
Browse the ranked list, check live availability and prices through the booking widgets, and skip to Our Top Pick if you just want the one-line answer.
The Top Things to Do in Brussels, Ranked
1Stand in the Grand Place
Brussels’s beating heart and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Grand Place (Grote Markt) is regularly ranked among the most beautiful squares on earth. It’s enclosed by nearly 40 ornate guildhalls with gilded façades and baroque carvings, anchored by the soaring Gothic Town Hall. Come once in daylight to admire the detail and again after dark, when the whole square is floodlit. A guided historic walking tour is the best way to unlock the stories behind the façades—and it usually sweeps up Manneken Pis and the Royal Galleries too.
Best for: The one unmissable sight and the historic centre. Duration: 1–2 hours. Tip: visit in even years in mid-August for the spectacular Flower Carpet.
2Spot Manneken Pis
A few streets from the Grand Place stands Brussels’s most famous—and smallest—resident: Manneken Pis, the 61cm bronze statue of a little boy cheerfully relieving himself into a fountain. He’s been charming visitors since the 17th century, and the city keeps a wardrobe of hundreds of costumes for him, changed on a regular schedule (you can see the collection at the nearby GardeRobe museum). It’s tiny and often mobbed, but it’s an essential, only-in-Brussels moment.
Best for: A quick, quirky bucket-list photo. Duration: 15 minutes. Free.
3Go Up the Atomium
Brussels’s most surreal landmark, the Atomium is a 102-metre model of an iron crystal—nine gleaming steel spheres connected by tubes—built for the 1958 World’s Fair and now a beloved symbol of the city. Escalators and Europe’s fastest lift (at the time) carry you up through the structure to exhibition spaces and a top sphere with panoramic views over Brussels. It’s easily combined with Mini-Europe next door and makes a fun half-day away from the centre.
Best for: Panoramic views and mid-century design. Duration: 1.5–2 hours. Metro Line 6 to Heysel (~20 min from the centre).
4Follow the Comic Strip Route
Belgium is the birthplace of Tintin and the Smurfs, and Brussels wears its comic-strip heritage on its walls—literally. More than 60 building-sized murals are dotted around the city on the free, self-guided Comic Strip Route, turning a walk through the centre into a treasure hunt. A guided comic-strip tour connects the best murals with the stories behind them, or fans can add the Belgian Comic Strip Centre, housed in a stunning Art Nouveau building by Victor Horta, for the full story of the ninth art.
Best for: Art lovers, families and offbeat wandering. Duration: 1–2 hours. Murals are free; guided tours and the Comic Strip Centre have a fee.
5Taste Belgian Chocolate
Belgian chocolate is a genuine world-beater—this is the country where Jean Neuhaus invented the filled praline in 1912—and a guided tasting or workshop is the tastiest way in. You’ll sample the difference between the big Brussels names and small artisan makers, learn what sets Belgian chocolate apart, and often get to fill or shape your own pralines. The Royal Galleries and the Sablon district are chocolate central if you’d rather browse solo.
Best for: Sweet tooths and foodies. Duration: 1.5–3 hours.
6Go on a Belgian Beer Tasting
With more than 1,500 beers—from Trappist ales brewed by monks to funky, sour lambics unique to the Brussels valley—Belgium is a beer-lover’s holy land, and its brewing culture is UNESCO-recognised. A guided tasting walks you through the styles (and the correct glassware for each) in the city’s atmospheric old bars, with expert commentary to help you find your favourites. It’s as much a cultural experience as a boozy one.
Best for: Beer fans and a lively evening. Duration: 2–3 hours.
7Day Trip to Bruges
No Belgian trip is complete without Bruges, the impossibly pretty medieval city an hour from Brussels by train. Think cobbled lanes, canals, a soaring belfry you can climb, market squares and swans gliding beneath stone bridges—it’s like stepping into a fairytale. A guided day trip takes the logistics out of it and makes the most of your hours there, though it’s also very doable independently by rail.
Best for: Fairytale canals and medieval charm. Duration: full day.
8Day Trip: Ghent & Bruges Combo
Short on time but want to see both of Flanders’s showpiece cities? A combined day trip pairs medieval Bruges with the grander, more student-buzzy Ghent—home to a dramatic castle, guild-lined waterfronts and the famous Ghent Altarpiece. It’s a long but rewarding day that ticks off two of Belgium’s most beautiful cities in one go, with the transport sorted for you.
Best for: Seeing two Flemish gems in one day. Duration: full day.
Also Worth Doing
If you have more time—or you’re basing yourself in Brussels for a few days—these round out the city beautifully:
Eat your way through Brussels — Beyond chocolate and beer, don’t miss a crisp Brussels waffle, a cone of double-fried frites with mayo, and a steaming pot of moules-frites (mussels and fries).
Magritte Museum & the Royal Museums of Fine Arts — The world’s largest collection of surrealist René Magritte, alongside centuries of Flemish masters, up on the Mont des Arts.
Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert — Europe’s oldest shopping arcade (1847), a glass-roofed parade of chocolatiers and cafés—gorgeous at golden hour.
The Sablon & Notre-Dame du Sablon — An elegant district of antique dealers, chocolate boutiques and a beautiful Gothic church.
Parc du Cinquantenaire & the EU Quarter — A grand triumphal arch, museums, and the modern heart of the European Union, including the free Parlamentarium visitor centre.
More Brussels Tours & Activities
Browse more of the top-rated tours, tastings and experiences running in Brussels right now:
Compare the Top Experiences
| Experience | Type | Time needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Place | Landmark (UNESCO) | 1–2 hrs | The one unmissable sight |
| Manneken Pis | Landmark | 15 min | A quick, quirky photo |
| Atomium | Landmark & views | 1.5–2 hrs | Panoramas & mid-century design |
| Comic Strip Route | Art & walking (free) | 1–2 hrs | Art lovers & families |
| Chocolate Tasting | Food experience | 1.5–3 hrs | Sweet tooths & foodies |
| Beer Tasting | Drink experience | 2–3 hrs | Beer fans & a lively evening |
| Bruges Day Trip | Day trip (train) | Full day | Fairytale canals |
| Ghent & Bruges Combo | Day trip (train) | Full day | Two Flemish gems in one day |
Our Top Pick
🏆 The Grand Place
If you only do one thing in Brussels, make it the Grand Place. Nothing else in the city delivers the same wow: a perfectly enclosed square of gilded guildhalls and Gothic spires that stops you in your tracks, especially when it’s floodlit at night or carpeted in flowers in August. It’s free, it’s the heart of the historic centre, and every other must-see—Manneken Pis, the Royal Galleries, the chocolate shops—radiates out from it. The Atomium is the better view, the tastings are the most fun, and Bruges is the prettiest day trip—but for the single most important sight in Brussels, this is the one we’d see first, ideally on a guided walk to bring the history alive.
That said, the right pick depends on your day: choose the Atomium for views, a chocolate or beer tasting for the tastiest afternoon, the Comic Strip Route for something offbeat, and a Bruges or Ghent day trip if you have a spare day. Because the centre is so compact, most visitors comfortably combine three or four of these in a single day.
Where to Stay in Brussels
For a first visit, base yourself in or near the historic centre (around the Grand Place) to have the main sights, restaurants and the Royal Galleries on your doorstep. The Sablon and Sainte-Catherine areas offer a slightly more local, foodie feel within easy walking distance, while the area around Brussels-Midi/Zuid station is handy if you’re arriving by Eurostar or planning lots of day trips.
Use the interactive map below to explore hotels and apartments across Brussels and compare prices by neighbourhood:
Getting There & Around
Brussels is superbly connected—Eurostar and high-speed trains link it to London, Paris and Amsterdam in a couple of hours, and the historic centre is small enough to explore entirely on foot. For the Atomium and the EU Quarter, the STIB metro, tram and bus network is quick and cheap (Line 6 gets you to the Atomium in about 20 minutes). You don’t need a car in the city itself.
Where a transfer really helps is the airport run—arriving with luggage, or heading out early for a day trip. If you’re flying into Brussels South Charleroi, see our full guide on getting from Charleroi Airport to Brussels city centre. For stress-free, personalised transport designed for travellers, we use Welcome Pickups: a friendly local driver meets you, tracks your flight, and takes you door-to-door without the taxi-rank hassle.
Book a Welcome Pickups Transfer →
Visiting Tips & Timing
When to Go
May–June and September offer the best balance of mild weather and manageable crowds. Summer is lively but busier and wetter than you’d expect; December brings a magical Christmas market and lights. If you can, aim a visit for mid-August in an even-numbered year to catch the Flower Carpet, when the Grand Place is covered in a vast tapestry of begonias for a few days.
Booking
The Atomium and the popular chocolate, beer and day-trip experiences fill up fast in peak season, and booking online locks in your slot—usually for the same price or less than at the door. Check the live availability widgets throughout this guide for current times and pricing.
What to Bring
- Comfortable shoes: The centre is cobbled and gently hilly.
- A light layer & umbrella: Brussels weather changes fast, even in summer.
- Some cash: Handy for frites stands, small cafés and the odd market.
- An appetite: Waffles, fries, mussels, chocolate and beer—pace yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Explore More of Belgium
Planning the rest of your trip? These guides cover more of the country:
One Day in Brussels — A step-by-step itinerary for making the most of a single day in the city.
Charleroi Airport to Brussels — Every way to get from Brussels South Charleroi Airport into the city centre.
By Ben Farr