Things to do
in Brussels.

How to choose

Half the Brussels list leaves Brussels

Twelve of the 24 experiences we list for Brussels never stay in Brussels. Six go to Bruges or Ghent, three to Luxembourg and Dinant, two to Amsterdam and the Dutch countryside, one to the Flanders Fields battlefields. Each is a long day, running from eight hours to thirteen, while all twelve city tours finish inside four hours apart from one private booking sold with a two-to-eight-hour window. The median length across the set is six and a half hours, which is a gap nothing is actually sold at. Coach seats out of town start at €45, and the €45 Bruges and Ghent trip carries 5,031 reviews, more than any other listing here.

The twelve that stay are largely about eating and drinking: seven involve tastings, six name chocolate in the title and three name beer. They run from a €10, twenty-minute bean-to-bar factory visit to a €99 four-hour beer and chocolate tour and a €95 food tour with a full meal. The ratings follow the same split — seven of the twelve city tours sit at 4.7 or above, while nine of the twelve day trips are 4.4 or below. Seven listings are private, and five of those are priced from €420 to €900 with 52 reviews between them. Museums are the absence. No title names the Magritte Museum, the Musical Instruments Museum, the Comic Art Museum or Autoworld, and the Atomium turns up once, as a photo stop on the Antwerp and Ghent coach.

What to know before you book in Brussels

The museums are the part no tour here covers, and each keeps its own calendar. The Magritte Museum's official opening hours should decide which day you give to the upper town — and it is the Place Royale museum, not the René Magritte house in Jette. The Musical Instruments Museum normally closes on Mondays and stops selling tickets before the galleries close, so check its last admission.

Buying Comic Art Museum tickets online does not put you in a fast lane: admission is still checked, and the opening calendar has seasonal exceptions. At the Atomium the panorama uses a lift, but the exhibition route also includes stairs and escalators, so read the detailed route if steps affect your visit. Autoworld suggests allowing about 90 minutes. Every listing on this page can be cancelled free.

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