Any visitor to Brussels will be struck by the eccentric nature of this eclectic city, the capital of the Kingdom of Belgium and Europe and the seat of Flemish and French community. It is hedonistic in its gastronomy ? a chip loving nation that guzzles beer rather than sips wine, indulges its chocolate fetish and chocolate heritage and has a heady array of Michelin-starred restaurants where the Eurocrats congregate to indulge their appetites. Yet there is humour in its culture.� Where else would you find cartoon characters� with such acclaimed celebrity ? who hasn?t heard of Tintin?� And where else would a cheeky statue, barely 24 inches tall, compel hords of tourists to seek him out.� Yet the city has to be taken seriously. it is after all the parliamentary seat of Europe, and this is where laws are passed that effect everyday life across the European continent. Add the cobbled streets and sensational architecture around Grand Place and you� have a perfect short break destination.Getting there: There are flights to Brussels with all major airlines. However, we travelled from London and found that the cheapest and by far the best mode of transport is by train with Eurostar. It offers a two-hour train journey across the Channel from London?s St Pancras International to Brussels? Gare Midi. From there you can take a train to the EU centre of Brussels or the old town. Fares start from �69. Getting orientated: There are two major districts to explore and the city is small enough to see them both within a short time. If you want to see how our European rulers party, hang out in Place Luxembourg where the bars are full of Commission employees, MEPs and their staff. They tend to divide up into socialist, Christian Democrat and other party affiliations so eavesdropping could be interesting.Avenue Louise, one of the main intersections, is the Brussels version of Bond Street, and has a range of destination shops.The most glittering, most lively square is Grand Place where the buildings are extraordinaly ornate in gold trim. The town hall, which looks like a cathedral has a tower that stands 96m tall and bears a 5-metre-tall gilded Saint Michael. We suggest you start your Brussels tour on a Hop-on-Hop-off bus (?18 per adult, ?10 for children aged 6-12 and free for children under 6). The 24 hour ticket allows you to visit all the main tourist sites in Brussels and you can get on-and-off the bus as often as you like, allowing you to visit the attractions you saw from the bus at your own pace. If time is an issue, you can also opt for a 3 hour sigthseeing tour of Brussels in a luxury coach with a multilingual guide. It cost ?24 for adults, half price for children aged 6-12 and free for children under 6 and includes hotel pick-up, meal and entrance fees. Don't Miss: There are more than 500 million citizens scattered across 27 member states of the European Union speaking in 27 languages. So how on earth does the EU parliament ever manage to pass new laws with so many agendas, opinions and cultures to consider?You can find out at the new European Parliament?s visitors? centre Parlamentarium that recently opened�the public. Explanations are given in 23 languages, about how parliamentary decision are reached and how they filter across Europe affecting everyday lives. A highlight is to be able to sit in on a simulation of the political process and leave feedback for your country?s MEPs.As Brussels does not enjoy the sunniest of climates it?s good to know that the centre is open everyday offering refuge from the rain and best of all, entry is free. Allow at least an hour.�Visit the Manneken-Pis:�Take a left turn from the Grand Place to rue de l?Etuve and you?ll find a tiny, pot-bellied figurine, just 61cm/24 inches tall, called the Manneken Pis ? a sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain?s basin. This tiny bronze is as important here as the Eifell Tower is in Paris. The Manneken-Pis fountain may be small but he has a huge wardrobe of 800 suits and you can see them in the neo-Gothic styled Museum of the City of Brussels, another superb building on the Grand Place.Grab a glass of beer:�Brussels is defined by its bars. It would be a crime to visit Brussels and not try at least one Belgian beer. You might think the bars around the Grand Place would be tourist traps, but they?re not. You can nip into any of them and be sure of a relaxing welcome.� Try Le Roi des Belges in rue Jules Van Praet which is�considered a trendy watering hole. Another to try is Poechenellekelder on Rue du Ch�ne just opposite the Manneken-Pis (surely a sight to make anyone reach for a drink).But Brussels is also a wonderful city for coffee, and again the main tourist areas are, unusually, also the best places to visit. Take your pick of the coffee bars around Le Sablon.Don't leave without: �Belgium colonized the African Congo and this led to a steady supply of cocoa beans and the celebrated chocolate industry. In 1912 local chocolatier Jean Neuhaus invented the famous Belgian praline (don?t confuse with the American pecan confection). Today there are chocolate shops on every corner, and at least three on Place du Grand Sablon: Godiva, Neuhaus, and Pierre Marcolini, so can you really come home without a sample or two. If you love museums you can visit the city?s chocolate and cocoa museum a stone?s throw from the Grand Place.To get the most of the Belgian chocolate experience, take out a walking tour of Brussels including a chocolate workshop. The tour begins with a master class taught by a chocolatier, who schools you in the art of making orangettes, pralines, and decorative Easter eggs. You also get to enjoy free tasting of the finest chocolates worldwide and benefit from a 10%-20% discount card for the world's delicious pralines. It costs ?70 per adult, ?40 per child aged 6-12 and is free for children under 6. Dining out: If you can blow the budget you will certainly find an astonishing supply of expensive Michelin-starred restaurants serving very traditional French food to Eurocrats and lobbyists. Try La Maison du Cygne off the Grand Place (where Karl Marx lived in the nineteenth century).For a more down-to-earth option (budget-wise) opt instead for some of the newer restaurants in areas such as Ixelles, which tend to be good ? if they?re not up to scratch the competition closes them down ? and better value.Go see the cartoons:�The Belgians are cartoon-crazy and with 700 comic strip authors, Belgium has more comic strip artists per square kilometre than any other country in the world. The most famous Belgian cartoon character of all time is Herg�?s Tintin with the pint-sized Smurfs at his heels in the popularity stakes. And he is tipped to become even more famous when Stephen Spielberg?s animated 3D film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is released on October 21 in Brussels' cinemas. Incidentally, you will see homages to Tintin around the city such as giant revolving figures of him and his sidekick pooch on a city roof and turn down the rue de L?Etuve near Grand-Place and there he is drawn scrambling down a ladder on the side of wall. To get more indepth information there is the Belgian Comic Strip Center housed in a magnificent Art Nouveau building. It is packed with illustrated original comic strip drawings and unique objects. See the view:�For superb views over the city head for the Rooftop Caf� inside the Musical Instruments Museum. The building is architecturally magnificent built out of girded steel and glass in the art nouveau style. Inside is the world?s largest collection of musical instruments, 1,500 at the last count.USEFUL LINKSAccommodationHotels in Brussels start from ?34 for a double room.TransportBrussels is served by two airports: Brussels International and Brussels Charleroi. Find flights to Brussels:Cheap Flights with Budget Airlines21 October 2011
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