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    Insight Guides Pocket Brussels (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Pocket Brussels (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Pocket Brussels (Travel Guide eBook)
    Ebook284 pages1 hour

    Insight Guides Pocket Brussels (Travel Guide eBook)

    By Insight Guides

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    About this ebook

    Insight Pocket Guides: ideal itineraries and top travel tips. Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do and see in Brussels, from top attractions like the Grand-Place, the cheeky Manneken-Pis statue, and the picturesque towns of Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent, to hidden gems, including the the unique Musee des Instruments de Musique and Chinese Pavilion at Laeken. This will save you time, and enhance your exploration of this fascinating city. -Compact and packed with essential information, this is an iconic on-the-move companion when you're exploring Brussels -Covers Top Ten Attractions and Perfect Day itinerary suggestions, including the Gothic Cathedral des Sts-Michel-et-Gudule, Bruge's Belfry, Antwerp's Grote Market and the picturesque Korenlei in Ghent -Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture -Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps will help you find your way around -Essential practical information on everything from Eating Out to Getting Around -Inspirational colour photography throughout
    Sharp design and colour-coded sections make for an engaging reading experience. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly,modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateOct 1, 2018
    ISBN9781789192674
    Insight Guides Pocket Brussels (Travel Guide eBook)
    Author

    Insight Guides

    Insight Guides wherever possible uses local experts who provide insider know-how and share their love and knowledge of the destination.

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      Book preview

      Insight Guides Pocket Brussels (Travel Guide eBook) - Insight Guides

      How To Use This E-Book

      Getting Around the e-Book

      This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Brussels, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

      The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Brussels, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

      In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

      Maps

      All key attractions and sights in Brussels are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

      Images

      You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Brussels. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

      About Insight Guides

      Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

      Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

      © 2018 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

      Table of Contents

      Brussels’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction #1

      Top Attraction #2

      Top Attraction #3

      Top Attraction #4

      Top Attraction #5

      Top Attraction #6

      Top Attraction #7

      Top Attraction #8

      Top Attraction #9

      Top Attraction #10

      A Perfect Day In Brussels

      Introduction

      Historic Town

      Trading Places

      Natives and Foreigners

      A Brief History

      The Middle Ages

      The Burgundians

      Habsburg Rule

      Inquisitions, Shells and Beheadings

      Revolution to Revolution

      Independence at Last

      World Wars and International Leadership

      Historical Landmarks

      Where To Go

      The heart of the city

      The Grand-Place

      The Hôtel de Ville

      Houses of the dukes and guilds

      L’Ilot Sacré

      Place de la Monnaie to Place de Brouckère

      The cathedral

      Comic Strip Centre

      The Lower City

      Place Royale

      Art museums

      Parc de Bruxelles and Palais Royal

      Le Sablon

      Les Marolles

      Beyond the Old City

      To the East

      To the South

      To the West

      To the North

      Heysel

      The Royal Estate at Laeken

      Environs of Brussels

      Tervuren

      Waterloo

      Excursions

      Antwerp

      Antwerp’s Town Hall

      Printing and art

      Rubens House

      Museum of Modern Art

      Diamonds galore

      Bruges

      Tours by Carriage and Boat

      The Markt

      The Burg and Town Hall

      Basilica of the Holy Blood

      Groenerei and Huidenvettersplein

      Museum of Fine Arts

      Hans Memling Museum

      The Begijnhof

      The old quaysides

      Ghent

      The Church of St Nicholas

      St Bavo’s Cathedral

      Korenlei and Graslei

      Gravensteen

      Patershol

      Citadelpark

      What To Do

      Shopping

      What to Buy

      Entertainment

      Theatre and Music

      Nightlife

      Festivals

      Sports

      Brussels for Children

      Calendar of Events

      Eating Out

      When to Eat

      What to Eat

      Main Dishes

      Vegetables

      Seafood

      Desserts

      Snacks

      Drinks

      Reading the Menu

      To Help You Order…

      …and Read the Menu in french

      …and in Dutch

      Restaurants

      Brussels

      Grand-Place/Ilot Sacré/fish market

      Le Sablon/Les Marolles

      Beyond the Old City

      Upper City

      Antwerp

      Bruges

      Ghent

      A–Z Travel Tips

      A

      Accommodation (see also Youth hostels and Budgeting for your trip)

      Airport

      B

      Bicycle hire

      Budgeting for your trip

      C

      Car hire

      Climate

      Clothing

      Crime and safety (see also Emergencies and Police)

      D

      Driving (see also Car hire)

      E

      Electricity

      Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions

      Emergencies (see also Crime and safety and Police)

      G

      Gay and lesbian travellers

      Getting there

      Guides and tours

      H

      Health and medical care

      L

      Language

      M

      Media

      Money

      O

      Opening hours

      P

      Police (see also Crime and safety and Emergencies)

      Post offices

      Public holidays

      T

      Telephones

      Time zones

      Tipping

      Toilets

      Tourist information

      Transport

      V

      Visas and entry requirements

      W

      Websites

      Y

      Youth hostels

      Recommended Hotels

      Brussels

      Grand-Place/Ilot Sacré/fish market

      Upper City

      Beyond the Old City

      Antwerp

      Bruges

      Ghent

      Brussels’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction #1

      Shutterstock

      The Cathédrale des Sts-Michel-et-Gudule

      Beautiful stained glass windows in the choir depict Louis II and his wife. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #2

      iStock

      Manneken-Pis

      The city’s famously cheeky statue. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #3

      iStock

      Atomium

      A symbol of the city, this metallic 1950s sculpture rises above the toy-town buildings of Mini-Europe. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #4

      iStock

      The Old England Department Store

      One of many lovely Art Nouveau buildings, it now houses a music museum. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #5

      iStock

      The Grand-Place

      This focal point of the city’s daily life is simply one of the loveliest squares in the world. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #6

      Shutterstock

      Ghent

      The city has numerous attractions, including the picturesque Korenlei. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #7

      iStock

      Place Royale

      The square at the heart of Royal Brussels. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #8

      iStock

      Parc du Cinquantenaire

      Beautiful formal gardens with a monumental arch created for King Leopold II. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #9

      iStock

      Antwerp’s Grote Markt

      The central fountain depicts Antwerp’s hero Silvius Brabo. For more information, click here.

      Top Attraction #10

      Shutterstock

      Bruges

      The 13th-century Belfry towers over the old town. For more information, click here.

      A Perfect Day In Brussels

      9.00am

      Breakfast

      Begin the day in style by having breakfast at the terrace café of the sumptuous Belle Époque-style Métropole Hotel, on place de Brouckère.

      10.00am

      The Grand-Place

      Walk to the Grand-Place by way of place de la Monnaie, passing the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the city’s neoclassical opera and ballet house, on the way. When you arrive at the Grand-Place, take in the magnificent spectacle as an ensemble. Then, going around the square, take time to view the ornate facades of the buildings, including the Hȏtel de Ville, Maison du Roi and guildhouses.

      11.00am

      A stroll through central Brussels

      Walk to the Galeries Royales St-Hubert, an elegant 19th-century shopping arcade, emerging below the Gothic Cathédral des Sts-Michel-et-Gudule. Then go past Gare Centrale to the Mont des Arts, a fine city garden and restored showcase of 1950s architecture. Drop downhill through place St-Jean to view Manneken-Pis, and decide for yourself whether this much-loved symbol of Brussels is worth all the fuss. Return to the Grand-Place.

      1.00pm

      Lunch

      There are many restaurants in the l’Ilot Sacré district just off the Grand-Place, but you can’t do better than join the throng for lunch in the traditional Belgian restaurant ’T Kelderke, set in an atmospheric Grand-Place cellar.

      2.00pm

      A choice of museums

      Take a stroll through the Parc de Bruxelles. Emerging on its south side at place Royale, visit Belgium’s premier art museum, the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, or focus instead on the nearby Musée Magritte, dedicated to the work of Belgium’s great surrealist painter.

      4.00pm

      Two squares

      Along rue de la Régence are place du Grand-Sablon and place du Petit-Sablon, the former home to fine antiques stores and a weekend antiques market, the latter a neat little park.

      5.00pm

      Avenue Louise

      By tram or on foot you pass by the city’s vast Palais de Justice, looming above the atmospheric but poor Marolles quarter. Place Louise marks the start of avenue Louise, a long boulevard rich in upmarket shops. Along the way, rest your legs over a drink in a hotel, such as the Steigenberger Wiltcher’s hotel.

      7.00pm

      Indian dinner

      Since you had a Belgian-style lunch, consider taking a tram or taxi to the far end of avenue Louise, for dinner at the superb Indian restaurant La Porte des Indes.

      9.00pm

      A Brussels café

      If you’re up for a pre-sleep drink, head back to the city centre, to that grande dame of Brussels bars, À la Mort Subite, a few streets from the Grand-Place, and order

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