A weekend of beer, chocolate and waffles!
This was such a fun little weekend getaway, I would definitely recommend. It was our first time on the Eurostar and it’s definitely easier than flying!
Costs:
- Eurostar – £276 for 2x return, London – Brussels
- Brussels to Luxembourg – £120 for 2x return train
- Finsbury Park Travelodge – £80, 1x night
- Luxembourg Ibis Styles Hotel – £94, 1x night
- Hotel Le Plaza Brussels – £142, 1x night (special treat for bday)
Luxembourg:
Our train from London St Pancreas was at 7am so we decided to stay in a Travelodge on the Thursday evening at Finsbury Park. We then woke up at 5:30am and hopped on the Victoria line for 2 stops.
After passport control and security (which took no time at all) we then boarded the train. It’s very straightforward to find the platform. As it was a Friday morning it was very busy but you have assigned seats so it’s no issue.
It only took 2 hours to get to Brussels, I mostly napped the whole way! Once we had arrived at Brussels Midi/Zuid, we bought our tickets for our train to Luxembourg at the station. This journey took 2 hours 50 but it was very comfortable and lovely views. Be careful not to accidentally sit in first class though!
Once we arrived, we dropped off our bags at the Ibis and set off exploring. In Luxembourg all public transport is free!! Therefore, we used the tram into the centre. We strolled around the cute streets, it’s so clean but it is one of the richest countries in the world! After a quick coffee at Lloyds Eatery and baguette at L’atelier Steffen, we walked to Pont Adolphe a beautiful bridge running across the city, you can even walk underneath it which is so cool.
Further along the street we went into the Notre Dame Cathedral which was beautiful inside.
You have to explore the Alzette Valley, it’s like a fairyland. There are so many lovely walks with winding stairs and hidden waterfalls, you could explore for hours.
To get back to the top there is an outside elevator called the Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator, which connects the city quarters of Ville Haute, the historical city centre.. This was so cool if not slightly terrifying but the views are amazing and its free!
If you are brave enough you can step on the glass at the top and feel like you are floating.
I would love to say that we ate some of the finest Luxembourg delicacy but actually we were exhausted and just opted for a cheeky McDonalds (oops).
Brussels:
Up bright and early the next morning and we jumped on the train to Brussels (after grabbing a pastry for breakfast of course).
We dropped off our bags at the Plaza Hotel, OMG was this hotel beautiful. I booked it as a special treat for Laurence’s bday, we felt like we were in Home Alone!
The first thing we did was buy a waffle from a place called Galet, It was absolutely delicious and definitely worth the hype! After wandering through the chocolate shops and trying all the samples (someone has to), we found The Grand Place. This place is beautiful but it’s even better at night time when it’s all lit up!
It was at this moment we realised we ‘accidentally’ booked our trip over the weekend of Brussels beer festival. The atmosphere was absolutely unreal, live bands, loads of beers stalls and lots of dancing. Of course we had to try a few beers, it would be rude not to.
After this, we made our way to Mannekin Pis who is pretty cool, he was dressed in a sort of town crier outfit (apparently they change his outfit regularly).
We booked the chocolate museum, Choco-Story which was £12 a ticket. If I am honest I wouldn’t recommend but we are not the museum type. We did get to watch how praline was made and eat lots of samples though so can’t complain!
From Choco-Story we walked 25 minutes to board the IC Train from Brugge to Bruxelles-Midi where we then changed to board the Metro 6 to Heysel (12 stops). This was quite the trek and we got very confused about the metro ticket pricing (I’m still not 100% sure, the barriers seem to charge Laurence a full price day ticket when he tapped but me a single each time) but it was definitely worth it to see the Atomium!
This was a fun little touristy area with cafes and ice cream trucks. You could pay to get up it but we decided to just appreciate it from the outside.
We then headed back on the tram and got ready for dinner at the hotel. For dinner we decided on Wolf Market, an indoor market with loads of different food stalls to choose from (this is our favourite type of place as we can never make our mind up). We indulged in some sushi, tacos and gyros they were all delicious.
The next day we woke early, our train home wasn’t until 4pm. The metro was right outside our hotel so we took the 1 or 5 from De Brouckere to Gare Centrale and walked 8 minutes to arrive at the Royal Palace of Brussels. From here we walked 25 minutes to Cinquantenaire park. This park was beautiful, definitely worth visiting.
We jumped on the metro back to the centre, enjoyed a baguette at Panos (kind of like Subway), bought some chocolate for everyone back home and took the metro back to Brussels Midi where we boarded the Eurostar.
Overall, this was a jam-packed weekend but we absolutely loved it. Both Brussels and Luxembourg are lovely cities with so much to do and see. I am so glad we booked to go here and I will definitely be using the Eurostar more often – especially the newly announced line to Switzerland!
Travel with Dali 
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