If there’s something that Daniel and I love doing, it’s travelling abroad, and a lot.

We love the planning – which destination should we choose and when is it the best time to go there? Do we want a trip that involves relaxing on the beach or walking around exploring the city? Where should we sleep? Where do they have the best food? And another infinite number of criteria according to which we’ll choose our desired destination.

Once a year we plan a long trip abroad, the kind that makes you forget when you even left home when you’re only actually half-way through it.

So this year, we decided to choose a touristy destination in Europe, because last year we were in Thailand and we wanted to mix it up a bit… 😉

But if we’re not going to a far and exotic destination, then we should at least go to Europe when something interesting is going on, right?

Last year we dreamed of flying to the Werchter festival – a huge music festival held in Belgium for more than forty years {!!}, but unfortunately it didn’t work out {university exams, moving in together etc…}, so this year we decided to go for it!

We organized our trip around the festival, so it ended up being two full weeks in Brussels – Werchter – Amsterdam.

Back to the subject for which we gathered here in this post…

So – what is there to do in Brussels?

The next time you plan a trip to Brussels note the following…

#1 Lodging :

You must agree with me that when flying abroad the most fun is to be in the center of everything… After walking around all day and seeing the city's various attractions, endless shopping or even going out late at night, one of the most important things is that you stay somewhere as close as possible.

So, yes, sleeping in hotels located in the city's central areas makes it all a bit more expensive, but this time we found the perfect solution – an apartment rental through Airbnb’s website.

Not only can you usually find cheaper places than the major hotels, but the apartments offered on the website are usually much more special and cool than any hotel in your budget {especially if you’re traveling with a lot of people}.

Once we bought our flight tickets to Brussels, we went to the site and after many hours of searching {we’re VERY picky}, we found the perfect apartment – nice and modern, just right for a couple and most importantly – central!

Our apartment was located in the neighborhood “Dansaert” – a 10 minute walk from the central train station, the Grand Palace and the other interesting attractions the city has to offer.

When we got to the apartment we were happy to discover that it looked just like it did in the pictures! It was a clean apartment with new furniture and it was just the right size.

We started the trip on the right foot! Now, all that was left to do was to go out, walk around and taste what the city had to offer…

#2 THE Belgian French Fries :

Before we even managed to reach the first attraction, we couldn’t resist tasting the famous Belgian French fries buried under an unreasonable amount of mayonnaise.

There is no doubt that the Belgians know how to prepare the most delicious fries in the world – hot and crunchy fries accompanied by a thick mayonnaise… mmmm they were beyond yummy…

Since the first time that we had these fries when we officially started this trip, not a day passed by that didn’t include fries during our stay in Belgium.

Oh and yes, they have a menu with a huge variety of sauces, but don’t you dare give up on the mayo!

Enough said

#3 The Grand Palace :

One of the most famous spots in Brussels is the Grand Palace, the central plaza in the old city of Brussels.

The plaza is surrounded by tall and magnificent buildings from the 17th century, small cafes and restaurants, and in the center you could find a stylish flower market, street artists, and mainly lots and lots of tourists.

You should walk around and soak up the city's architectural culture and beautiful colors.

#4 The Manneken Pis :

I probably would’ve missed the most famous attraction of the city if it wasn’t surrounded by tourists snapping photos.

The experience of viewing this sculpture was even more disappointing than the moment I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris for the first time… What can I tell you, a tiny bronze statuette of a boy peeing in a fountain? Is this seriously the symbol they chose for the city?

Not only is it a statue, I hate to say – quite pathetic, they keep changing its clothing… from what I've heard this statue has more clothing in his closet than I have – I found that completely bizarre.

Let's summarize it this way – if he was not right next to the Grand Palace I wouldn’t even go out of my way and try to see it… maybe just to check it off the list.

#5 Mont des Arts (Mount of the Arts) :

Although Brussels isn’t the most beautiful city I’ve visited, I fell in love at first sight with the Mount of the Arts – a long carpet of flowers completely surrounded by romantic benches, is exactly the place you should give your legs a rest before continuing walking around the museums the city has to offer, the musical instruments museum and the art museum.

It’s also a lot of fun to buy a Belgian waffle from one of the food trucks in the area, relax and enjoy the view.

#6 Real Belgian Waffles :

Speaking of Belgian waffles, I must give it its own place of honor.

The first thing you need to get in your head – no Belgian waffle will be nearly as good as the original and real Belgian waffle. Besides the similar shape they have, they are quite different.

With that said, let me explain in detail – do you know how people usually make waffles? With a thin batter mixture that resembles a pancake mixture? So in Belgium they prepare it in a completely different way – Belgians take a chunk of dough, put it in a machine and just crush it! Wow, and the difference is huge…

It was so good that we couldn’t stop eating it, even without any additions {and I usually add more toppings than the actual waffle}, because in Belgium it’s even better left naked 😉

#7 Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate :

I don’t need to tell you about the Belgian chocolate, it’s already very famous on its own.

Nevertheless, let me draw this picture in your head – from anywhere you look you can count at least 5 premium chocolatiers offering a crazy variety of delicacies from all possible types, so even if already shoved fries in your mouth, followed by a Belgian waffle, there’s still quite a high chance you’ll add a tiny chocolate snack as dessert.

Oh yeah, besides the chocolates they make Eclairs and amazing Macaroons.

Take my advice, if you’re flying there soon – start your diet now.

#8 Delirium Café :

On one of the side streets in the area of the Grand Palace is the Delirium Café – a pub that has the largest variety of beers in the world. To be a little more specific, this pub has over 2,000 beers from around the world {Yes, even from Israel }.

The pub is almost always full of tourists, from what I managed to hear they were mostly American {but I can’t be certain since Americans are known to be louder than most people in the world…} and we had quite a hard time finding a place to sit there in the evening.

Luckily, we eventually found a place and started trying the special beers that the place had to offer. If you have 2,000-flavored beers in front of you, you should go wild and try the different tastes they have…

So we ordered a cold beer called cookies & cream, which was really delicious even though the cookie taste was not very noticeable, and coconut flavored beer that I really didn’t like and a few more beers with very interesting and unusual flavors … But after all of them, I just couldn’t give up on my favorite Kasteel Rouge

We left the Delirium drunk at 8 pm after six beers with high alcohol percentages, and we had a serious munch so we went to the closest bratwurst stand we could find…

#9 The Bratwurst {sausage in a bun }:

G-d knows how much I detested sausages throughout my adult life! At a young age my dad made sure to fully and accurately describe all the gross parts in this food and it trickled down slowly until I eventually completely stopped eating hot dogs… That all changed about two years ago when I was in Berlin and Daniel introduced me to the legendary Bratwurst sausages!

Juicy… hot… just an explosion of flavors!

I couldn’t believe when I saw they were selling this sausage in an even more delicious version on every corner in Brussels.

Let's cut it short and say that since the first munch after the Belgian beers {from the Delirium}, I couldn’t stop eating the Bratwurst sausages and I even crowned it as my favorite street food of all time!

#10 Peck 47 :

I saved our favorite place in Brussels for last

The Cafe-Restaurant Peck 47 is right in the middle of the road from our apartment to the Grand Palace and we passed by a few times during our walkabouts.

From the outside we were able to see that it’s a very cool place and there’s no chance we’ll miss it – it’s a small space with a few tables decorated in a colorful urban way and offers a variety of Eggs Benedict dishes, smoothies, salads and more…

Daniel ordered Eggs Benedict that were served on waffles and just couldn’t stop talking about this breakfast, crowning it the best he had ever eaten.

Just a wonderful place.

You only really need a couple of days in Brussels – honestly, if you’re not much of a culture and history lover, you could get through the city in one day, but the food … oh the food … you'll need another day to make sure you don’t miss anything