It was my first time to
Europe. On my way to the Eastern Europe, I had 8 hours to spare in Brussels. My
Travel buddy and I decided to make the best of it by exploring the most we can
in a short amount of time. You might say 8 hours does not do justice to visiting
a place. But to me, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not every day do
I get to switch countries or just travel a few hours and be in another country.
You see, Europe has one of the most efficient transportation networks that it
makes it easy for a traveler to get to all major destinations.
Out of all the places I
visited while in Brussels in this short time. These are the places the top 5
places I would recommend you visit.
EU Parliament and
Parlamentarium
If you are into politics or
minutely engaged with current events, these location is a place that you should
not want to miss. These proceedings of the parliament do not meet during the
summer months but the tours are well worth it. Early bookings are not necessary
but you will be required to show some form of government ID usually your
passport would do just fine. The Parliament tour will last around 30 to 45 mins.
The Parlamentarium is
another free location to explore. It showcases the road towards an integrated
Europe. It has a very euro-centric design in architecture. This was something
that I enjoyed. This tour can take about 90 minutes. Since the wait time to get
through security took longer than expected my travel buddy and I rushed through
it. This is one of the locations that is well worth a good visit, but would
probably not go back there again. (unless you are into politics and history.
You might spend hours in their various multi-media exhibitions)
Grand
Place
One of the most important
tourist places in Brussels. You MUST go to Grand Place. Surrounded by
guildhalls, the city's town hall and the bread house it's a location that
showcases Baroque, Gothic, and Louis XIV architecture. Walking to this location
we saw many small Greek and Turkish style restaurants.
Brussels
Royal Palace
This is another free tour
for you to take where you can get a sneak peek into history. Try out some of
the chocolate shops close by and enjoy some of the variety of Belgian waffles
while you are at it. Do keep in mind that the ques might be long to enter the
Palais Royal de Bruxelles.
Photo Credit: Isen Majennt
Parc de
Bruxelles Waranderpark
Thinking back to this, there
was really nothing really spectacular about this park. But walking through
after a busy day it was well worth the break. There is a nice fountain on one
end. Situated between the Royal Palace, Palace of nations and Belgian
parliament. It is well kept and manicured.
Brussels
Central Station
On a 8 hour window to visit
Brussels this is the station that you will most likely come to from the
airport. Despite not seeming to have adequate capacity to handle the flow of
foot traffic it still fascinated me to see some post-war architecture stuck in
the 1950s. This was also my first introduction to European transportation
systems. It one of the things I love about Europe. Train stations that take you
right to the heart of the city. Then everything else can be
accessed via foot.
Bonus:
Free Walking Tour
I personally didn’t have time to do this
on the Brussels leg of my Europe trip. But I would highly recommend taking a
free walking tour. You will get to see through the eyes of the locals also
learn from fellow what are some of the other places to visit, hangout and
explore based on mutual interests that you might have. I took a free walking
tour on my Slovakia leg of the trip when
I had a few hours to kill between appointments. It was well worth it.
About
the author:Philip is in pursuit of exploring the world while taking steps towards minimalism and healthy lifestyle. Since 2015 he has set a goal of traveling to at least 3 new countries a year. He has now touched 9 countries. You can follow his journey on Instagram @pmexplore where he is most active.
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