Brussels Travel Guide: How To Plan A 48-Hour Trip

This post will be sharing my Brussels Travel Guide, including how to plan an affordable trip on a budget.

For my fourth international trip in 2022, I decided to head to Brussels, Belgium.

As always, I never plan my travels. I simply go with the cheapest flights to any location that I feel is safe for a solo female traveller.

Plus, I had made a Belgian friend earlier in the year in Dublin who had told me so much about Belgium, so I was looking forward to the trip.

Before I left, I checked the r/solotravel to gauge other travellers’ experiences of the city.

This was where I discovered that aside from Nightlife and chocolate, Brussels as a city doesn’t have much to offer.

It’s your typical modern quintessential European city.

Instead, you’ll enjoy the real Belgian experience in other cities like Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp.

With this information in the back of my mind, I decided to explore another city besides Brussels on my 48-hour trip.

I had a great trip and want to share all the details about planning it.

The Budget-Friendly Brussels Travel Guide For A Solo Traveller.

Compared to other smaller cities, Brussels is the capital of Belgium, so you’ll find that certain things will generally be more expensive.

Thankfully, I got a cheap flight, but most of the expenses went to accommodation and shopping.

Aside from that, I would say it was a generally affordable trip.

It wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be.

I found it quite reasonable if you’re smart about your money.

So, let’s get down into details;

Flights

Cost: £22.38/€26.84 – return

After researching many flights, I’ve noticed that certain cities consistently have cheap flights with Ryanair.

More often than not, when it’s not a busy holiday season, you’ll find these flights for £9.99 or less for one way.

These include Milan Bergamo, Ibiza, Palma, Porto, Warsaw, and Brussels Charleroi.

So, to get the lowest prices, you either go through these cities or book your primary destination months ahead.

Now that Summer is fast approaching, you need to start booking those flights.

While my flight to Brussels landed at the Charleroi Airport, about an hour from the city, it wasn’t too bad because there was sufficient provision for airport transfer.

Airport Transfer to Brussels City Centre

Cost: £24.53/€29.40 – return

The downside of the cheap Ryanair flights is that you sometimes land in an airport on the city’s outskirts.

So far, based on my limited experience, there’s always a shuttle bus dedicated to transferring passengers from the airport to the City Centre.

So don’t let that put you off.

From the Brussels Charleroi Airport, the Flibco airport shuttles run every 30 minutes to and fro.

Within 45 minutes to an hour, you’ll arrive at the Brussels Midi South Railway Station, right in the city’s centre.

From there, you can take the Metro – which is always quicker – to your accommodation.

To save money, book your ticket online.

You can always buy it at the airport if you don’t remember.

Accommodation

Cost: £43.80/€52.20 – for two nights.

Since I had to take the Flibco shuttle bus back to the airport, I ensured my accommodation wasn’t too far from the Brussels Midi Station.

I chose Latroupe Grand Place, next to a Metro Station two stops from the train station.

I honestly cannot recommend this hostel enough.

It’s easily the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in, beating SafeStay Glasglow.

Unlike typical hostels, the ambience, decor, and utilities made it feel like I was in a hotel.

The best thing was probably the price. I’ve paid more for lower-quality hostels that didn’t even match up.

Besides the extra €6/£4 I had to pay for breakfast, it was perfect.

It had all the modern hostel amenities, from privacy curtains to keycard access, quality shower and 24-hour reception.

The room was warm enough, and the bedding was clean too.

Did I mention they also have a lift?!

My standards for hostels have honestly really gone so high now.

Transportation

Cost: £29.56/€35.44 – return to Bruges

Like every other country with a modern metro system, I paid with Apple Pay every time I needed to use the Metro to and from the airport.

I also paid for a return train ticket to Bruges, which took about an hour.

I didn’t have a bus card in Bruges, so I jumped on and off to the city centre for free.

Nobody batted an eyelash at me.

Aside from that, I walked everywhere else. I found Brussels and Bruges walkable, so I avoided taking as much transportation as possible.

If you prefer to buy your tickets ahead of time instead of using contactless, you can always do so at the Metro/Bus/Train Stations.

Meals

In my quest to explore more traditional meals, I decided to try out a cute cafe I saw on Google for my first breakfast.

The hot chocolate was lovely, but the pastries weren’t fresh, which was a turn-off for me.

I should have just settled for the €6 hostel breakfast, which was a better option.

Other than that, I had some delicious Waffles in Bruges.

I also didn’t forget to try out the McDonald’s in Brussels to see what they offer differently and get cheap macarons.

You don’t get to get a bunch of Belgian chocolates to take home.

I prefer to save on food by going to street vendors as restaurants can get expensive and eat into your budget unnecessarily.

Attractions

As always, I also don’t pay for attractions to save money.

Thankfully, there was enough for me to see and explore between Bruges and Brussels.

I’ll do a separate post to cover my day in Bruges.

But if you’re in Brussels, here are some attractions that you shouldn’t miss;

• Grand Place
• Manneken Pis & Jeanneke- Pis (if you can find it)
• Choco-Story Brussels
• Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert
• Mont des Arts
• Musee Magritte Museum
• Musical instruments Museum
• Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
• Koningsplein
• Royal Palace of Brussels
• Atomium

Shopping & Souvenirs

Instead of splurging on food or premium Belgian chocolates, I splurged on French Pharmacy Skincare.

I found a Parapharmacie in Bruges and spent almost two hours there.

So, yeah, we all have our guilty pleasures.

Don’t forget to get a functional tote bag, a keyring or a fridge market.

I realized that I had started running out of tote bags, so now I have to get one on all my trips.

Also, don’t forget to get some cheap chocolates as well.

I got five boxes of assorted ones for about €13/£10.

Finally,

Brussels is that city that I can see myself going back to for the following reasons;

• The flight is only an hour from Manchester.
• It has other exciting cities that are less than an hour by train.
• It has excellent international routes to Amsterdam, Paris & Luxembourg by train.
• Contrary to popular opinion, it has much to offer, especially if you’re into history and culture.
• The flights are usually very cheap.

I hope you have found this Brussels Travel Guide very useful for your solo trip.