Best tours in Brussels: walking, food and day tours

Brussels rewards a short guided walk more than most cities: the Grand-Place, the guild houses and the comic-strip murals are easy to walk past without noticing. Start with one 2–2.5 hour walking tour of the centre, then pick one themed tour (food, beer or chocolate) and one day tour by train.

Free walking tours run on a tip basis and cover the Grand-Place, the Royal Galleries and the lower town. Paid walking tours add a specific angle: Art Nouveau, comics, the EU quarter or the Marolles. Food tours cover waffles, chocolate, cheese and beer in the centre or the Marolles. Beer tours visit a brewery or a tasting room, usually with 4–6 samples. Day tours by train or minibus go to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven or the Waterloo battlefield.

Most walking and food tours meet on or near the Grand-Place or at the Bourse (Place de la Bourse), both a 5-minute walk from Brussels-Central station. Beer tours often meet at a bar in the centre or at the Cantillon brewery in Anderlecht, about 20 minutes by tram from the centre. Day tours usually meet at the coach park near the Bourse or at Brussels-Midi station for the train-based ones.

The centre is compact: Grand-Place, the Royal Galleries, the Bourse, the Manneken Pis and the Marolles are all within a 20-minute walk of each other. You do not need transport for a centre walking tour.

Walking tours usually run twice a day, morning and late afternoon, and last 2–2.5 hours. Food tours run once a day, often at lunchtime, and last 3–3.5 hours. Beer tours run in the afternoon or evening. Day tours leave early, around 08:00–09:00, and return in the late afternoon or evening.

Free walking tours are tip-based: you pay what you think it was worth, usually €5–15 per person. Paid tours are booked online in advance. Most operators offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Confirm the exact meeting point and start time with the operator, as these change by season.

Brussels is the rail hub of Belgium, so most day tours can be done by train without a tour at all. Bruges is about 1 hour 10 from Brussels-Central, Ghent about 35 minutes, Antwerp about 45 minutes and Leuven about 25 minutes. Trains run frequently and a return ticket is usually cheaper than a guided day tour if you are comfortable planning your own day.

From Brussels Airport, the train to Brussels-Central takes about 20 minutes. From the Eurostar terminal at Brussels-Midi, the centre is 10 minutes by metro or 20 minutes on foot. If you are coming from the UK, the Eurostar from London is the usual route; from the US, most flights land at Brussels Airport or Amsterdam Schiphol with a train connection.

Book beer, chocolate and day tours ahead in peak season (April–October and December), when the good slots sell out. Free walking tours do not need booking, but arrive 10 minutes early to join the group.

Check the meeting point the day before: some operators move it by season. Wear comfortable shoes; the centre is cobbled and the Marolles has slopes. If you only have one day, do a morning walking tour and an afternoon food or beer tour, and skip the day tour.

For a longer stay, see the Brussels guide, the best area to stay, shopping, solo travel and the city pass pages. If you are planning the whole trip, the step-by-step planning guide covers trains, tickets and timing.