Brussels in 3 days: itinerary, where to eat and what it costs
The Grand-Place, comics, beer and Bruges just an hour away by train, in three days, with checked 2026 prices.
In short. In three days you can see the centre and the Grand-Place on the first, the Mont des Arts, the museums and the Atomium on the second, and Bruges, about an hour away by train, on the third. Excluding flights and hotel, budget around €90 per person per day (October 2026 prices).
- metro, tram or bus journey with a contactless card
- €2.40
- by train to Bruges, with 30% off at weekends
- 1 hour
- per person per day, excluding flights and hotel (example)
- €90
Brussels is usually the city people pass through between Paris and Amsterdam, and that’s a mistake. It has one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, a comic-strip culture that covers entire walls, the chips the Belgians swear they invented and, all around it, a country with more than a thousand different beers.
And it has a rare advantage: Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp are an hour or less away by train. Three days is enough for Brussels and for Bruges, which deserves a whole day to itself.
Where should you stay in Brussels on a first visit?
Inside the Pentagon, the ring of boulevards that marks out the old centre. You’ll be within walking distance of the Grand-Place and of the stations for trains to Bruges.
Grand-Place and Ilot Sacré
The centre of everything, with a restaurant at every step. Touristy and noisy, but unbeatable for three days.
Sablon
The neighbourhood of antique dealers and chocolatiers, more elegant, between the centre and the Royal Palace.
Saint-Gilles and Ixelles
Art Nouveau neighbourhoods full of cafés and restaurants, with metro and tram links to the centre.
European Quarter
By the EU institutions and the Parc du Cinquantenaire. Quiet at weekends, when hotel prices drop.
How do you get from the airport to the centre?
Brussels has two airports. Zaventem is close and has a train; Charleroi, used by Ryanair, is about 50 km away and connected by bus.
| Airport | How | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels (Zaventem) | Train to Brussels-Central; the ticket already includes the €6.90 airport supplement | about 18 min | with supplement |
| Charleroi | Flibco bus to Brussels-Midi, every 20 minutes | 55 to 60 min | from €14.99 |
On Flibco, tickets bought in advance are the cheapest.
What can you do in Brussels in 3 days?
Save Bruges for whichever day suits you best: at weekends adults get 30% off the train, but the city gets more crowded.
Morning
The Grand-Place
Arrive early, before the tour groups, to see the Grand-Place almost empty: the 15th-century Gothic Town Hall, with its 96-metre tower, and the guildhalls with their gilded façades, rebuilt after the French bombardment of 1695.
Afternoon
The galleries and the Manneken Pis
Walk through the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, dating from 1847, with their chocolate shops and bookshops, and look for the Manneken Pis, who is much smaller than you’d imagine and has a wardrobe of more than a thousand costumes. Along the way, the walls painted with comic-strip heroes make an itinerary of their own.
Evening
Beer around the Grand-Place
At night, the lanes around the square fill with beer bars. Try a Trappist and a gueuze, the sour, spontaneously fermented beer of the Brussels region. And go back to see the Grand-Place lit up before bed.
Morning
The Mont des Arts and the Magritte Museum
Climb up to the Mont des Arts, the garden where the photo at the top of this guide was taken, and go into the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, home to the Magritte Museum and the largest collection of the painter’s work.
Afternoon
The Atomium
Take the metro to Heysel and go up the Atomium, an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times for the 1958 World’s Fair. Inside there are exhibitions and, in the top sphere, the view over the city.
Practical. €17 (ages 18 to 64). 10am to 6pm, last entry 5.30pm.
Evening
The Sablon and chocolate
Come back via the Sablon, the chocolatiers’ square, and have dinner in Saint-Gilles or Ixelles, among Art Nouveau façades.
Morning
The train and the canals
The train to Bruges takes about an hour. From the station, walk into the centre past the Minnewater, the ‘lake of love’, and through the béguinage, the enclosure of white houses around a garden where religious women who weren’t nuns once lived.
Practical. Train: about 1 hr 4 min. At weekends and on public holidays, 30% off for adults.
Afternoon
The Markt and the Belfry
On the Markt, the main square, the Belfort, the 83-metre medieval belfry, has 366 steps to the top. Afterwards, a boat trip along the canals shows you the city from another angle.
Evening
Mussels in Brussels
Head back in the late afternoon and have mussels and chips for dinner, the Belgian way: in a pot, cooked with celery, onion and white wine.
Direct flight from Lisbon to Brussels: about 2h40. See the flight estimate for your dates.
What if you have one more day?
With a fourth day, Flanders has two more cities less than an hour away.
Ghent
More authentic and less touristy than Bruges, with the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb altarpiece in the cathedral, about half an hour by train.
Antwerp
The city of diamonds and Rubens, with one of the most beautiful railway stations in Europe, about 45 minutes away.
Where can you eat well and cheaply in Brussels?
Belgium takes simple things seriously. Chips, fried twice and served in a paper cone. Mussels, eaten in season, from July to April. Waffles, which come in two kinds that must never be confused. A meal at an inexpensive restaurant costs around €20.
Every beer has its own glass, and serving it in the wrong one is almost an insult. The bars in the streets around the Grand-Place are the most expensive; out in the neighbourhoods, the same beer costs less.
- Moules-frites
- A pot of mussels with celery, onion and white wine, with chips on the side. A one-kilo pot is a single portion.
- Frites
- Thick, fried twice, with mayonnaise or andalouse sauce. Eaten standing up, at a ‘friterie’.
- Brussels and Liège waffles
- The Brussels waffle is rectangular, light and crisp, dusted with icing sugar. The Liège waffle is denser, studded with pearls of caramelised sugar, and eaten plain.
- Carbonnade flamande
- Beef stew cooked in dark beer, served with chips.
- Pralines
- Filled chocolates were invented in Brussels in 1912, by a house that still has a shop in the Galeries Saint-Hubert.
- Speculoos
- The cinnamon biscuit that comes with your coffee everywhere.
How much does a trip to Brussels cost?
Brussels sits mid-table among these guides: more expensive than Lisbon for food, cheaper than Paris or Amsterdam. With a contactless card, public transport is cheap.
| What | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | ||
| One journey with a contactless card (STIB) | €2.40 | STIB |
| Brupass, one journey | €2.70 | STIB |
| Brupass, one day | €9.50 | STIB |
| Brupass, ten journeys | €18.90 | STIB |
| Airport supplement on the Zaventem train | €6.90 | Brussels Airport |
| Flibco bus, Charleroi to Brussels-Midi | from €14.99 | Flibco |
| Entry fees | ||
| Atomium (ages 18 to 64) | €17 | Atomium |
| Grand-Place and Manneken Pis | free | Public spaces |
| Eating and drinking (averages) | ||
| Meal at an inexpensive restaurant | €20 | Numbeo |
| Dinner for two, mid-range restaurant, no drinks | €80 | Numbeo |
| Cappuccino | €3.97 | Numbeo |
| Draught beer, 0.5 l | €5 | Numbeo |
Brussels next to Lisbon
| What | Brussels | Lisbon |
|---|---|---|
| Cappuccino | €3.97 | €2.70 |
| Draught beer, 0.5 l | €5 | €3 |
| Meal at an inexpensive restaurant | €20 | €15 |
| Dinner for two, mid-range restaurant | €80 | €55 |
A day in Brussels, per person
| Brupass, one day | €9.50 |
|---|---|
| Mid-morning coffee | €3.97 |
| Lunch at an inexpensive restaurant | €20 |
| Dinner (half of a dinner for two) | €40 |
| One entry ticket (Atomium) | €17 |
| Total per person | €90.47 |
Example for one adult, using the prices in the table. Excludes flights, hotel, the train to Bruges and shopping.
Is it worth going to Bruges by train?
Yes. It’s about an hour’s journey, with no parking to hunt for, and at weekends and on public holidays adults get 30% off the ticket. Buy it in the app or on the SNCB website.
What mistakes should you avoid in Brussels?
- Eating on the Rue des Bouchers, next to the Grand-Place, where waiters tout for customers at the door. Price and quality are usually a letdown.
- Ordering a beer without checking its strength: many Belgian beers are over 8%.
- Ordering mussels in June: the new season’s only arrive in July.
- Buying a paper ticket when you have a contactless card: with the card, a journey costs €2.40.
- Saving Bruges for a summer Saturday without reckoning with the crowds.
When is the best time to visit Brussels?
April to June, and September. In August of even-numbered years, the Grand-Place is covered by a carpet of flowers made from hundreds of thousands of begonias.
Winter is grey and cold, but the Christmas market and the lights on the Grand-Place make up for it. It rains at any time of year: bring an umbrella.
Frequently asked questions
- How many days do you need in Brussels?
- Two days is enough for the city; the third should go to Bruges, about an hour away by train.
- How do you get from Charleroi airport to Brussels?
- By Flibco bus to Brussels-Midi, in about 55 to 60 minutes, with tickets from €14.99 if you book ahead.
- How do you get from Brussels to Bruges?
- By train, in about an hour and four minutes. At weekends and on public holidays, adults get 30% off.
- How much does the Atomium cost?
- €17 for adults aged 18 to 64. It’s open from 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5.30pm.
- Is Brussels more expensive than Lisbon?
- Yes: €20 against €15 for a simple meal, €3.97 against €2.70 for a cappuccino and €5 against €3 for a draught beer.
Sources and price dates
All prices were checked on 2 October 2026 on the pages below. Restaurant and café averages come from Numbeo, which collects prices submitted by people who live and travel there.
Lisbon → Brussels, return flight with hotel.
If you don’t have a flight or hotel yet, ask for a quote for your dates. It arrives on WhatsApp within minutes.
Direct flight estimate based on recent market searches. The final price, with hotel, is confirmed by the consultant.
