Solo day trip to BRUSSELS on the Eurostar!

SOLO TRIP TO BRUSSELS ON THE EUROSTAR from London! This was a solo birthday day trip to Brussels and I walked the whole city, come see what I ate, drank, saw and bought!

Timings:
00:00 - Intro
00:08 - Eurostar London to Brussels
01:09 - Tram to Churchill
02:13 - Brunch at Seven
02:43 - Walking to Peñar
03:58 - Drink at Peñar
04:14 - Walking through to see the view of Jardin du Mont des Arts
07:56 - Parc de Bruxelles
09:12 - Matcha & a cookie at BARKBOY
09:31 - Galeries Royales Saint Huberts (Chocolate shops)
10:25 - Grand-Place (gilded buildings)
11:55 - Walking through Dansaert (APC Surplus)
12:26 - Belgian beer in Dansaert
13:37 - Dinner at KLINE
14:23 - Eurostar Brussels to London

In the morning, I set off to Kings Cross St. Pancras to get the Eurostar to Brussels. It wasn’t too busy, so I cruised through security and passport control. I went to the information desk and told them it was my birthday in case they could offer any free upgrades and they DID!! It was an absolute treat. I got upgraded from Standard class to Standard Premier which included a breakfast with tea.

Once on the train, I show you what the carriage looks like inside, my view, the space and what my breakfast was. I pre-ordered the new David Nicholls book “You Are Here” as it came out the morning of my birthday so I could start a fresh new book on my Kindle for the journey. It’s a very timely book, as the characters are a little older than me but still thinking about the same things I am… now that I’m.. 30!

After just under 2.5 hours, the Eurostar pulled into Brussels Midi. I took a tram across the city to start in the Churchill area which is on a little bit of a hill. The skies were blue and sun shined through as I walked to the cafe. My first stop was recommended by my friend Marie who is from Brussels and is a cafe called Seven. They have a beautiful brunch menu, loads of drinks, smoothies, matcha and coffees. The inside space is BEAUTIFUL, it’s such a nice place to stop in for a little bit whether you’re with friends, working on your laptop or on your own. I sat at their window seats, had a smoked salmon & avocado toast with a matcha latte.

After brunch, I headed to look around the area and ended up in a nearby shop called Mercredi that sold beautiful fabrics, candles, homewares, clothes, etc, and the shop owner was so friendly.

It was getting closer to 12pm at this point, so I decided to walk to the next spot on my list, a restaurant and wine spot called Peñar. The restaurant filled out with guests coming for lunch. After about an hour, I headed out and continued my walk as I wanted to make sure I also walked through all the more “touristy” areas in the centre of the city.

I walked through the city centre through the shopping areas, through a beautiful park, saw gorgeous churches (see the timings above for each individual location) and ended by walking through Parc de Bruxelles and having another matcha and a big white chocolate cookie at BarkBoy who serve their drinks in to-go style clear cans, it’s the coolest thing. The staff there were so friendly and I sat outside and read my kindle and chatted a little to the people next to me who were really cool skaters!

I walked down the hill, and into where the Galleries (shop galleries) are with chocolate shops and into the main square where the gilded gold town hall stands. Then into the Dansaert part of Brussels which is where I had booked dinner and wanted to hang out beforehand.

I popped into the APC Surplus shop which is an out, and bought some new glassesat Komono who are a European glasses and watch brand.

After a little shop, I headed around the corner where there were a few cafes and bars, and had a beer while sitting in the sun and looking through my purchases.

For dinner, I booked into KLINE in Dansaert where I sat at the bar and got to watch all my food being made in front of me. I sat next to a woman who was visiting from Paris on a work trip and turns out I was working with her best friend – what a small world!

I whizzed off in an Uber (as we were chatting the night away) to get to Brussels Midi in time for my Eurostar which was leaving at around 9pm. I popped over to the information desk to find out about upgrades and they were so enthusiastic, friendly and celebratory, it was seriously the best ending to the day. The Eurostar team upgraded me for my birthday to Business Premier. You get a full dinner, drinks (champagne, too) and lots of space.

I couldn’t have asked for a better, more “me” day and I absolutely loved every second of Brussels. If you’re thinking about taking a solo trip, or are nervous to stay overnight in a new city, book the Eurostar to Brussels and spend a solo day out because you’ll realise how amazing it is. I can’t wait to take all the other routes, and maybe stay overnight, too.

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#brussels #brusselsbelgium #solotravel