Belgium 2 Day Itinerary
Belgium fits more into two days than most countries manage in a week, and that compression is exactly why first-timers underestimate it. The country runs on chocolate, beer, and an almost militant pride in regional identity, and the gap between Brussels and Bruges, a one-hour train ride, is the gap between a city that takes itself seriously and a medieval stage set that knows it’s beautiful and charges accordingly.
Day 1: Brussels
Getting There
Brussels Airport (Zaventem) sits about 14 km northeast of the city centre. The Airport Express train runs every 15 minutes directly to Brussels-Midi, Brussels-Central, and Brussels-Nord, takes around 20 minutes, and costs roughly €13. Skip the taxi queue unless you’re travelling with heavy luggage in a group; a licensed cab from the official stand outside the terminal runs around €50 in the daytime and closer to €55 after 10pm. Unlicensed drivers will approach you inside the arrivals hall and should be avoided entirely.
For getting around the city, a STIB/MIVB day pass covers trams, metros, and buses and is genuinely worth buying. The network is dense enough that you rarely need more than two metro stops to reach the main sights.
Morning: Grand Place and its surroundings
Start at the Grand Place before 9am if you can. The guildhalls are lit from within on summer mornings and the square is quiet enough that you can actually take in the detail of the facades, gilded stonework that ranges from restrained Flemish Gothic to full Baroque excess, without fighting through a tour group. By 10am the selfie sticks arrive in force.
The Manneken Pis is two minutes’ walk from the Grand Place. It is much smaller than you expect, roughly 55 cm tall, and that is the point: the statue’s whole appeal is the gap between its fame and its actual size. Worth a quick look and then move on. The gift shops within 100 metres sell the same chocolate-covered figurines for twice what you’d pay anywhere else in the city.
The Atomium, left over from the 1958 Brussels World Expo, is worth the trip out to Laeken if you haven’t seen it. Adult entry runs around €17 and the views from the top sphere over northern Brussels are good on a clear day. Combine it with Mini-Europe next door if you have children in tow, but adults travelling alone can skip Mini-Europe and spend that time in the Royal Museums instead.
Afternoon: Museums and Chocolate
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts hold one of the best Flemish Primitive collections in the world. Bosch, Bruegel, Rogier van der Weyden: these are not inferior reproductions but the actual originals. Budget two hours and go in the afternoon when the morning rush has cleared.
Belgian chocolate is not all the same and the difference matters. The large tourist-facing shops on the Rue du Marché aux Herbes stock recognisable brands at inflated prices. Better to find a smaller maker: Pierre Marcolini near the Sablon neighbourhood sells chocolates at prices that reflect the quality, which is exceptional, and the Sablon area itself is far more pleasant to walk than the immediate Grand Place surroundings.
Evening: Eating and Drinking
Maison Antoine, on Place Jourdan in the European Quarter, operates from a converted tram shelter and serves the city’s most discussed frites. The queue moves fast. Order twice: the portions look generous but disappear quickly. This is not a restaurant, it is a chip stand with genuine civic mythology, and it is the correct choice for at least one meal in Brussels.
For dinner, the brasseries around Saint-Catherine (the old fish market area) offer better value than the tourist-facing row on Rue des Bouchers, which has earned its reputation for mediocrity honestly. A main course and a Belgian beer in Saint-Catherine should run €20-30 per person. Belgium produces over 1,500 distinct beers; Trappist varieties from monasteries like Westvleteren, Rochefort, and Chimay are the ones worth seeking out over the generic lager available everywhere.
Practical Notes
English is widely spoken throughout Brussels, particularly in the European Quarter. The city is officially bilingual (French and Dutch) and signs appear in both languages, which can be briefly confusing but is not a practical barrier. The euro is the currency. Citizens of most OECD countries do not require a visa for stays under 90 days within the Schengen Area; check your specific country’s requirements before travelling.
Day 2: Bruges
Getting There
Trains run from Brussels-Midi (Gare du Midi) to Bruges roughly every 30 minutes. The journey takes around 60 minutes and a standard return ticket costs approximately €26-30. Book at the SNCB website or at any station ticket machine; you do not need to book far in advance for this route. Arrive at Brussels-Midi with ten minutes to spare.
Bruges station is about a 20-minute walk from the Markt (Market Square), or take a local bus for one stop. The walk is pleasant through a park and gives you the first views of the belfry tower as you approach.
Timing Is Everything in Bruges
The single most important piece of advice about Bruges: arrive early and plan to stay late, or skip it entirely and go to Ghent instead. Between 11am and 5pm, day-tripping crowds from Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris pack the historic centre to the point where the canal boat queues are 45 minutes long and the restaurants closest to the Markt charge prices that treat tourists as a renewable resource. The city before 9am and after 6pm is a different place altogether.
Morning: The Historic Centre
Burg Square is quieter and architecturally more interesting than the nearby Markt. The Basilica of the Holy Blood on its north side holds a relic venerated since 1150 and the lower chapel is Romanesque stonework at its most austere. Entry is free; donations are expected.
The Belfry of Bruges on the Markt is the compulsory climb: 366 steps, a genuine workout, and panoramic views across the flat Flemish countryside that extend to the horizon on clear days. Tickets cost €14 for adults. Book online to skip the morning queue, which forms by 9:30am in summer. It is the right call to pay to go up; the view earns it.
The Church of Our Lady on Gruuthuse Street contains Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child sculpture, one of the few of his works to leave Italy during his lifetime. It arrived in Bruges in 1506 and the fact that it sits here in a Flemish church rather than in Rome still feels slightly improbable. Entry to the church itself is free; the museum section costs around €7.
Mid-Morning: The Historium
Historium, facing the Markt, is not a conventional museum. It takes you through seven atmospheric rooms following the story of Jacob, a fictional apprentice to Jan van Eyck, using film, sound design, and sets that reconstruct 15th-century Bruges. Capacity is limited and groups move through in small numbers; book tickets online. It runs around €16 per adult and is genuinely one of the better historical experiences in Belgium, worth an hour of any itinerary.
Afternoon: Canals and Beer
The canal boat tours leave from five fixed departure points around the city. A ticket costs €15 per adult for a 30-minute circuit. This is the most straightforward way to see the canal-facing facades of the medieval buildings and the low stone bridges that give Bruges its reputation. Go between 2pm and 4pm when the light is on the south-facing walls. The ticket sellers are the boats themselves; there is no advance booking and no way to avoid the queue except arriving between boat departures.
After the boat, walk to De Garre, a bar tucked into a narrow alleyway between the Markt and the Burg that is easy to miss even when you’re looking for it. It serves a house triple-fermentation ale, De Garre Triple, at around 11.5% ABV, in a proper goblet, in a room that feels like it has been there since the 15th century because most of it has. This is the correct bar to sit in for an hour in Bruges. The tourist-facing bars on the Markt are not.
For ice cream, Gelateria Da Vinci near the Walplein makes their own on the premises and the quality is noticeably above the chain gelaterias operating near the main squares.
Evening: Stay or Return
If you are returning to Brussels, the last comfortable train leaves Bruges around 10pm. If budget allows, staying overnight in Bruges transforms the experience. Central hotels run €150-200 per night in peak season, but the city after the day-trippers leave, candlelit restaurants mostly empty, canal reflections undisturbed, is the version worth seeing. A guesthouse in the Sint-Anna quarter, slightly away from the Markt, costs less and sits in a genuinely quieter part of the city.
For dinner, De Vlaamsche Pot on Helmstraat serves Flemish stew (waterzooi) and rabbit in Kriek (cherry beer) at prices that reflect local rather than tourist-facing economics. Two courses with a beer comes in around €30 per person. Avoid the restaurants on the Markt itself; the proximity premium there is substantial and the food does not justify it.
What to Skip
Horse-drawn carriage rides circle the Markt continuously from mid-morning. They are not cheap (around €55 for a 35-minute circuit for up to four people) and they expose you to the most crowded parts of the city at the most crowded times of day. The city is small enough to walk completely in an afternoon and your own feet are the better choice.
A final practical note: carry cash in Bruges. Several of the best small chocolatiers, friteries, and the canal boats operate cash-only or have card minimums. An ATM near the Markt works without fees for most European bank cards.