Solo travel · Brussels · Belgium
Solo travel in Brussels
How to enjoy Brussels at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Brussels is easy and relaxed for solo travellers: compact, multilingual and full of cafés where sitting alone with a beer and a book is normal. Hostels and good-value hotels cluster near the centre and Saint-Gilles. Many solo travellers base themselves in Marolles.
Key facts
- Base
- Marolles
- Getting around
- Metro
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Language
- French and Dutch
Solo travel tips
- Stay near the Grand-Place or Sainte-Catherine to walk everywhere, including back from bars at night.
- Free walking tours and comic-mural walks are an easy way to meet other travellers.
- Sit at the bar in beer cafés; staff are usually happy to recommend beers.
- Keep valuables zipped away around Brussels-Midi, Brussels-Nord and on crowded metro lines.
- Use the Brussels Card on museum-heavy days, as solo entries add up quickly.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for budget, solo travellers and shopping
Marolles
Below the vast Palace of Justice, the Marolles centres on the Place du Jeu de Balle flea market and Rue Haute and Rue Blaes, lined with antique and vintage shops and old-fashioned cafés. It keeps a rougher, more local character than the neighbouring Sablon, and accommodation is mainly apartments and small hotels.
- Good
- Daily flea market; Local cafés and good-value food; Walkable to the centre
- Watch out
- Some streets feel scruffy at night; Few hotels
- Nearby
- Place du Jeu de Balle, Sablon, Brussels-Chapelle station
Great on your own
Landmark · Grand-Place and Îlot Sacré
Grand-Place
Come back after dark, when the façades are floodlit and the day-trippers have gone.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- After dark
- Photo spot
.jpg){kind=link}
Architecture · Heysel
Atomium
Take metro line 6 to Heysel and combine it with Mini-Europe at the foot of the structure.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- Architecture
Museum · Sablon and Mont des Arts
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Head first to the Bruegel rooms, then follow the chronological route through Rubens's large canvases.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Gallery · Sablon and Mont des Arts
Magritte Museum
Buy a combined ticket if you also plan to see the Old Masters in the same building.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Couples
_-_Interior_view_of_the_Italianate_arcade_with_a_glass-paned_barrel-vaulted_roof_(3).jpg){kind=link}
Architecture · Grand-Place and Îlot Sacré
Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries
Walk through on a rainy day and stop for a hot chocolate at one of the arcade cafés.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Shopping
- Rainy day
- Food
Religious site · Upper Town
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
Look for the stained-glass windows in the transepts, which show members of the Habsburg family.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
Meeting people
- Chocolate tasting at the Sablon — Several of Belgium's top chocolatiers have shops on the Place du Grand Sablon; buy a few pralines from each and compare styles, from classic ganache to modern infusions.
- Lambic brewery visit — The Cantillon brewery in Anderlecht runs self-guided visits through its old brewhouse and cellars of oak barrels, ending with a tasting of gueuze.
- Saint-Géry — Bars and terraces around the former market hall, busy with a young crowd on weekends.
- Impasse de la Fidélité and the Lower Town — Beer cafés near the Grand-Place, including the famous Delirium Café with its enormous beer list.
Sensible precautions
Brussels is generally safe for visitors, but pickpocketing is common around Brussels-Midi and Brussels-Nord stations, on Rue Neuve and on busy metro lines. The areas around the big stations can feel uncomfortable late at night, so take a taxi if arriving after dark.
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Staying connected
- Free Wi-Fi is available in many cafés, museums and stations; EU roaming applies to European SIMs, and eSIMs work well for other visitors.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Brussels good for solo travellers?
Brussels is easy and relaxed for solo travellers: compact, multilingual and full of cafés where sitting alone with a beer and a book is normal. Hostels and good-value hotels cluster near the centre and Saint-Gilles.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Brussels?
Marolles: Old working-class quarter with a daily flea market, antique shops and brown cafés.