Day-by-day eating plans for Brussels. weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.

Day-by-day plans

Brussels weekend: the classics, done right ★ 4.7

First-time visitor, two days2 days

A weekend built around the dishes Brussels invented and the brasseries that wrote the rulebook. Moules-frites, lambic, chocolate and the Sablon-to-Sainte-Catherine axis with the Marolles flea market on Saturday and the antiques on Sunday.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: Marolles morning, brasserie lunch, lambic afternoon

    Morning
    Marche du Jeu de Balle in Marolles at 09:00. Walk the flea market, then late-morning coffee at a cafe along Rue Haute before noon.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Au Vieux Saint Martin on Place du Grand Sablon. Filet americain prepared at the table, frites, a glass of Chimay Bleue. Walk Sablon to Wittamer for a praline box.
    Evening
    Aperitif at A La Mort Subite for the lambic. Dinner at Chez Leon on Rue des Bouchers: moules marinieres in the heavy black pot, gueuze on the side.

  2. Day 2: Sunday: waffles, market, brasserie dinner

    Morning
    Maison Dandoy on Rue Charles Buls at 09:30. Brussels waffle with whipped cream and a coffee in the upstairs tea room. Walk to the Place du Grand Sablon for the antiques.
    Afternoon
    Late lunch at Noordzee Mer du Nord standing counter: shrimp croquettes, fish soup, a glass of muscadet. Walk through Marche du Sablon antiques.
    Evening
    Dinner at Aux Armes de Bruxelles on Rue des Bouchers at 19:30. Chicken waterzooi in the broth, with a Trappist beer or a glass of Sancerre.

Brussels beer: three days of lambic and craft ★ 4.6

Beer-curious traveller, three days3 days

Three days inside Brussels' beer culture: Cantillon spontaneous fermentation, Brasserie de la Senne hop-forward ales, the brown cafes pouring Trappist by the bottle, and the modern craft taprooms of Dansaert.

  1. Day 1: Lambic day in Anderlecht and Sainte-Catherine

    Morning
    Cantillon brewery tour at 10:00 in Anderlecht. The museum walk, the spontaneous-fermentation room, three tastings at the end.
    Afternoon
    Lunch nearby at Friture Rene on Place de la Resistance: steak frites, a glass of Lambic from the cellar list. Walk back to Sainte-Catherine.
    Evening
    Aperitif at A La Mort Subite for the Mort Subite Gueuze. Dinner at In 't Spinnekopke on Place du Jardin aux Fleurs: rabbit in gueuze, bloempanch on the side.

  2. Day 2: Modern Belgian craft in Dansaert and Molenbeek

    Morning
    Brussels Beer Project Dansaert taproom from 14:00. Tour the lambic side, 24 taps including Babylone (bread beer).
    Afternoon
    Tram across to Molenbeek for Brasserie de la Senne on Chaussee de Gand. Saturday-only taproom, Zinnebir and Taras Boulba on tap.
    Evening
    Dinner at Henri on Rue de Flandre, then drinks at Moeder Lambic Fontainas on Place Fontainas: 46 craft taps and 200-bottle lambic cellar.

  3. Day 3: Brown cafes and the Grand Place axis

    Morning
    Coffee at MOK Dansaert. Walk to the Grand Place; visit Brasserie Cantillon shop or Maison Dandoy for speculoos.
    Afternoon
    Belgian Beer Weekend tasting (if September); otherwise lunch at Aux Armes de Bruxelles for waterzooi with a Westmalle Tripel.
    Evening
    Cocktail at L'Archiduc with jazz at 17:00. Late dinner at Au Vieux Saint Martin for filet americain, a glass of Lindemans Kriek.

Brussels three days: vegetarian and pastry-led ★ 4.5

Vegetarian / vegan, three days3 days

Three days of Brussels for the vegetarian traveller: plant-based bowls at Le Botaniste, the city's vegan summer rolls at Knees to Chin, Ethiopian beyaynetu, and the chocolate and patisserie map that needs no meat at all.

  1. Day 1: Ixelles brunch, Sablon chocolates, Ethiopian dinner

    Morning
    Brunch at Hinterland on Chaussee de Charleroi in Saint-Gilles. Organic, vegetarian options, slow-roasted house coffee. Note: closed Wednesday.
    Afternoon
    Walk to the Sablon. Wittamer pastry counter, Pierre Marcolini for ganache. Late lunch at Knees to Chin in Ixelles for caramelised tofu summer rolls.
    Evening
    Dinner at Toukoul on Rue de Laeken. A vegetarian beyaynetu platter for the table, injera and tej honey wine.

  2. Day 2: Saturday: plant-based dining and market day

    Morning
    Coffee at Belga and Co Bailli with a viennoiserie from Renard Bakery on Place Fernand Cocq.
    Afternoon
    Marche du Flagey runs Saturday morning until 14:00. Lunch at TAN on Rue de l'Aqueduc: daily-changing raw-food, vegetarian and vegan plates.
    Evening
    Dinner at Le Botaniste on Rue Franklin near the Schuman roundabout. Plant-based organic bowls in an apothecary-style dining room.

  3. Day 3: Pastry walk and a vegetarian Sunday lunch

    Morning
    Maison Dandoy on Rue Charles Buls for a Brussels waffle and speculoos. Walk to Aksum in the Galerie du Roi for Ethiopian filter coffee (open Sunday from 09:00).
    Afternoon
    Sunday lunch at Le Botaniste on Rue Franklin near the Schuman roundabout: plant-based organic bowls in the apothecary-style dining room (Sunday service from 11:30).
    Evening
    Aperitif and late dinner of Vietnamese vegan summer rolls at Knees to Chin on Rue de Livourne near the Bailli in Ixelles.
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