Brussels Travel Guide - Getting There

By air: Brussels effectively has two airports, the city airport, the closest and the Brussels Charleroi Airport, which is about one hour away from the city centre by road or rail. The main airport receives most of the air traffic coming into the capital, mainly because of its larger size and due it being just a 30 minute journey to the city by train, taxi or bus.

The Brussels Charleroi Airport has become increasingly popular due its expanding number of budget airline connections stretching across a now large number of major European destinations. Cheap flights can also be found to the city airport during special offers and off-peak times.

The extremely fast Thalys service connects to Amsterdam in three hours, Cologne in less than three hours and Paris in under an hour and a half. London is a convenient two and a half hours by train on Eurostar from Brussels.

By bus: Eurolines and Gulliver’s connect Brussels to all major destinations in Europe, many of which take much longer to reach than by train, but is a much cheaper way to travel. London is eight hours on Eurolines and Hamburg 11 hours on Gulliver’s.

By boat: ferries to the two main Belgian ports of Oostende and Zeebrugge are the most convenient way to get to Brussels by sea, particularly from the UK. Connections by train or bus from the North Sea Coast usually get to the capital in less than two hours.