Bruges on a budget: any suggestions please?

My girlfriend and I will be visiting Bruges in December and, as we are both students, are wondering if anyone can recommend any reasonably priced, but good quality restaurants please?

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Th half maan brewery do good value, good quality lunches.

You can get a good value italian at Trium, and Cambrinus on the Markt do a good value menu.

You can eat well spending as little or as much as you like in Bruges.

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Most of the restaurants in the Markt do a cheap three course set menu, We saw 13, 16, 19 euros menus and upwards.

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hello,

A very interesting map to use is %26#39;use-it%26#39;. It%26#39;s a map made by locals with interesting and some of then cheap eating facilities. You can get a map in Brussels, or print it by yourself from the website:

http://www.use-it.be/en/page/48/print-guide/

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Removed on: 8:19 am, October 10, 2009

train to bruges

Hi we arrive in Brussels on the Eurostar, anyone know which platform the Bruges train departs from (save me reading the boards)

thanks in advance

Edd

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If you arrive in Brussels in one of the stree stations (Brussels north, Brussels South or Brussels Central) You can just pick up a train with destination %26#39;oostende%26#39;. This train will normally stop in Bruges too. If you%26#39;re not sure. Before you go upstairs to the platform, read the TV-screen above you and see where the train stops.

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Eurostar arrives in Brussels Midi/Zuid.

Take train with final destination Knokke/Blankenberge or Oostende. Run pretty much every half hour. Oostende couple of minutes past the hour and Knokke/Bberge around 30 min past the hour.

Can not tell you which platform since that can change train by train, so you are going to have to take a look at the big board in the station.

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Removed on: 2:18 am, October 07, 2009

Brussels Art Nouveau Walking Tour

We%26#39;re pretty cultured travelers and have a special interest in Art Nouveau and Art Deco. We like walking tours with Art Historian Guides. Does anyone have any information or names or private guides who do this sort of thing?

Thanks.

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I think you may find what you%26#39;re looking for if you click this link: www.bruxellesartnouveau.be/index.php…

And the Horta museum is of course a must for anyone interested in Art Nouveau: www.hortamuseum.be/main.php…

I%26#39;m afraid there is no English translation on the website, but I have read that they organise guided tours through the museum (also in English) on reservation. If you call or e-mail them they will certainly give you more information.

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train from brugge to brussels

we will be in brugge for a 3 night stay in october and would like to go to brussels for the day by train.Will it be cheaper to book day return tickets in advance or should we just go to the station in brugge to book.Any advice will be much appreciated.

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Belgian Railways doesn%26#39;t do %26quot;day returns%26quot; and neither do prices differ according to whether you buy in advance or on the day - either way, you can%26#39;t book a seat anyway, on local trains. What does make a difference is travelling at weekends: a return ticket on Saturday or Sunday costs €13 compared with €12.30 one way on a weekday (so €24.60 return).

There are also %26quot;B-Excursions%26quot;, which are like day returns except that they include something more than just the transport, e.g. bus tour or entry to museums. There are 7 different ones to Brussels, which are as follows, giving prices from Brugge (Group C) per adult :

ruxelles-Central: Scientastic Museum + Chocolate Museum (€23.20

Bruxelles-Central : Visit Brussels Line (€27.30)

Bruxelles-Central : BELvue Museum and Coudenberg archaeological site (€19.40)

Bruxelles-Central : Musical Instrument Museum and Fine Arts Museums (€20)

Bruxelles-Central : Brussels Card 24h (€31)

Bruxelles-Luxembourg : Dinsosaurs gallery - natural history museum (€19.20)

Bruxelles-Schuman : Cinquantenaire museums (€22.30) (Note: the Army Museum, from which you can go up to the top of the Cinquantenaire archway, is free anyway so don%26#39;t go for this one unless you also want to visit the Royal Art %26amp; History Museum and/or Autoworld)

http://www.b-rail.be/nat/E/

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Removed on: 5:19 pm, October 10, 2009

airport connection

Actually my flight takes me to Brussels %26amp; I have to go to London. So need advice to transit Brussels is it better to do it by air or they have train station at the airport itself if one has to go to London without going into Brussels city???

Is it advisable to land at Brussels airport and take a train to London or one shud consider flight Brussels - London (immediate connection).

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Hi,

There aren%26#39;t direct trains from Brussels airport to London (you should take a train to %26quot;Bruxelles-Midi%26quot; and from there take a train to London). The whole journey takes about 3 hours, while a direct flight takes about 1h20.

Generally, a flight is the cheaper option.

You can compare flight prices (using http://www.kayak.com for example) and check http://www.eurostar.com for the price of a train.

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Since the recent fire in the Eurotunnel, Eurostar services are not operating to full schedule anyway, so I would also advise you to find a connecting flight to London if at all possible. If you do want to go by Eurostar you have to take the airport train to Gare du Midi in Brussels, first, and you have to book in advance because it%26#39;s reservation-only, and the cheaper tickets are only available well in advance anyway: see www.eurostar.com. One thing is, however, if you buy a Eurostar ticket you don%26#39;t need to pay separately for the train from the airport (although this only saves €2.90!), because while the Eurostar only starts at Gare du Midi, the ticket can start from anywhere in Belgium (ABS = Any Belgian Station) and this is now automatically included.

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Le Merdian

My husband and I are looking at spending 3 nights in Brussels next Feb as a romantic break. We want to be central to all the main attractions, restaurants and shopping.

We have viewed the above hotel which seems to have all of the above but before booking has anyone any other ideas for hotels?

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I assume you are talking about Le Meridien accross from the Central station right?

Wanted to make sure people do not think you are staying in another hotel with a somewhat similar name.

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%26#39;Merdian%26#39; sounds a bit weird, especially for a hotel :)

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Oops my spelling!!!

You are correct!

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are you in your 50%26#39;s? - if so this might appeal. rooms a re bit run down for a 5* but restaurant and bar etc are good - just for the older client. it%26#39;s a big hotel so not very romantic

if you are younger (ate heart or in reality) the best of the new bunch is the sofitel le louise - make sure you get the newly renovated new style rooms

not far from there is the stanhope (another 5*) - quiet at weekends and i think is classically romantic

as ever it all depends on what you are looking for

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are you in your 50%26#39;s? - if so this might appeal. rooms a re bit run down for a 5* but restaurant and bar etc are good - just for the older client. it%26#39;s a big hotel so not very romantic

if you are younger (ate heart or in reality) the best of the new bunch is the sofitel le louise - make sure you get the newly renovated new style rooms

not far from there is the stanhope (another 5*) - quiet at weekends and i think is classically romantic

as ever it all depends on what you are looking for

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Thanks for the advice. We are early 40%26#39;s. Really looking for a base to go off and explore and find good restaurants but also want the luxury of a nice hotel.

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The Méridian is very well-located if you would be taking day trips by train, e.g. to Brugge, as it is bang opposite the Gare centrale (this doesn%26#39;t mean it%26#39;s noisy, the trains run underground).

More romantic in the same area would be the Dixseptieme http://www.ledixseptieme.be/main.html, or possibly the Amigo.

That said, if you want the best shopping this is not in the Grand%26#39; Place area anyway (other than the Galeries St. Hubert, for chocolates, leather goods etc.) but around Louise.

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Thank you for all your replies.

We have just looked at the Sofitel Le Louise and that is now looking very promising

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Removed on: 6:16 pm, October 10, 2009

How to save money in Brussels?

I%26#39;m going to move to Brussels for a traineeship at the European Commission (october 2008 - february 2009) and money is my #1 concern. How can I save some Euros? What are the best places to go shopping? Are there any affordable restaurants in the area of Evere and Schaerbeek?

Berlin is also said to be an expensive city, but I used to eat at the Turkish stands, which were pretty cheap - is there a similar option in Brussels?

Thanks in advance for your help! :)

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See: ivillage.co.uk/travel/…00.html

The mentioned %26quot;rue du Marché aux Fromages%26quot; is also known as %26quot;pitta street%26quot;, and part of Schaerbeek is a Turkish area, there are plenty of Turkish restaurants etc. in Chaussée de Haecht (my favourite is Kargin) but probably every area has a pitta place and/or friterie: the most famous of these is Maison Antoine in Place Jourdan, about 10 minutes%26#39; walk from Schuman, and there%26#39;s one in Place Flagey (which is also a Portuguese area, if you are interested; although there is another in St. Gilles).

For shopping, you may be interested in the Dod fashion shops that sell ends of lines, unlabelled stock: there%26#39;s a cluster in the part of ch. de Louvain that does downhill from Madou metro station, and another in the rather more upmarket rue du Bailli off Avenue Louise in Ixelles (different ones specialise in men, women, children). Off rue du Bailli there is also a great bargain shoe shop, %26quot;Chez Degriff%26quot; in rue Simonis.

For household items, there%26#39;s a chain called Stockline, you will find one in the Galerie du Cinquantenaire at Mérode.

For hairdressing, try one of the academies run by the chains, again there is one near Mérode although I forget which one it is (I think, Dachkin): in Avenue des Celtes, just downhill from the metro station.

I%26#39;m sure other stagiaires will point you in the right direction: they have a website you can only access from inside the Institutions, and one you can also access from outside: www.voy.com/53105/

Look also on www.xpats.com, especially the Q%26amp;A as this is explicitly aimed at foreigners living in Brussels and not just coming as tourists.

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Gaminari, you deserve an Oscar, the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize. This is wonderful, thank you so much!

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Removed on: 6:17 pm, October 10, 2009