Belgium’s stately capital city,
Brussels, offers a wide range of premium hotels. Choose from intimate inns near the Grand Place to five-star hotels like the Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo and two Sofitel properties. Explore all your options with
Brussels Airlines’ Hotel Booking service.
Follow your nose to your first stop, the
Belgian Chocolate Village—one of the world’s largest museums devoted to chocolate. Audio guides (in English, if your French and Flemish are rusty) explain every step in transforming raw cacao beans into chocolate bars and candies. A greenhouse includes cacao plants and some of the other ingredients used to make chocolate, like ginger, pepper, and vanilla. Afterwards, take a walk through the Sablon district, home to some of Belgium’s most celebrated chocolatiers, including Patrick Roger, Pierre Marcolini, and Wittamer.
In the afternoon, visit the
Brussels City Museum, on the Grand Place. Get a historical overview, then peek inside the kitchens and dining rooms of Belgian homes over the centuries by checking out the collection of decorative objects, silverware, pewterware, and porcelain.
After a day learning about Brussels’s history and its chocolate-making traditions, you deserve a cocktail. While beer reigns supreme in this country, a new and exciting cocktail scene has emerged in recent years. Let the mixologists at
Life is Beautiful and
Pharmacie Anglaise pour you one of their signature handcrafted creations, made with ingredients like house-blended rum or horseradish-infused vodka.
Then it’s time for dinner, perhaps on the
Tram Experience. You’ll enjoy a six- or seven-course gourmet meal as you admire the city’s illuminated landmarks in this unique mobile restaurant. More conventional restaurants are no less dramatic, especially at one of the 18 Michelin-starred hotspots. Choose from options like Comme Chez Soi, a long-established favorite where you might spot royalty and celebrities dining at a nearby table; or more recent newcomers like Bon-Bon, where you can watch chef Christophe Hardiquest overseeing his team of cooks in the open kitchen.