Eurostar - London to Brussels

Offbeat Brussels doesn't need to compete with the big boys. The cutting-edge city dares to be different, firing off its thriving history (and some pungent beers) for inspiration... and all in the shadow of the European corridors of power. You can take the Euro star direct to Brussels in just 1hr51. So why wait?

Arrive in Brussels with Eurostar and you can visit the spectacular Grand Place and iconic Manneken Pis which are just a short metro or taxi ride away, and the whole of Brussels city centre is so compact you can cover the main sites on foot. Take the metro to Bourse, overland train to the Gare Centrale or hop in a taxi, and let your short break in Brussels begin.

Compact central Brussels sits within the Petit Ring or 'hexagon' - the 14th-century boundaries of the city, running from Place Rogier in the north to the Porte de Hal in the south. The wide Grand Place is at the heart of the city. From here, head west to the larger, more grungy Lower Town, a warren of intriguing, narrow streets, and east to the smarter Upper Town, the wide, straight boulevards of which are set on a hill. A busy boulevard, which changes its name from Berlaimont to L'Impératrice and L'Empereur, marks the boundary between the two.

Brussels is a linguistic melting pot. While French and Flemish are its official languages, English and German are widely spoken because of the huge expat community and multilingual media there. Language incites passion in Brussels. Tempers flare on whether Flemish is really a language, or just a variant of Dutch, and there's sibling rivalry between Flemish and French. You can avoid the linguistic friction by speaking English.