Brussels. The capital of Europe. The heart and lungs of the European Institutions. Home to a zillion lobbyists. You know, those guys who broker influence and nag people in the corridors with one minute pitches.
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| The Grand Place |
And yet, Brussels seems to fall prey to some heavy bashing. We gals personally think it’s a shame and what’s more: a big misunderstanding.
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| Place du Luxembourg |
Seriously, you don’t say about a great architect, “well, he’s not that good of a journalist…” because he just isn’t! And he doesn’t intend to be. Brussels might not be as beautiful as Paris. But who said it had to be? And the weather might be better in Barcelona, we’ll give you that. But we’re not in Spain!
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| Street art |
Come on. Stop for a minute the autopilot–Brussels–ever-bashing and look closer.
Note: we’re not paid by some Brussels promotion agency. Rest assured. Hey, actually maybe we should!
Anyway, in case you need a little help to see Brussels‘ positive aspects:
Brussels is right on international. According to Brussels Info, it is actually one of the most international cities in the world, with 27% of the population being foreigners!
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| Maison du Cygne, Grand place |
Brussels is creative. Where else have you seen such an elaborate trash processing system, with the blue, green, yellow and white bags? Ok, this was a tease. But jokes apart, Brussels hosts plenty of museums, clusters, art fairs, advertising agencies & co.
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| Le Petit Sablon |
Brussels is green. Haven’t you heard us rambling about Brussels parks here and here? Well, there are kilo-hectars worth of them! You can jog, have picnics, play football, have sunday free fitness classes, walk your dog, your cat, play the guitar, breathe some O2 freshly fabricated just for you!
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| Bois de la Cambre |
Brussels has looots of restaurants, cafés and brasseries where you can have great food. Quite cheap, too. The city has like 138 restaurants per square mile! Take a look at some of the places we’ve blogged about: Skievelat, Prego, Café de la Presse, Belga, Antoine, Lilicup, Café Pom.
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| Place Ste Catherine |
Beer. Great beer. Gallons of beer from tons of countries. There are over 800 kinds of beers made in Belgium. Delirium Café. Beer gardens. Abbey beers. You can even order your face on the Vedett bottles! So much fun.
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| Street art |
And let’s not forget chocolate! Belgium produces 220,000 tonnes of chocolate per year. This amounts to 22 kg of chocolate per inhabitant annually. Have you tried Marcolini‘s truffles? OMG. If you haven’t, stop reading. Take leave from work. Adjurn your holidays. Put your sneakers on and run Forrest run.
Nemo33, in Uccle, is the world’s deepest swimming pool, with up to 35 metres in depth. Famous for its scuba diving activities. I mean, we gals don’t personally care but we thought you might.
Have you ever walked around Brussels and checked out the Art Deco & Art Nouveau architectural beauties? If you haven’t, maybe you should take a look here. Are you a fan of surrealism? The Magritte Museum might be worth a visit then. How about the Musical Instruments Museum? It has a beautiful rooftop terrace for you to enjoy a Brussels view.
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| Magritte Museum |
As if all of the above wasn’t convincing enough, you might want to consider another fact: the quality of life. You can live here for much less than in other big European capitals. You get so much more for your money’s worth. Plus, did you know Brussels rank third in terms of GDP per capita in the European Union? Ha! Didn’t think so.
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| Tour & Taxis |
We can’t help but wonder why some people lack the ability to just appreciate what they have. What gives? Stop bashing. Start smashin’!
