Day 01 : BRUSSELS
Upon arrival at Brussels, make your own way to the Hotel of your choice. Check-in at the Hotel. Day free at leisure. Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 02 : BRUSSELS
Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast enjoy Grand City Tour of Brussels. Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 03 : BRUSSELS
Day free for at leisure for shopping & other independent activities. Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 04 : BRUSSELS
In the afternoon check out and proceed for your onward journey.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brussels Attractions

Cathédrale des Sts Michel & Gudule
This splendid twin-towered cathedral at Parvis Sainte Gudule is named after Brussels' male and female patron saints. After years of renovation, it now sits gleaming on the hillside to the north of Gare Centrale. The rather out-of-the-way location means it is often overlooked - lost between the lower and upper towns and not on any of the paths most visitors tread. Begun in 1226, the cathedral took some 300 years to build and consequently reveals a blend of styles - from Romanesque through all the stages of Gothic and right up to Renaissance. The interior is light and airy but almost bereft of decoration due to plundering, first by Protestants in the 17th century and later by the French army. Beautiful stained-glass windows flood the nave with light and the enormous wooden pulpit, depicting Adam and Eve being driven out of Eden by fearsome skeletons, is worth inspecting. In the crypt are the remains of an 11th-century Romanesque chapel.

Grand Place
Brussels' magnificent central square, Grand Place, boasts the country's finest baroque guildhalls, popular pavement cafes and intimate restaurants. Hidden at the core of the old town, it's only revealed as you enter the narrow side alleys surrounding the square, a discreet position that adds to its charm. The Grand Place radiates different auras depending on the time of day and season. In the morning, superb guildhouses at the bottom (southern) end glint in the sun; at dusk, the azure sky becomes a vivid backdrop to the illuminated buildings. During the summer a carpet of flowers covers the whole square, and in winter ice-skaters swirl across the transformed cobbled surface.

Manneken Pis
The present-day bronze Manneken Pis was sculpted by Jerôme Duquesnoy in 1619, but a stone version - named Little Julian - stood here from the mid-14th century. The statue's origins are lost in legend: some say he's modelled on a boy who extinguished a fire, others say he was the son of a nobleman. Whatever, the people of Brussels have adopted him as the symbol of their indomitable and irreverent spirit, and on occasion dress him up in one of his 650-odd costumes.

Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique
This museum houses Belgium's premier collections of ancient and modern art and is particularly well endowed with works by Pieter Breugel the Elder, Rubens and the Belgian Surrealists. Both sections are large and you'll need a good day here if you want to do them justice. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts is actually a single museum divided into two sections - the Musée d'Art Ancien and the adjoining Musée d'Art Moderne. If you plan your visit, you may be able to use the weekly lunchtime concert held in the Musée d'Art Ancien as a break between the two sections; phone the museum beforehand for details. The best strategy is to buy a plan of the rooms and follow its colour-coded system.

Rue des Bouchers
Leading off from Galeries St Hubert in a lively little quarter known as Ilôt Sacré is the famous Rue des Bouchers. Whether you decide to eat at one of the many seafood restaurants here or not, this pedestrianised cobbled street is a spectacle not to be missed.
Both sides of the street are packed with tables where you can dine throughout the year (overhead heaters supposedly keep frostbite at bay in winter) and hard-sell waiters entice would-be diners with displays of marine delicacies and the odd novelty (singing fish are the latest attention-grabbing devices being used). Many of the restaurants are not recommended but there are exceptions, including Chez Léon and Aux Armes de Bruxelles.

Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée
The Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art should not be missed. The centre is a tour through the country's rich, vibrant comic-strip culture, tracing the history from its earliest beginnings to contemporary favourites. It contains a bookshop, a library, a lovely brasserie and several floors of exhibits, all housed in one remarkable building, the Grand Magasin Waucquez. This former department store was created by Victor Horta in 1906 for the Waucquez family textile business. Fans of Hergé will find a much photographed replica of Tintin's red and white rocket, plus plenty of examples of his work. The top level traces the evolution of Belgian comics from the 1960s to the present.

European Parliament
Since 1958, when the city was chosen as the provisional seat of the European Commission and Council of Ministers, Brussels has been the de facto 'capital of Europe'. Today, the European Union (EU) is headquartered east of the city center, where some 18,000 Eurocrats process red tape and try to keep the planet's second-largest economy on track. The EU area is bordered by the Petit Ring to the west and Parc du Cinquantenaire to the east. It's not a district for idle wandering. Totally abandoned on weekends, it comes to life only on weekdays, particularly at mealtimes. Despite this, the area does offer some interesting sights, including art nouveau houses, museums and views of the new European Parliament building.

Musée Bruxellois de la Gueuze
Anyone with even a vague interest in Belgian beer must not miss the excellent family-run Cantillon brewery, where the owners still proudly use traditional methods to make their fine lambic beers.
Also called 'the champagne of the poor', lambic is a unique beer that takes years to make and comes out sparkling right when you need it. There are three main types. The most popular (but still something of an acquired taste) is gueuze, a sour, refreshing beer made from a mix of different-aged lambics. Kriek comes from lambic mixed with real cherries, and traditionally has a rather sour similar to Framboise, a slightly sweeter raspberry beer. Faro is a sweet beer with a short shelf-life (the caramel and sugar added to the lambic cause strong fermentation and possible explosions).
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brussels Travel Tips

When to Visit - Arts and Events

Brussels hosts a number of annual events including the Queen Elizabeth Music Competition that draws classical musicians from all over the world; an annual Jazz Festival and the traditional July Ommegang Mediaeval Pageant, in which the population of Brussels takes pride and delight. A commemoration of a festival held in 1549 for Emperor Charles V, it is held in the Grand Place, and is a colourful expression of riches and glamour in which 2,000 players dress as Rennaissance nobles, guildsmen and peasants. Riders on caparisoned horses, stilt walkers, flag throwers and fire-eaters are also part of this spectacular show. Carnival, in Brussels, comes in the form of the Zinneke Parade, held in May and is a flamboyant demonstration of the city's cultural diversity. Markets are big news in the city, with the flea market at Place du Jeu de Balles, the antiques market, held on Saturday and Sunday in Sablon Square, together with numerous food markets throughout the city.

Brussels Dining

Belgian cuisine tends to feature a good deal of seafood. The Belgian kitchen is acknowledged as one of Europe's best, combining the finesse of French cooking with the best of Flemish. With the highest concentration of restaurants in the world, the Petite Rue des Bouchers, in the mediaeval centre, is famous for the fact that every house in the street is a restaurant. Although international cuisine is easily available throughout the city, it is definitely worth savouring some of the local well-known specialities such as Flemish carbonade (beef stewed in beer), Brussels chicory (rolled ham in a Béchamel sauce) and Choesels au Madère (sweet breads with Madiera sauce and mushrooms). Brussels-style mussels are usually eaten with the famous Brussels frites (found on snack stands at every street corner) and washed down with one of the 400 types of Belgian beers. The world capital for pralines and chocolates, waffles and sugar cakes; a delight for the sweet-toothed.

Brussels Tipping Advice

Generally, tipping will already be included in restaurant bills. Rest room attendants charge 10 or 20 BEF. Brussels porters, waiters and taxi drivers do not require a tip unless you receive particularly outstanding service.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

TOUR COST :

HOTEL Rate (Per person on Twin sharing basis)
Vendome (2*) EUR 109.00
Crowne Plaza Europa (3*+) EUR 170.00
Radisson Brussels ( 5*) EUR 184.00

PRICE INCLUDES:
1) 03 Nights accommodation at the Hotel of your choice.
2) Daily Breakfast.
3) Grand City Tour.
4) All applicable taxes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Have a great trip! This itinerary and supplementary information has been compiled with care and is provided in good faith. However it may be subject to change, and DOES NOT form part of a contract between the client and AirCruise.

________________________________________________________________________________________________