A weekend in Brussels with friends

English translation by Hugo Parker. French original. Originally published on 2018-06-25. This archive retains the observations and references of its time.

The idea

My friends and I decided to take a boys’ weekend away once a year. The idea actually came from my wife during our New Year’s Eve celebrations:

• “You should go away for a weekend together. It would do you good and help you unwind!”
• “You’re right — that’s a great idea! Get your calendars out, lads. Let’s pick a date.”

Before long, we’d settled on the weekend of 1 June 2018.  I’ll spare you the destination debate! Between the ones happy to leave the planning to others, the sensible one, the completely unreasonable one and me, we went from Bruges to Lisbon, Ibiza to Budapest and Oslo to Barcelona. In the end, we chose our capital, Brussels. The reasons were simple:

• Not too far away — a 1 hour 45 minute drive — so we wouldn’t waste time travelling.
• Affordable, with no flights to pay for.
• Good beer.
• Football: the friendly against Portugal.

This post isn’t about everything that happened that weekend — we signed a confidentiality pact in our own blood! — but about the good places we visited. As you can imagine, my job means I always end up organising everything. So I put some thought into finding places everyone would enjoy and could afford.

Somewhere good to sleep

Let’s start with accommodation. When we travel as a group, our first instinct is usually a big Airbnb. Brussels has plenty of good options, but this time we decided on two nights in a hotel. We stayed at Motel One at 120 Rue Royale. Don’t be misled by the name: it’s a very cool place. 

• Small but functional rooms. 
• A fairly new, well-maintained hotel.
• Comfortable beds.
• Quiet — when we weren’t there, presumably!
• A 24-hour bar, with snacks available.
• €79 per person per night, including Wi-Fi.

For that price, there are a few things you won’t get:

• No spa or gym.
• No minibar.
• No room service.
• No restaurant.

Honestly, none of that mattered to us. And anyway: 

• If you want to run, go outside!
• If you’re thirsty, head down to the bar — it’s more sociable — or try the late-night shop nearby.
• If you’re hungry, same answer!
• If you want dinner, don’t stay in the hotel: Brussels has plenty of great restaurants.

I’ve included a few hotel photos below. The Motel One group has hotels in several European countries, particularly Germany. It’s worth keeping in mind.

Fooooood!

Our student days are long behind us, so a whole weekend fuelled only by kebabs, Quick and chips was no longer an option — at least not on the first night. I started looking for a good restaurant for our evening together. When choosing somewhere in Brussels, I always trust Chloé Roose and Sarah Cisinsk from brusselskitchen.com. I initially suggested four places, all in Ixelles: Fico, a Sicilian osteria; Ricciocapriccio, a Sardinian restaurant; La Meute, a meat bar; and Maison Blanche, a croquette bar. We first chose the Sardinian restaurant, but a closer look made me think it might be a little too fancy for the evening we had in mind. So we finally booked Maison Blanche in Ixelles. The restaurant sits behind the walls of a rather discreet town house. When we arrived around 9.30 pm, the courtyard and bar were buzzing. There were plenty of young, stylish people, and the atmosphere was great. The staff were young and energetic. The menu wasn’t huge, but everyone found something tempting, and the cocktails were very good — Moscow Mule again! We shared starters, including shrimp croquettes and grilled octopus, before each ordering a main course. We had a really enjoyable evening in a friendly place that suited a weekend with friends.

On to the music

The rest of our first night was spent at Fuse, from 12.45 am until 6.30 am. If you don’t know it, Fuse is one of Europe’s best-known electronic music clubs. Major DJs — I mean Dave Clarke, Sven Väth and Jeff Mills rather than Avicii or David Guetta — play there at weekends. I won’t say any more about that particular night! 🙂

Fun, tasting and crowdfunding

Early the next afternoon, we decided to visit one of the few operating Brussels breweries open to visitors. We have a soft spot for Brussels Beer Project. BBP is a brewery built through crowdfunding. A friend and I joined its first crowdfunding campaign, and that membership gives us twelve of its beers through this lifetime membership. They produce at least one new beer each month and their creations are wonderfully varied. Take a look here. There are other breweries in Brussels, but not all offer the chance to taste their beers on site. That’s a brief overview of our weekend. Feel free to get in touch if you’d like more tips.