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Disclaimer: Â Flights and accommodation were covered by wowtrip with no obligation to review. All other costs were paid for by myself and all opinions are my own.
The idea of turning up at an airport without a clue of your destination conjures up a variety of thoughts. Nerves. Excitement. Curiosity. However, this is exactly what wowtrip specialise in; surprise trips to a wide range of European cities.
A Weekend in Brussels With wowtrips
The concept is simple: you tell them your departure airport of choice, the number of travellers and the dates you wish to be away. They then do the rest. They book the flights and the accommodation, a few days before you leave they will let you know the weather forecast so you can plan your packing, then up to 48 hours before you fly you’ll receive your boarding pass, accommodation details and a simple area guide.
I went on this trip with seven other bloggers, all of whom are students of The Blogger Course and members of the associated Facebook Group so several of us were meeting at the airport, preparing to travel on to our mystery destination. This was also a new experience for me, apart from a single trip to France with my Mum a decade ago I have never taken a foreign trip with another person.
Then we were taking off…
Less than an hour later we were ready for our weekend in Brussels.
Our hotel for the next two nights was the Hilton Brussels City, centrally located and easily accessible it made for a nice base during our stay.
The things I noticed almost immediately after arriving was just how easy and pleasant it was to walk around the centre of Brussels. Within minutes of leaving the hotel we were amongst a multitude of intriguing streets full of shops, bars, and restaurants.Â
This weekend was slightly different to normal. Usually before any trip I will have researched some ideas of where to eat, drink and be merry – looking for suggestions to give me an idea of my destination. This was different, having been a surprise trip there was no opportunity to research or plan. This was a weekend that was going to have to rely on random decisions and recommendations from our social media followers.
Brussels
When I first announced on Twitter that we were heading for a weekend in Brussels a few people responded negatively, commenting that it wasn’t an exciting city. However, when I take a weekend break I’m not always looking for excitement, but somewhere that’s easy to explore, has local treasures to discover and the opportunity to take time to relax.
As you’ll probably know by now, I love a city with character, where the buildings are full of history and help to create a fascinating personality and this is where Brussels excels.
Brussels is not a huge city and you can definitely walk around it with ease. There’s also a fantastic relaxed atmosphere as you explore, discovering small streets with beautiful, unique buildings, sculptures, and street art.Â
Something you definitely won’t need to worry about is going hungry. There are bars, restaurants and cafes on almost every street so finding delicious food is not a challenge.Â
Day Trips
A fact that most people will probably know already is that Belgium is not a very big country and so the notion of travelling between cities should be fairly simple. What I found surprising was just how simple, reliable and cheap it was to travel between cities. All of the trains we caught during our weekend break ran on time, the trains themselves were smart and comfortable and the ticket prices were super affordable.
Purchasing tickets is quick and simple, you can either head to the ticket counters or use the self service machines, all of which were easy to use, even for someone who rarely buys tickets using such a method.Â
Bruges
Bruges has easily secured its place as one of my favourite cities in Europe. We were there for less than a day but it was a day that I thoroughly enjoyed and would definitely return to.
 You can find my post on spending a day in Bruges here.
Travelling From Brussels to Bruges:
Brussels Central – Bruges: 1hr 10 (approx.) – €14.80Â
Ghent
Ghent is a really pretty city that makes for the perfect day trip, with its picturesque canals, lovely houses, and idyllic restaurants, cafes and bars.
You can find my post on taking a day trip to Ghent here.
Travelling From Brussels to Ghent:
Brussels Central – Ghent: 40 minutes (approx.) – €9.30Â
Despite other people’s comments I thought Brussels was a lovely city, perfect for a weekend break and definitely one that I would recommend. It is also ideal if you want to see other parts of Belgium, with it’s reliable and cheap public transport system you could easily use it as a base while you explore the rest of this lovely country.
If (for some strange reason) the street art, buildings, history, culture, and people don’t interest you, I’m pretty sure the food will – moules frites (the national dish of Belgium,)Â waffles, ice cream, chocolate and even if you’re not much of a fan you should probably try at least one of their famous beers.
Tip: Belgium is one of several countries who have an aversion to Sunday shopping, therefore if a spot of retail therapy is on your to do list whilst spending a weekend in Brussels then you should definitely aim to do as much of this early on a Saturday.
I would definitely consider doing another surprise trip with wowtrip – if you’re like me and haven’t visited many European cities it’s a fantastic way of seeing an unfamiliar city without the stress of arranging flights and accommodation. Even if you are an avid planner then you should definitely try it anyway just to experience travel in a slightly different way.
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