← Leuven Marathon·Day trip

Brussels: A Grand Square and Chocolate After Leuven

A short train to the Belgian capital for a square lined with guildhalls, a comic-strip trail and a lot of chocolate.

DurationDay trip
TransitSNCB train from Leuven to Brussels, about 20 to 30 minutes
DepartsLeuven station

After the Leuven Marathon: Brussels

The Route: Leuven → Brussels → Leuven Logistics: SNCB train, about 20 to 30 minutes each way, with frequent services. Brussels-Central station is a 5-minute walk from the Grand-Place. Marathon Month: April Duration: Day trip

Leuven ──(20-30 min, SNCB)──> Brussels-Central
   ^                               │
   └──────(20-30 min, SNCB)────────┘

The Grand-Place is smaller than you expect and richer than you can take in. The guildhalls around it were rebuilt in the years after French artillery flattened the square in 1695, and their gilded facades still catch low spring light in a way that photographs do not show. You arrive from Leuven by train, with legs that remember yesterday's 42 kilometres, and the whole of this day is within a flat walk of the station.

Buy a ticket at the station or in the SNCB app, and check the planner for departure times. A weekend return is often cheaper than two singles, so ask at the counter.

April in Brussels: highs of 12°C to 14°C, with sun and sudden showers. The cobbles get slippery when wet. Check museum opening days, because Monday closures are common.

Day Trip: Brussels

From Brussels-Central, walk the 400 metres down to the Grand-Place. The cobbled square is flat, and cafés on its edge are expensive, so take a look and move on. The Town Hall's tower is the best landmark to orient by.

The Manneken Pis, a small bronze statue of a boy, is about five minutes' walk and is smaller than its fame suggests. The Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert, a glass-roofed arcade built in 1847, run nearby and hold chocolate shops and cafés.

The Magritte Museum, in the Place Royale, has lifts and seating and covers about 200 works by the Belgian painter. Entry is around €12 and prices vary, so use the figure as a guide only. Check the current opening days. The nearby Musical Instruments Museum has a rooftop café with a good view.

The comic-strip walls around the centre are a free way to spend an hour. Over 60 murals are painted on building sides, with a trail map available from the tourist office.

Lunch can be mussels and chips, a waffle or a plate of stoemp, mashed vegetables with sausage. Walk away from the Grand-Place for better prices, towards the streets near Sainte-Catherine.

Take the train back to Leuven in the late afternoon. Services run every few minutes.

Getting to Brussels Airport (BRU)

From Brussels-Central, trains run to the airport in about 20 minutes. From Leuven, there is a direct train to the airport in about 15 to 20 minutes. The airport station is below the terminal, with lifts.