Scott Berkun

14 Responses

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• Sunil Garg - April 30, 2009 at 11:50 pm #

• I’ve only spent a couple days in Brussels, so I don’t have much to say, but a few places off the top of my head:

  The Grande Place is quite impressive, both architecturally and aesthetically, with good cafes in all directions.
  Just off the Grande Place, there is a street with lots of good Greek food and frites.
  Delirium Cafe carries over 2000 varieties of beer, so it’s an interesting place to visit if you’re looking for that.

  In general, the city is extremely walkable, so if you give yourself a few hours with a street map, you’ll get to see quite a lot.

  Be sure to try the waffles and gelato, which are easy to find on the street in touristy areas. It’s good stuff.

  Also, be warned that most of the Belgian chocolate you’ll find is easily available at any grocery store in Europe for significantly lower prices.

  
  

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• Jim - May 1, 2009 at 3:09 am #

• Brussels is a pretty good place for beer–Belgian beer, that is. Two of my favorite places are:

  1. Delirium Tremens Cafe: It’s at the end of a passage just off the Grand Place. http://ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=1582. Most likely the single largest collection of Belgian beers in the world. And, they usually have most everything on the menu. (Other mega-beer bars and stores often have huge holes in their stock at any one time.)

  2. Cantillion Brewery. Not in the center–a long walk or taxi ride to get there. There is a small museum for gueuze beer, and you can take a tour. You can sample the beer there. Gueuze is definitely an acquired taste, and Cantillion makes some of the best examples of the style. http://www.cantillon.be/. You might want to start with a kriek before trying the gueuze. Warning: extremely sour beer.

  Also, right across from the Mannekin Pis is the Poechenellekelder–also good for beer. If the weather is good, you can sit outside. They have food too.
  http://ratebeer.com/Place/state/city/le-poechenellekelder/914.htm

  Sorry, those tips are all beer related, but that’s how I orient myself in Brussels. If you want some specific beer tips, let me know offline.

  
  

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• around the world - May 1, 2009 at 7:59 am #

• In Brussels definitely the “Atomium”:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium

  But only from the outside, inside is boring.

  
  

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• travelgirl - May 1, 2009 at 9:26 am #

• for what it’s worth, besides the grand place, i’ve always thought there was more to see elsewhere. about an hour’s drive to the west is a wonderful village/town named brugges, which could easily be worth several days of walking exploration.

  if you are interested in history, brugges is more interesting than anything you could find in brussels, including the grand place.

  
  

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• Scott Berkun - May 1, 2009 at 9:44 am #

• I plan to take a day trip to Bruge – thanks TG!

  
  

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• jeff - May 1, 2009 at 10:53 am #

• In Oslo, try to visit the Vigeland Park which is a trip…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigeland_Sculpture_Park

  In Brussels, you need to eat some mussels and french fries…try the chain resto called “Leon de Bruxelles”…plus a good belgian beer, of course

  
  

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• Lucas - May 1, 2009 at 6:43 pm #

• I loved both cities, so I am jealous.
  In Brussels I also enjoyed touring the Cantillon Brewery, but did not like the Delirium Tremens Cafe. There were two extremely surly bartenders, and the place wasn’t very nice overall. The beer list is impressive, but unless you are looking for something specific, I would avoid it. I liked A La Mort Subite as an alternative: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2289/?view=beerfly
  For eating, I really liked Brasserie Ploegmans http://www.ploegmans.be/ for Belgian food. I liked the Braadworst en spek met stoemp which is mashed potatoes and sausage. I would also look at Antwerp for a day trip. Brugge was cool, but I liked Antwerp better since it was less touristy and felt more like a normal city — definitely less pristine. It depends what you like, I guess.

  In Oslo, I liked the National Gallery, they have a good number of Edvard Munch pieces, including The Scream http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Product/?pid=29123. I liked the area south of the Opera Software, Grünerløkka, it was a cool neighborhood with a lot of places to eat/drink.
  Norway in general is a great country for outdoor activities, I did some hiking and it was amazing. The Norwegian Trekking Association maintains around 20,000 km of trails and a network of cabins, http://www.turistforeningen.no/english/ Many people travel from cabin to cabin over the course of multiple days, but you can also do day trips. This travel article describes hiking there http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/features/4219740.html

  
  

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• Esteban - May 2, 2009 at 2:52 am #

• +1 to the Vigeland park in Oslo. If you like nature, you can go to the Sognsvann lake, Nordmarka and/or the Botanical Garden (at around 15 minutes walking from the Opera office!). If you like museums, you have the Munch one, the National Gallery, the Nobel Peace center and others.

  A couple of random places to eat: Mekong (Thai), Mucho más (Mexican), Ali baba (Turkish).

  Check the Wikitravel Oslo page for more ideas.

  _Probably_ someone from Opera will have time to take you around if you want (maybe me even!) :-) At least after office hours.

  
  

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• Robby Slaughter - May 2, 2009 at 6:59 am #

• Go to the Coiffure du Lillane. (http://www.coiffureliliane.com/) It is a social club that I visited when I lived in Brussels for a few months; they meet in an old converted hair salon every Tuesday night and have a home cooked meal (5 EUROS) and a presentation or musical performance. People are friendly and most speak English, and they love a visitor. This is the best way to experience real Belgian culture!

  
  

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• Gregg Sporar - May 3, 2009 at 10:48 am #

• If you have a full day free, the Norway in a Nutshell day trip is a fun way to get out of the city and onto the fjords: http://www.norwaynutshell.com/default.asp

  If you don’t have that much time, I would suggest the Kon-Tiki museum; it’s really interesting: http://www.kon-tiki.no/Ny/e_aapning.php

  
  

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• Edward Jones - May 4, 2009 at 1:02 pm #

• I’d look out for the Comic Strip Museum in Brussels: http://www.comicscenter.net/en/home. Great content and fascinating building.

  
  

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• John the Statistician - May 5, 2009 at 3:47 pm #

• Brussels: Some locals refer to both the trams above ground and to the subway as “the metro”. Be sure to ask for clarification.

  Have cash, credit/checks are limited and ATMs can be scarce.

  Liege waffles are wonderful. They shouldn’t need additional toppings.

  Grand Place++, Atomium++

  
  

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• Thomas - May 6, 2009 at 7:13 am #

• Brussels:
  - Cultrure: + Comic Strip Museum; + Grand Place

  - Having a drink: +1 La Mort Subite. If the weather’s nice you can also head down to the Place St. Géry to find a good array of bars – it’s a couple of minutes from Grand Place. On the way there you may want to stop at another classic: the Archiduc (Dansaertstraat 6). They play anything from trip-hop to country until late but are most known for their jazz sessions. If you’re near Av. Louise (the uptown shopping strip) then you could also head to Les Salons de L’atalaide which has a really nice atmosphere.

  - Eating: If you want to eat in the city center I’d suggest you stay away from the Rue des Bouchers. It’s a trourist trap. Instead favor the adjacent Rue des Dominicains or Place Sainte Catherine (near Place St. Géry). A bit further (10min cab ride from city center) you’ll find some great places near the corner of Rue du Page and Rue Americaine.

  
  

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• Carl - May 8, 2009 at 4:58 am #

• If you want a strange experience, take the tram or a taxi to the Royal Museum for Central Africa which tells a very tragic tale from King Leopolds colonial times. Unfortunately they have removed most of the old texts revealing how Belgium until quite recently was celebrating its dark past in Africa, but it is still worth the visit.