Birthday gift trip - city chosen sounds dangerous!

Brussels is amazing. Been so many times. Great city break and as safe as Paris, London etc. if I had unlimited money it where I live. I feel vvv safe there.

Brussels is lovely, I have been in woman only groups and never felt unsafe. Any city has dodgy bits but most tourist bits are fine.

You couldn't pay me enough to go to sleazy Amsterdam but Brussels is lovely. Definitely the better option especially with children.

Go to Bruges - it’s very pretty and full of chocolates, chips and beer

Went a couple of years ago and had no issues. I've heard the area around the Eurostar station isn't great. Was a bit grubby, but we walked from there to the centre without any problems.

There's not as much to see as in some bigger capitals, but all good for a weekend trip.

Brussels doesn't have a bus station. It has a terminal at Gare du Nord and another at Gare du Midi. Gare du Nord is also where the red light area is so not the best area. No worse than any other city though.

For the poster who asked about Brussels for teens - what are they into?

Certain areas in Brussels do feel unsafe (the bus station and surrounding area) for example. Research carefully.

Pity he didn’t choose Amsterdam.

We will be spending a couple of days in Brussels this summer with two teenagers. Any tips from those familiar with the city?
We are also staying in Ghent for a week and doing day trips to Bruges, Antwerp etc, so just looking for ideas in Brussels.
Sorry to hijack the thread!

Never did I think that this thread was going to be about Brussels!

Antwerp has definitely been having issues lately.

Slightly off subject, my family (all grown ups) absolutely loved the European Parliament which is free to visit.

I really don't think Brussels is dull! It has a little t of hidden treasures that are worth visiting. It's got so many quirky elements.

Brussels?! Of all places.. Seriously 😆

A bit of an odd choice for a special occasion and yes, it's dull (to me at least), Ghent or Bruges would be much better. But unsafe? Nah, don't be silly 😆

The only European city I felt slightly on edge in certain parts at night is Paris. But not enough not to visit again 😆I find both London and Barcelona completely fine. And pickpockets exist everywhere, in all big cities. Ditto with the areas around train stations, always dodgy, in most places.

Vas in Venice last February, during the carnival. Due to a massive fuck up with our hotel, had to book another one at the very last minute. Last minute hotels in Venice were $$$$$, so had to book further afield and chose a town called Mestre, 10 min train ride away.

The reviews of the place make it out to be like Tehran or Kabul. 'Step out of the train and die'. 'Heroin capital of Europe'. 'Wear a stab and bullet-proof vest'. Still booked it, not much choice.

It was absolutely fine. A few meek druggies wandering about and a whole bunch of tourists staying there. Not a pretty town, but you don't spend time there, just sleep and go to Venice. I'd happily stay there again.

Moral of the story: don't google too much.

If you've lived in London Brussels will be a walk in the park.

As people have said the immediate area around the Gare du Midi is a bit scruffy but really not an issue.

I was thinking London, Liverpool, or Manchester ...

All perfectly lovely interesting cities which I visit often, but they have their unsafe areas - where it is possible NEVER to have to venture.

Good lord! Is this a wind up???

Rest assured @Lyrixs21 that Brussels is probably the second-most safe/boring/bland tourist city - second only to Toronto ime(apols, Canadians!)

You really need to take control of your anxiety about new experiences - it's so life and joy limiting, and unnecessary.

OP, I think you are doing the holiday equivalent of reading the information leaflet in the box of a very widely used, safe drug like paracetamol or a common antibiotic and imagining the worst case scenario. Yes, even drugs like that can have potentially very serious side effects so the information is true and needs to be made available but it also needs to be taken in context. In reality, for every one person who suffers a life threatening side effect from paracetamol or something there will be many thousands of us who take it with no problem and are just happy that our headache has gone.
There are risks to travel. Anywhere. It is sensible to know about those risks so that you can recognise them and take reasonable precautions. But in the same way as most of us will take common drugs completely uneventfully most of us will come to no harm in a mainstream destination. If you worried about every rare possible side effect you'd never take any kind of medication at all. If you worried about every risk of travel you'd never set foot outside your own home. And in both cases your life would probably be poorer as a result. Go. Enjoy it.

I was in Brussels a couple of weeks ago to visit a friend her advice was arrive and leave the Eurostar terminal as soon as possible as it’s not nice there, book a cab to your accommodation and you’ll be fine

the city is stunning loads of incredible art deco buildings great cafe bar culture and galleries so fun for mooching in the right areas totally beautiful I really fell in love with it defo going back soon

basically the same as any capital city just watch out around the main train station area

@Lyrixs21 I am really interested to know where you read about Brussels being dangerous. I lived there for several years and always felt very safe.

I was thinking Gaza maybe.....

I think this is the case for most major cities! The UK currently has a threat level of 'Substantial' which is 3 out of 5 so I don't think your any less safe in Brussels. Try not to worry about it and have a fab time

This is your anxiety speaking - Brussels is no more dodgy than any other European major city. Glad you are going to give it a go - be sure to try lots of beers!

You will find warnings about safety for any capital city. Brussels is lovely. You could do a day trip to Bruges if you prefer

Do the same searches for cities in the UK and you'll find the same sort of results.

Just be sensible and aware, just like when you visit any city in the UK.

😂😂😂😂 It’s Belgium FFS. Do you think you are going to get bored to death, rained on, or do you suffer from a fatal allergic reaction to mayonnaise on chips?