Birthday gift trip - city chosen sounds dangerous!

DP went last year and had a fantastic time. Where is your hotel? They were staying on the outskirts in a slightly less nice area but he never felt unsafe

There's been a 'substantial' threat in the UK for terrorism for years, I don't think going to Belgium would make it any more dangerous tbh.

Ah yes, the mean streets of… Brussels? 🤺

Jokes aside, you can go to the Hergé Museum!!

Brussels is absolutely fine and no worse that most cities here. There are also beautiful places to visit nearby eg Bruges. Have a lovely time.

Same! This post is unreal.

What the hell are you on about?! Go and enjoy your trip. Visit Bruges as well.

Brussels is not dangerous! I've been several times on my own and live to tell the tale. All big cities have problem areas, but you are hardly likely to come across them as a tourist. I do find Brussels very big and easy to get lost in. For a short trip, I'd get the train from Brussels to Ghent or Bruges, picture postcard cities, and very compact.

i actually stayed very near the station when i went because i saw a beautiful apartment in airbnb.

booked it and then told my friend who lives there and she said it was a bad area.

we stayed there anyway and didn’t have any issues.

i wouldn’t recommend it to you but what I’m saying is that even an area considered dodgy was totally ok.

Thought you were going to say he'd booked a trip to Tel Aviv 😂 but I wouldn't think twice about taking my 3yo daughter to Brussels. Amsterdam I wouldn't take my 3yo to, to be honest. I loved it, but not the most kid friendly city.

All of the things you describe happen in every big city including London and Glasgow (which I believe remains the stabbing capital of Europe). Watch out for pickpockets. Avoid wandering round dodgy looking housing estates at night. You should be grand.

I would have no problem going to Brussels with my 3 year old.

We based ourselves in Brussells but actually went to Bruges and Ghent on our holiday. It was just that the hotel in Brussells was cheaper and more convenient for the Eurostar - its about an hour on the train to Bruges and then about 40 mins to Ghent, as I recall. If you really really don't fancy a Brussells base then your Eurostar ticket should include onwards travel to any station in Belgium, or at least, it did for many years if it still doesn't, so you might just be able to change the hotel. But Brussells is not an unsafe destination for a family holiday by any stretch of the imagination, and probably equally if not more safe than Amsterdam depending on what you do/stay and go. I'd rather avoid hen/stag/weed parties as a rule, particularly if travelling with little ones... but again, that's just one small area of Amsterdam and you can have a perfectly happy family holiday in either city.

I’ve been there several times and walked around on my own a lot. No issues. Do take the train to Ghent or Bruges for a day. Lovely!

Brussels is just as safe as many other European cities including London.

Brussels is fine, certainly no more dangerous than Amsterdam. If you take very basic precautions (not waving phone around, keeping wallet in a sensible place and not walking around dubious areas late at night) you will be absolutely fine.

Maybe look to see if you can stay in a more residential area but I recall it being extremely civilised with lovely leafy streets, nice markets and an excellent museum of modern art.

This is a very strange reaction OP. Following your way of thinking, you wouldn't go to any large city. Have you always been hyper vigilant?

It’s not dangerous! It’s just incredibly dull.

All your options sound incredibly dramatic. Brussels is a lovely city. You could Google any city and any old rubbish about it being it being unsafe would pop up.

I'm baffled and the thinking that Amsterdam is safer than Brussels.

I am Belgian and I find it hilarious that anyone could think Brussels is dangerous 😂

I am actually flabergasted that anyone in England would be that ignorant (or scared) of any EUROPEAN capital . 😮🤔

You might even be able to do a poo when you're there. Living on the edge, MN style.

Brussels is lovely!!! I have been many many times. It's definitely not a dangerous city at all.

From your title I thought you're going to somewhere like Lagos! Brussels is a gorgeous European city with loads to see and good food and you'll have a great time.

Oh yes, on a fab double decker train. My abiding memory of Ghent quite a few years ago was that there was a Greggs. It took me by surprise.

You do know that people are more likely to leave a bad review than a good one? Many many people will not have experienced those issues that you've read about. They wouldn't post saying "we had a fab time there were no muggings, harassment from men or pickpockets"

I'd expected this to be about Johannesburg or somewhere with similar violent crime levels.

If you think my home city is boring, you’re not looking properly and not enjoying the culture and everything which makes Brussels special.

You're mad, sorry. It's fine. Just boring as hell.