Things to do in Brussels

Two days. One for the Grand-Place, Manneken Pis, the Sablon antique quarter and Mont des Arts. One for the EU quarter, the Atomium and a slow lunch in Sainte-Catherine. Brussels is also a great hub — Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp are all under an hour by train.

The Grand-Place at night when the guildhalls are lit — Victor Hugo called it 'the most beautiful square in Europe' and he wasn't wrong. The golden façades of the Maison du Roi and the Town Hall create a tight stage set. Time it with the biennial Flower Carpet in August if you can.

Sainte-Catherine for the long pedestrianised Quai aux Briques with its restaurants and craft beer bars. Saint-Gilles south of the centre for the Art Nouveau Horta houses and the multicultural Parvis. Ixelles for cocktail bars around Châtelain and the African quarter in Matongé.

Moules-frites at Chez Léon or any seafront brasserie. Carbonade flamande (beef stewed in dark beer). Frites from Maison Antoine on Place Jourdan — twice-fried in beef tallow. Trappist beer (Westmalle Triple, Chimay Bleue, Orval) at À la Mort Subite. Belgian chocolate from Pierre Marcolini or Mary.

Metro lines 1, 2, 5 and 6, plus trams and pre-metros (trams running underground in the centre). A single MIVB/STIB ticket works on all of them. The centre is walkable but hilly between the upper and lower town — take the Mont des Arts escalators rather than the steps if it's hot.

The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert — Europe's oldest shopping arcade, 213 metres of glass-roofed Belle Époque elegance built in 1847. Walk through for the Neuhaus chocolate windows, the artisanal bookshops and Le Mokafé. The pricey side of pretty, but free to walk through.