Brussels budget

Our trip to Brussels will likely be our shortest stop on this adventure. We only planned to spend two nights here. Then the way the city-to-city transit worked out, we ended up arriving around 6 PM and departing around 3 AM, so it shortened our time even more. We truly spent about 38 hours in the city. The quick nature of this stop – and the fact that it was meant as a way for me to re-explore the city where I studied abroad led to some seriously out of whack spending here. We did NOT stick to the $80 a day budget for daily spending. It sure was fun though :) 

City to City transit (this will account for planes, trains, buses, etc, that we use to get from one city to the next. We’re tracking local transit, like metro rides within a city in a separate count): $117 ($58.50/person) +$240 that’s now been refunded 

Oh boy. This was a mess. We booked tickets from Reims to Brussels through the third party site Omio. Many travelers recommend using this site, and it is convenient. It compiles all your options to get from Point A to Point B  – trains, planes, buses and more. It’s also in English and easy to understand. We had used this for our Paris to Reims journey, and everything was fine. But on this leg, our tickets got erroneously canceled by Omio. When we boarded the Paris to Reims trip, we had to scan our tickets before boarding the train. In this case, we didn’t scan tickets ahead of boarding. We were actually on the moving train when the attendants came around. That’s when we discovered our tickets had been canceled. We got pulled into the corridor between cars, sweating (literally and figuratively) and holding our packs. The attendant figured out this was not our fault - we had multiple confirmations of our tickets and after speaking with her higher up over the phone, they determined it had been canceled by Omio. For that reason the attendant waived a massive fine, but we had to pay $240 on the spot to stay on the train. We went back and forth with Omio via email, and the company eventually reimbursed us the original $117 and gave us a credit for the difference. Oof. 

Accommodations: $81.16/night 

This was another expensive city for accommodations. I wanted to stay in the neighborhood I lived in during study abroad - Ixelle. It’s not a particularly touristy area, so that really didn’t drive up the cost. In fact, it may have saved us a bit compared to what it costs to stay near the popular Grand Place area. I also really prioritized budget friendly options here. Because our stay was so short, I wasn’t looking for the best, biggest or most aesthetically pleasing space. We basically needed something safe and clean for a couple nights. We ended up booking a place on Airbnb. For what we paid, the space was not great. It was fine for two nights, but not near as nice as our Reims accommodations, which cost significantly less. 

Average Daily Spend (minus accommodations): $148.04  ($74.02 a person) 

a breakdown of what this went to below! 

We treated our first few stops more like ‘vacation’ than long-term travel. They were quick stops, where we ate all our meals out and did not buy groceries to have meals at home. We also splurged a bit in Brussels. It was the place I studied abroad in 2011, and I had not been back since. We spent time at expensive, touristy spots, like Delirium, which drove up our costs. 

Local Transit: $2.62/day 

This accounts for two metro tickets in Brussels to get from the main train station to our Airbnb. Other than that first trip, we walked everywhere. It’s a very walkable spot, and if you prefer public transit, that’s pretty easy to navigate too. 

Food and Drink (this will include all meals and drinks at restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and bars): $140.13/day 

We ate every meal out, including a higher price point meal at one of my favorite neighborhood spots - Bar Paralelle. Our dinner there was nearly $40, which is far more than we’ve been spending on one meal. We also spent a decent amount of time in the tourist center of Brussels at places like Delirium where you will pay higher prices for drinks that you might in other parts of the city. Overall, meal prices were higher here than in our previous stops. Our breakfast near the EU ran around $18, for example. We did have frites for lunch at one of my favorite stands in Place Jourdan, and that was pretty reasonable. It was a little over $7 for two cones full of frites and sauce (very healthy portions!). This also accounts for a more expensive, but delicious lunch we ate while waiting for our train in Reims. We stopped at a healthy spot near the train station, and it felt good to eat a fresh, veggie-packed meal before all the frites and Belgian beers. 

Groceries, toiletries, etc. (this will include any meals and drinks consumed on our own, outside a restaurant or bar, plus toiletries and household items): $3.78/day  

I can’t even remember what we bought here grocery wise! Probably some combination of waters/snacks. I need to make more notes in our Excel spreadsheet (lol that I use Excel everyday now).

Tours: $0.00 

No tours in this short trip for us, and honestly, I think you can easily navigate Brussels and its sites on your own! 

Souvenirs and Gifts: $3.02 

Bought one postcard and spent 2 euro at a photobooth at Delirium.