When is the Cheapest Time to Fly to Brussels?
Plan to visit the city during the shoulder seasons months of February, March, April, September and October if you want to find cheap flights to Brussels. Keep in mind that the biennial Flower Carpet is taking place in August 2018, so Brussels flights will increase around this period. Visiting the city for Christmas is more popular than ever, and Brussels flight prices rise in November and December consequently.
When is the Best Time to Book your Flight to Brussels?
For visits in the summer months and Christmas or trips that coincide with large events, such as the Flower Carpet, book at least three months in advance to find cheap flights to Brussels. Outside of these times, you are more likely to find great deals on last-minute flights to Brussels, but it is always best to be flexible with your travel dates in order to get cheap flights to Brussels.
Flying to Brussels Airport (BRU)
BRU airport lies about 12 kilometres from the city centre. It serves more than 24 million passengers a year.
Brussels Airlines offers the most direct flights to Brussels from the United Kingdom (UK) with flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Manchester. Starting in March 2018, they are expanding service to Bristol. Brussels flights are also available from London Heathrow with British Airways and from Bristol, East Midlands and Newcastle with BMI Regional. If you wish to fly from other airports within the UK, you will likely have a stopover in Amsterdam with KLM Airlines or Copenhagen with Brussels Airlines. Occasionally, if you take an indirect flight to Brussels you will need to change airlines.
On Arrival and Getting Around the Airport
There is one terminal at BRU. The arrival gates are on the second level with the arrivals hall for customs, border control and baggage on the ground floor. Access to the train station is underground, while buses and taxis pick passengers up outside the arrivals hall. Free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the airport. There are also business lounges and a number of shops (including duty-free) providing food and drink. The airport also has ATMs and currency exchange desks.
Getting to the City from Brussels Airport (BRU)
There are multiple options for travel from BRU to the city centre. There is a train station in the underground area of the terminal, where you can take a 17-minute train to the central station. The station also connects to other cities in Belgium and beyond. There are three platforms for buses in the airport; many routes head towards the city centre. The Airport Line is an express 30-minute service to the city’s European quarter. De Lijn, on the other hand, offer seven routes to different parts of the city. Metered taxis are available outside the arrivals hall as well as hotel shuttle services. Car hire companies have desks in the arrivals hall.
Why Visit Brussels?
There’s more to Belgium’s capital than meets the eye. The Grand Palace at Brussels’s medieval core is transformed and decorated every two years. Its Christmas markets are some of the best in Europe, and there are entire museums dedicated to chocolate, TinTin and surrealist Magritte. Don’t forget to get up close and personal with its most famous statue, the tiny Manneken Pis, which shows a boy urinating.
The administrative capital of the EU has a hip café and bar scene as you’d expect – multi-cultural right down to the bone. But none of that has taken away from its historical legacy that can be felt in the grandeur of its bureaucratically occupied buildings. Enjoy weekends with some strong Belgian beer and the national dish of moules-frites (mussels and chips).
Don't Forget Before you Fly
British citizens do not need a visa to travel to Belgium. Your passport only needs to be valid for the length of your stay. Belgium uses the euro as its currency. ATMs and currency exchange offices are widely available and accept most international credit cards.
