Flights to Brussels Any

Flights > Europe > Belgium > Brussels > ALL (BRU0)

Airport	Miles From City
Eurostar (ZYR)	2
National (BRU)	8
Charleroi (CRL)	37

Brussels Any flights summary:

Most flights operate into Brussels national airport (BRU), although Ryanair have retained a small number of routes into Brussels South Charleroi (CRL) airport. Increasing numbers of passengers living in the London area are also choosing to travel to Brussels by Eurostar.

Brussels Any in a nutshell:

Brussels is the capital of Belgium, as well as home of the European Union headquarters. There is a great deal more to the city than politics though, with other historic cities such as Antwerp and Bruges being only a short drive or train journey away.

Alternatives	Miles From City
Antwerp (ANR)	31

More suggestions for finding cheap flights to Brussels Any

Brussels has a reasonably good range of inward flights from most parts of the UK, but despite it’s often underrated attractions and proximity to nearby gems such as Bruges, the city remains largely off-limits for no-frills airlines.

Cheap flights from London to Brussels:

For the journey from London to Brussels, passengers are increasingly favouring Eurostar over flying, especially as journey times have reduced dramatically since the opening of the first phase of the Channel Tunnel rail link through Kent. Remember that the Eurostar journey to Brussels takes around 20 minutes less than the route from London to Paris. There are no budget airlines offering cheap flights to Brussels from the UK, but the location of the European Parliament and a number of other organisations and corporate headquarters in the Belgian capital ensures that there is a very high frequency of scheduled services from London. Most London to Brussels flights depart from Heathrow, but flights from London City are also popular. Because British Airways operate a code share arrangement with SN Brussels Airlines on all UK to Brussels flights, there is no real competition on this route. Even the flights from London City to Brussels, which are operated by commuter airline VLM, have little need to compete on price. Eurostar, despite having no departure taxes or airport handling fees to pay, rarely sells tickets for less than £59 return. Flights from London Heathrow to Brussels are operated by British Airways, whereas SN Brussels operate from Gatwick.

Flights to Brussels from other UK cities:

SN Brussels Airlines have a regional route network which includes such cities as Bristol and Newcastle, as well as the regular large business hubs of Birmingham and Manchester. Last year they also started operating flights from Glasgow International to Brussels. BMI Regional operate flights to Brussels from cities such as Leeds and Edinburgh, and additionally from Nottingham East Midlands, a route which used to be operated by BMI Baby, but which was switched back to BMI Regional due to the high proportion of business travellers on this route. Flights from Southampton to Brussels have been operated in recent years by a number of different airlines, with Eastern Airways currently holding the baton. Flights between Cardiff and Brussels have long been a favourite talking point amongst the Welsh political elite, with the partnership between BMI Baby and Air Wales producing sporadic levels of service on this route. Ryanair currently operate cheap flights to Brussels South Charleroi (approximately 35 miles south of Brussels) from Glasgow and Dublin. They have also suggested the possibility of reinstating their flights from Liverpool to Brussels South.

Connecting flights

Brussels might be one of the closest major European cities to the UK, but are still a number of important cities which do not have direct flights there. Most connections would operate via London Heathrow, although VLM do also offer through ticketing to Brussels (via London City) from airports such as Liverpool and Jersey. Prices for flights to Amsterdam and Paris can often be much cheaper than flights to Brussels, as there is much more competition on these routes between both scheduled and no-frills airlines. Regular fast train services operate from both Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol airports to the Belgian capital.

Mini Guide to Brussels Any

Where their fellow Low Countrymen in Holland have long enjoyed the hippest of reputations – relaxed attitudes to soft drugs and a bustling sex trade will do that for a nation - the Belgians have continually been dismissed as dull and unfashionable. True, there remains little more inherently naff than, say, Jean-Claude van Damme; the music of Plastic Bertrand; a bowl of moules mariniere. Yet that reputation has become increasingly unfair: nowadays, the kids of Brussels are just as likely to be enjoying one of the many fine local brews while listening to a set by top Belgian DJs Soulwax.
There remain, of course, more traditional reasons to visit the Belgian capital. Far from a grey bureaucrat’s home-away-from-home, Brussels is a city of notable architecture and design. A quick stroll through the magnificent 17th century Grand-Place should soon assuage any lingering doubts about the capital’s cultural capabilities. Then there’s the Art Nouveau delights of the Musée Horta, the wealth of Flemish painting on display at the Musées-Royaux des Beaux-Arts. Not to mention the Musée Rene Magritte, whose bowler-sporting businessmen are only of the most surrealistic kind.
Brussels also plays home to more leftfield attractions. Atomium, one of the sites for the 1958 World’s Fair, takes the form of a vast molecule of iron. If the Royal Museum of Central Africa, exploring the country’s colonial past, sounds altogether too stuffy for a fun afternoon out, then try the Musical Instruments Museum, which contains some 1,000 rare and ancient instruments, and conducts classes for the melodically minded. Autoworld hosts an unprecedented range of classic cars and bikes, from engineering royalty such as Bugattis and Daimlers right through to those humble citizens of the road, Fords and Citroens.
Younger visitors may appreciate a detour to the Children’s Museum, or the Cocoa and Chocolate Museum - parents may be tempted in by the promise of free Belgian chocolate - or the Belgian Comic Strip Centre (Brasserie Horta), a shrine to such Euro-faves as Tintin, Asterix and the Smurfs. Six Parks Belgium is a traditional (and traditionally expensive) theme park; Mini Europe a lavish, grand-scale version of that perennial English holiday favourite, the model village. It’s not just visiting EU politicians who’ll feel like giants when towering over the park’s well-crafted replicas of Big Ben and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Real ale enthusiasts should probably pay homage to the Cantillon Brewery, which offers a walking history of the foaming arts while rustling up its own (deliberately) sour beers. And speaking of acquired tastes: mayonnaise on chips aside, Brussels remains one of the best places to eat in Europe. The city is also a much undervalued shoppers’ haunt. Indie types head for the second-hand record shops on the Boulevard Anspach; would-be David Dickinsons for the Marolles antiques district. And with Eurostar opening up travel to and from this most up-and-coming of destinations, it’s as good a time as any to cut out the negative Belgian waffle and take a look for yourself…

Other useful Brussels Any travel websites

Belgian tourist office - The official tourist page for Brussels