Brussels: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Brussels is the capital of Belgium (Brussels Capital), 28 m (92 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Brussels Airport (BRU), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre. It has 7 railway stations on record, including Brussels-Central railway station. Our booking partner lists 1,347+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Brussels runs from about 8 h a day in late December to 16 h 35 min in late June (computed for 50.85° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Brussels is served by 6 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Brussels Airport (BRU), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, whose 11,936-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL, 44 km), Lille Airport (LIL, 93 km), Eindhoven Airport (EIN, 98 km), Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST, 100 km), Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 39 km).
Flights to Brussels: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Brussels-Central railway station, Schaarbeek railway station, Bockstael railway station, Haren railway station, Brussels-Chapel Station, Tour and Taxis railway station. Trains to Brussels
Buses to Brussels · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 1,347+ places to stay in Brussels (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 620 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (358), and 14 are five-star. Across 523 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.1 out of 10. Guests have left 905,883 reviews in total.
Hotels in Brussels: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Centre for Fine Arts | 1,226,721 | 2019 |
| Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium | 398,241 | 2023 |
| Océade | 250,000 | 2015 |
| Musical Instruments Museum | 223,456 | — |
The busiest is Centre for Fine Arts at 1,226,721 visitors in 2019. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Grand-Place.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Brussels
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- London, 320 km (United Kingdom) — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Paris, 264 km (France) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Köln, 183 km (Germany) — flights · tours
- Rotterdam, 120 km (The Netherlands) — trains · tours
- Amsterdam, 173 km (The Netherlands) — flights · trains · tours
- Frankfurt am Main, 317 km (Germany)
- Düsseldorf, 175 km (Germany) — flights · trains · tours
- Essen, 198 km (Germany) — flights · tours
- Dortmund, 229 km (Germany) — flights · tours
- Bremen, 393 km (Germany) — flights
Twin towns and sister cities: Berlin, Vilnius, Madrid, Tirana, Beijing, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Montreal, Ljubljana, Prague, Kyiv, Lagos, Amsterdam, Macau.
Common questions
Which airport serves Brussels?
Brussels Airport (BRU), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, plus 5 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Brussels?
About 1 million people live in Brussels, across 33 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Brussels in?
Europe/Brussels, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Brussels?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Brussels?
Our booking partner lists 1,347 or more places to stay in Brussels, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Brussels?
London (320 km), Paris (264 km), Köln (183 km), Rotterdam (120 km), Amsterdam (173 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.