Paris1972-Versailles2003

Well Brussels or Bruxelles has lots of memories to me, and my family, This was one of the first cities we visited even before moving permanently to France as my dear late wife Martine have brother still living near the border , This made it easy to visit several times on each visit and then some more once living in my belle France, I have many post on the City and country but left out on transports ! Well , of course, I come by car , but did made it by train twice and did use the metro, bus and tramway once in the City, Therefore, let me tell you a bit on getting in and out of Brussels !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

I do my road warrior trips here so off I go with the automobile and you will read Brussels is the most congested city in Europe and so on. Well , I have been driving to it since 1992, and never had a problem on traffic or parking’s underground; the street level can be had if you can be patient . Brussels is the hub of a range of national highways, the main ones being the A10 – E40, from the Belgian coast, Ostend (Oostende) and Ghent (Gent), A12, from Antwerp (Antwerpen), A1 – E19, also from Antwerp (Antwerpen) and the Netherlands, A201, from Brussels National Airport (Zaventem), A3 – E40, from Leuven and Liege, A4 – E411, from Namur and Luxembourg, and the A7 – E19, from Mons, Charleroi and France (mine), Also, national roads such as the N1 (N to Breda), N2 (E to Maastricht), N3 (E to Aachen), N4 (SE to Luxembourg) N5 (S to Reims), N6 (S to Maubeuge), N7 (SW to Lille), N8 (W to Koksijde) and N9 (NW to Ostend). 

The city of Brussels is surrounded by three major concentric peripheral axes: The Ring: peripheral motorway bypassing the 19 Brussels towns; The Grande Ceinture: boulevards (interrupted in the south at Bois de la Cambre); and the Petite Ceinture: a series of eight tunnels and expressways completely encircling the city center, following the route of a medieval wall from the 14-15C that you only crossed at the eight gates that have remained famous such as the gates or Portes de Namur , Hal, Anderlecht, Flanders, Rivage, Laeken, Schaerbeek and Leuven. The Ring road (RO) commonly referred to as the Ring. It is pear-shaped, as the southern side was never built as originally conceived, owing to residents’ objections. And yes this RO or ring is the best way to get to city center just pinpoint your central location and the exit from them and you are off; once at final destination parked and walk, lovely ! Lots of things going on so check the sites before going, like more pedestrian ways as shown :The planned makeover of Avenue Van Praet and Avenue des Croix du Feu, a 3-km section of the central ring road (R21) which runs along the right flank of Parc de Laeken, The Brussels mobility on road condition and trafic :https://mobilite-mobiliteit.brussels/en

A great private Fandom wiki site with good info on the Ring road in French: https://routes.fandom.com/wiki/Ring_belge_R0

The LEZ or the Low Emission Zone that has been implemented in the city to improve air quality and public health as the fad is on most European cities nowdays. This regulation concerns vehicles registered in Belgium and abroad under 3.5T: cars, vans and buses. The area includes the 19 towns of Brussels Capital. The Ring (the ring road) is not affected, nor the roads giving access to certain transit car parks, I am still Euro 6 so still can travel to Brussels until 2029, If you renting a car you will be ok, Folks coming with foreign licence plate like France ,needs to register the car before leaving to be safe and sure ,the fines can be 350€ !, and 353 cameras to keep an eye on you,big brother! The LEZ Brussels: https://lez.brussels/mytax/fr/registration/start

If it turns out that your vehicle is not authorized to circulate in Brussels Capital, you will have several alternative solutions: buy a day pass of 35€ via the LEZ website above (period limited to 8 days per year ). You will receive a response from the department concerned within 6-9 days of your request. However, the pass is paid only for the days you are traveling if you parked in a garage you do not need to pay, You can always come by car and then use public transports in the city such as P+R park and relay parking or sometimes referred to as “transit parking” or “deterrent parking”. These are as of last check :  parkings de Stalle, Ceria-Coovi, Lennik, UZ , and Kraainem.

The train; the Brussels Capital-Region has three main train stations: Brussels-South (Sud), Central ( taken once) , Midi (taken twice) , and North (Nord). Brussels-South/Sud is also served by direct high-speed rail links: to London by Eurostar trains via the Channel Tunnel ; to Amsterdam by Thalys and InterCity connections; to Amsterdam, Paris and , and Cologne by Thalys; and to Cologne , and Frankfurt by the German ICE. The City has minor railway stations at Bockstael, Brussels-Chapel, Brussels-Congres, Brussels-Luxembourg, Brussels-Schuman, Brussels-West, Haren, Haren-South, Simonis. In the Brussels Region, there are also railways stations at Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Boitsfort, Boondael, Bordet (Evere), Etterbeek, Evere, Forest-East, Forest-South, Jette, Meiser (Schaarbeek), Moensberg (Uccle), Saint-Job (Uccle), Schaarbeek, Uccle-Calevoet, Uccle-Stalle, Vivier d’Oie-Diesdelle (Uccle), Merode and Watermael. I leave you with the link to the two train stations I have taken in Brussels.

The Midi train station in Brussels: https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Stations/Brussels-Midi

The Central train station in Brussels:  http://www.belgianrail.be/en/stations-and-train/search-a-station/2/BRUCENTRAAL%20%20BRUXCENTRAL.aspx

The Brussels Metro (taken) with underground lines known as premetro has a network consisting  of four conventional metro lines and three premetro lines. The metro network within the region has a total of 69 metro and premetro stations. The metro connects  with six railway stations of the National Railway Company of Belgium, and many tram and bus stops operated by STIB/MIVB, and with Flemish De Lijn and Walloon TEC bus stops.  A comprehensive bus and tram network (taken) covers the city with the Brussels tram system consisting of  17 tram lines making  it one of the largest tram networks in Europe. The Brussels bus network is complementary to the rail network and consists of 50 bus routes and 11 night routes, STIB/MIVB has been operating a night bus network called Noctis. On Fridays and Saturdays, 11 bus routes operate from midnight until 03h.  They run from the centre of Brussels to the outer reaches of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The official Brussel transports network STIB: https://www.stib-mivb.be/index.htm?l=en

There are two main airport located outside the region of Brussels, Brussels-National Airport, located in Zaventem, (taken) 12 km (10 mi) east of the capital; and Brussels South Charleroi Airport, located near Charleroi , some 50 km (30 mi) south-west of Brussels. Water traffic is important even for a land city like Brussels, the port of Brussels. Located near the Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne square, it lies on the Brussels-Scheldt Maritime Canal (commonly called Willebroek Canal), which connects Brussels to Antwerp via the Scheldt. The connection of the Willebroek Canal with the Brussels-Charleroi Canal, in the very heart of the capital, creates a north-south link, by means of waterways, between the Netherlands, Flanders and the industrial zone of Hainaut (Wallonia). There, navigation can access the network of French canals, thanks to the important inclined plane of Ronquières and the lifts of Strépy-Bracquegnies.

The Brussels Tourist office on getting to Brussels: https://www.visit.brussels/en/visitors/plan-your-trip/practical-info/how-to-get-to-brussels

The Brussels region tourist office on getting to Brussels : https://be.brussels/en/transport-mobility/arriving-brussels

There you go folks, a dandy pretty city we enjoy visiting over the years , and always looking forward for more in the future. Do take a look at my previous posts for plenty of info and pictures. Again, hope you enjoy the post on getting in and out of Brussels as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!