I met up with Kim-Marie @LuxuryTravelMom and her son in Brussels. I met her at the hotel lobby and we took it from there. The hotel was very close to ‘Grand Place’. This is the heart of the city of Brussels. Here you can find a lot of beautiful and historical buildings. Like the Maison du Roi (means House of the King), la Maison des Ducs de Brabant (a group of guild houses) and the architectural masterpiece of the Grand Place, the Hôtel de Ville(Town hall) .
Maison du Roi
Town Hall, Brussels
Afterwards I wanted to show them ‘Manneken Pis’, which is our most famous little statue in Brussels. It’s a little guy peeing 🙂 He used to be naked, but now he changes outfits several times a week. (There’s even a schedule that posts what’s he wearing or going to wear!)
But of course you can’t come to Belgium without trying the chocolates. So, we started our own chocolate venture looking for the best Belgian chocolates at the MUCC. Which stands for Museum of Cocoa & Chocolate. It’s a museum where you can find more information on the cocoa and how the chocolates are made. You can taste chocolates and get to learn some fun facts too!
How many chocolates do people eat?
Okay, now we wanted to try some more chocolates. And I knew at ‘Place du Grand Sablon’ we could visit a few different chocolate shops. But before we went there, we made a little stop at the Royal Palace.
Because it was close to lunch time, we decided on eating at Le Pain Quotidien (this is one of my Best Kept Travel Secrets). After the delicious lunch, we headed out, searching for some yummy best Belgian chocolates.
We tried the ones at Pierre Marcolini, Wittamer and Leonidas. The ones at Marcolini were very good and beautifully packed. Wittamer is the chocolatier that delivers to the Court of Belgium and Leonidas is probably one of the most famous Belgian chocolate places. My favorite here is the ‘Manon’ which is a praline made of white chocolate filled with coffee butter cream and praline! These are also very affordable pralines I think. So, if you want to take home some affordable, but good pralines, make a stop at one of the many Leonidas shops.
So, what to do after all that heavenly chocolate. Going shopping of course 😉 The Louizalaan in Brussels is one of the most famous shopping streets. You can find all the designer stores here: Chanel, Gucci, …
Because we did a lot of walking we passed by some beautiful buildings and had some nice views over Brussels. We finished the day with a nice dinner in a typical little restaurant in one of the side streets of the Grand Place.
I had a great time, and of course there is so much more to see in Brussels. But we only had one day and I wanted to make sure Kim-Marie and her son, JJ, had the chance to taste our best Belgian chocolates 😉
Thanks Kim-Marie and JJ for a lovely day in Brussels!
Check out these insider tips on Where to eat in Brussels?
Read more on my travels in my travel journal or if you want to know more about Belgium, check out Belgium Travel Guide and Places to visit in Belgium.
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