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Brussels

Coming & Going

TRAIN

Brussels has three main train stations. Gare du Nord has trains to the airport, plus Antwerp, Amsterdam and Cologne. Gare du Midi has trains to Paris, Ostende and Eurostar trains to London. Many trains also stop at Gare Centrale, which is located between the two main stations.

Eurostar trains from London arrive and depart from Gare du Midi (Zuid Station in Flemish).

BUS

Eurolines buses depart from Gare du Nord at 80, rue du Progrès where there is also a small ticket office. Eurolines also has ticket offices at 50, place du Brouckère and 9, avenue Fonsny.

AIR

Brussels National Airport (website www.brusselsairport.be) is Europe's 11th largest and handles the majority of Belgium's air traffic. There are all the services you would expect from a major airport.

The airport is located at Zaventem, 14km outside the city centre and is well served by public transport. The Airport City Express train service is the most popular way to get to and from the airport. The 15 minute service runs four times per hour, check the timetable, from just before 6am to about midnight. A one-way ticket costs €3.

Alternatively, there is a regular bus service between the airport and Gare du Nord. The hourly departures cost €3. There are also bus services to Antwerp (€7.50).

Charleroi - Brussels South Airport (website www.charleroi-airport.com) handles mostly cut-price airlines like Ryanair and some charter airlines. This small airport is located about an hour south of Brussels near the industrial city of Charleroi. With only around three or four flights a day you shouldn't expect the services that you would get at a bigger airport such as Brussels National or Antwerp, however this airport is surprisingly well connected with both Brussels and Charleroi city centres.

TEC bus route 68 operates between the airport and Charleroi Sud train station. The journey takes only 10 minutes and costs €1.10. From Charleroi Sud station there are frequent trains to destinations throughout Belgium and Europe. Train fares from Charleroi are €6.80 to Brussels, €10.80 to Antwerp and €15.40 to Bruges.

Ryanair operate their own bus service into Brussels which connects with their flights to Dublin. The 45 minute journey between the airport and central Brussels costs €10. The Ryanair airport bus terminates in central Brussels at the southern entrance to Gare du Midi.

HITCHHIKING

If you're heading to Amsterdam or Antwerp, you can try your luck on the A12 motorway. The A12 starts in the suburb of Heysel (Heizel in Flemish), take tram 52 or 92 to get here.

Take tram (premétro) 90 to Diamant station if you want to hitch to Cologne or Liège on the A3. If you want to go to Luxembourg, take the métro (line 1A) to Delta for the entrance to the A4.

If you're looking for a lift to Bruges or Ostend (for ferries to the UK), you'll want to get on the A10. Get bus 85 and get off one stop before the terminus.

Brussels has an excellent ride sharing service known as Taxistop. They can match you up with someone going your way for a fee which can work out much cheaper than the train or bus. They are located at 28/1, rue Fossé aux Loups, 1000 Bruxelles. You can phone them on (02) 223 23 10.

If you want a lift with Taxistop, you'll have to pay a 0.3 BF fee per passenger and per km to Taxistop (with a minimum. of 250BF and a maximum of 800BF per person) , and 1 BF per passenger per km to the driver.

BUG Ride (website http://europe.bugride.com) is our own web-based ride sharing service, it allows travellers to both offer lifts and search for rides throughout Europe. This is a free service which links travellers to drivers - you contact the driver by email when you have found the ride you want.