Travel to Brussels

Brussels is located in the northern half of Belgium just above the main language border which separates the Flemish-speaking northern region and the French-speaking southern region of Belgium. The country is bordered by four countries: France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg and has a coast facing the North Sea across from the United Kingdom. Due to the country’s central location, Brussels’ transport infrastructure is highly developed and the city is easily reachable by air, train, bus, car and even ferry.

Travel by train to Brussels
Brussels is easily accessible by train. Domestic trains are nationally operated by SNCB and runs through three main train stations in Brussels (Bruxelles-Nord, Bruxelles-Central and Bruxelles-Midi). It will take you to all the major cities in Belgium. For international travel there are high-speed trains operated by Eurostar and Thalys that depart from the TGV platform at Bruxelles-Midi station to a variety of destinations across Europe including Paris (1 hour 30 minutes) and London (1 hour 50 minutes).

Flights to Brussels
There are many direct flights and connecting flights that will reach Brussels Airport from all over the world. Major hubs that connect to Brussels are London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. From there is it only about 1 hour to reach Brussels by air. A small number of budget airlines also have international flights from Central Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean which make air travel more affordable from those departure points. Here are some approximate travel times of direct flights to Brussels: from Central Europe (Warsaw) it takes 2 hours, from USA (New York): 7.5 hours, from Scandinavia (Stockholm): 2 hours and 15 min, and all other intercontinental flights will take over 8 hours.

Ferry to Brussels
An interesting alternative to taking flights to Brussels is with a combination of ferry and train, bus or car. There are no direct ferries into Brussels so you will need to work out a connection from the coast into Brussels.

Popular routes to Brussels:

Amsterdam to Brussels
Many travellers will feel the convenience of travelling between the Netherlands and Brussels via the InterCity rail system, but there are also flights and even a ferry that connects these two capital cities.

London to Brussels
London is a major hub for international flights. Travellers who are coming from intercontinental flights may decide to land in London and transfer by air or rail to Brussels. Flights from London to Brussels will take about 1 hour non-stop.

Paris to Brussels
Travelling between these two major cities has been made easier with the TGV high-speed train network but there are also direct flights available between Paris and Brussels from Brussels Airlines.

Barcelona to Brussels
There are cheap flights available from Barcelona to Brussels and journey time is approximately 2 hours.

Berlin to Brussels
You can travel from Berlin to Brussels by flight out of Brussels Airport or by intercity train via Koln, Germany.

Luxembourg to Brussels
There are only two airlines that operate flights between Luxembourg and Brussels and the airfares are astronomical. Therefore the cheapest way to travel to Brussels is via the intercity train which takes 3 hours.

Visa Requirements
Visa requirements vary for nationals of different countries and states. It will pay to check the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs Belgium website for more details of the type of visa you may need to apply for. There is a tool on the website that determines your need to apply for a visa. Once you know if you need a visa, they will list the documents you have to provide and the fees for the visa.

Generally, nationals from countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) can enter and exit without any visa requirements. All other countries, unless otherwise exempt, need to apply for short-visit visas such as the Schengen Visa.