Getting Around

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The STIB, one ticket across metro, tram and bus, and a centre that is far more walkable than the network map suggests.

A Brussels tram on the street — Photograph by Tram93, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

One operator, STIB/MIVB, runs the metro, the trams and the buses, and one ticket covers all three for an hour including changes. Buy before you board or tap a contactless card at the gate; buying from the driver costs more, where it is possible at all.

What the network hides

The map makes Brussels look bigger than it is. The old centre is walkable end to end in about twenty-five minutes, and most of what a visitor wants sits inside that. Use the network to leave the centre — to Saint-Gilles, to the Cinquantenaire, to Heysel — rather than to cross it.

Two quirks worth knowing. Some tram lines run underground through the centre in what are called prémétro tunnels, so a tram stop can look like a metro station. And the city sits on a hill: the upper town and the lower town are a real climb apart, which is why there are free public lifts and why walking routes are not symmetrical.

A bilingual street sign in Brussels — One ticket covers metro, tram and bus for an hour, including changes. Photograph by FrDr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Passes

Singles, a book of ten, and 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour passes all exist. The arithmetic is the usual one — a pass pays around the fourth or fifth journey of a day — so it depends entirely on whether you plan to walk the centre or hop across it.

A Brussels tram — Some tram lines run underground through the centre — a tram stop can look like a metro station. Photograph by Tram93, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The airports

Brussels Airport has a train station under the terminal with a direct link to the central stations. Charleroi, which many low-cost airlines call "Brussels South", is about an hour away by coach and is not in Brussels at all — see Getting Here & Onward.

The square at the Mont des Arts — The centre is walkable end to end in about twenty-five minutes. Photograph by Fred Romero from Paris, France, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Checked on 5 September 2026 against published sources. Fares, hours and closing days change without much warning — confirm before you travel.

This section is being written. The guide above is the section for now. New articles are published across the site about twice a week rather than a section being filled in a day, so this page grows steadily — it is worth looking in again. In the meantime the sixteen sight pages and the plans by trip length are finished, and they are the best place to start.

Coming next in this section

How a STIB ticket works, and what one ticket actually covers
Brussels travel passes: when 24, 48 or 72 hours pays for itself
Getting from Brussels Airport to the centre
⚠️ Charleroi is not Brussels: getting in from the other airport