Access BrusselsBrussel · Bruxelles

Getting Here & Onward

Arriver & repartir · Aankomst & verder

Two airports, three stations, and Eurostar to London, Paris and Amsterdam — with the catch at Charleroi.

A Thalys train at Bruxelles-Midi
Photograph by y-yoshiike, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Brussels has two airports and three central stations, and the trap is in the naming.

⚠️ The airport that is not in Brussels

Charleroi is marketed as "Brussels South Charleroi" and is about 50 km away. Getting in means a dedicated coach of roughly an hour to Bruxelles-Midi, bought separately, and it runs to a timetable rather than continuously. Factor it into the price before you book the cheap flight.

Brussels Airport at Zaventem has a railway station under the terminal with frequent trains to the three central stations in around twenty minutes. There is a supplement on that fare that is not obvious when you buy.

The train shed at Brussels-South
Charleroi is about 50 km away and is not in Brussels. Photograph by Smiley.toerist, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The three stations

Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid is the international one — Eurostar, high-speed to Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne. Central is the one nearest the Grand-Place. Nord serves the business district. Most domestic trains call at all three, so board at whichever is nearest rather than travelling to Midi first.

Platforms at Brussels-South
Bruxelles-Midi is the international station — Eurostar and the high-speed lines. Photograph by Smiley.toerist, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Onward by train

Paris is about an hour and a half, Amsterdam and London about two, Cologne about two. The high-speed services are reservation-only and get expensive close to departure, so book early. The slower intercity to Amsterdam costs a fraction of the high-speed fare for roughly forty minutes more — one of the better deals in European rail.

London means a passport and an airport-style check-in at Midi. Allow the time.

A tram on a Brussels avenue
Board at whichever central station is nearest, not at Midi by default. Photograph by Tram93, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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

  • Eurostar from Brussels to London: the check-in, the passport, the time
  • Brussels to Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne by train
  • The slow train to Amsterdam, and why it is often the better buy
  • Arriving in Brussels by train: which station and what is around it

About what you read here. Everything on Access Brussels is general information and our own editorial opinion. We research carefully and we say when the evidence is unclear, but we can be wrong, things change, and no article can know your particular situation. Please do your own research and make your own judgement rather than treating anything here as the final word. Prices, products and specifications around the topics we cover change constantly, and what suits one person will not suit another. Check current details yourself, and where a decision involves real money, safety or something you cannot undo, it is worth confirming with a qualified professional before you act.