Five Days in Brussels - Access Brussels

The Grand Sablon square — The Sablon antiques market runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Photograph by Flocci Nivis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Five days buys a day out, and Belgium is small enough that the best of it is thirty to sixty minutes away by train.

Days one to three

The Place du Jeu de Balle from above — a market with no day off. Photograph by Romaine, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Day four — out of the city

Ghent — about half an hour. The one locals send you to: a working city with a medieval centre and far fewer coach parties than Bruges.
Bruges — about an hour. Beautiful and very busy; go early or stay the night, because the day-trip window is exactly when it is fullest.
Antwerp — about forty minutes, and the station alone is worth the fare.
Leuven — about half an hour. A university town with the most ornate town hall in the country and almost no visitors.

Trains are run by SNCB/NMBS and Belgium is compact enough that fares are modest. Ask about a weekend return — Belgian rail has long discounted Saturday and Sunday travel — and check whether a day pass beats two singles.

The lit arcade of the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert — The Galeries are covered, which matters more in Brussels than in most cities. Photograph by Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Day five — the communes

The parts a short trip cuts: Ixelles and the ponds, Saint-Gilles beyond the Horta house, the Bois de la Cambre, and the Sunday market at Gare du Midi, which is one of the largest in Europe and nothing like the centre.

The twin towers of the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula — The cathedral is free, and quieter than anything else in the centre. Photograph by Edison McCullen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What five days changes

It lets a wet day be a wet day, which in Brussels is a real planning consideration.

Other lengths of trip

Three Days in BrusselsAdds the thing you book A Week in BrusselsAdds a nearby capital Two Days in BrusselsAdds the collections

Journey times and opening patterns as published for 2026 and checked on 5 September 2026. Timetables, fares and closing days change without much warning — confirm with the operator or the institution before you travel. All the plans are in Itineraries & Day Plans.