Brussels reveals itself slowly, drawing you from its grand squares into quiet backstreets lined with comic murals and chocolate shops. Beneath the ornate façades of the Grand-Place, centuries of craftsmanship and pride shimmer in the gilded stone. Wander into a café for a cone of frites with house-made sauces, or stop by the ateliers of chocolatiers who still craft pralines by hand. Step inside Victor Horta’s Art Nouveau townhouses to see the city’s creative past come alive in iron and glass. Between moments, the bells of St. Michael’s Cathedral ring across the rooftops, and a Trappist ale brewed by monks, enjoyed at a corner bar that feels like a local secret. By the time you return to the river, Brussels feels less like a capital and more like a neighborhood you’ve begun to know.

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