48 Hours of Drinking in Brussels

A La Mort Subite has been pouring on Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères since 1928 and is the most famous Lambic beer house in Brussels. The room is preserved Be Drop bags. Find a hotel-adjacent bar within a five-minute walk. Order something simple to anchor yourself to the city.

Cafe Bota draws a steady local crowd in City Centre. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The polished room you'd take a first date to. Sit at the bar. Talk to the bartender. Stay one drink — you're scouting, not committing.

James Joyce Pub draws a steady local crowd in Avenue Louise. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Walk into the city's drinking quarter (the heart of the night, not the tourist version). Two drinks, two rooms. Pace yourself — Saturday is the long day.

Au Bon Vieux Temps is hidden in a narrow alley off Rue du Marché aux Herbes in Brussels Centre. The bar dates to 1695 and is one of the oldest continuously oper Sunset. Find a rooftop. Order whatever the house specials around sundown. Take photos but don't lose 90 minutes to your phone.

Au Laboureur draws a steady local crowd in Saint-Gilles. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Eat somewhere with serious bartending built in. The right room is one you order both your dinner and your nightcap from.

Bar du Matin draws a steady local crowd in Forest. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The bar that made you book the trip. The pre-research one. Reservation-only ideally. Stay until last call.

Bier Circus earns its reputation as one of Brussels' finest craft beer destinations not through spectacle or record-breaking beer counts, but through genuine cu Mary, Mimosa, or whatever low-ABV house play the room runs. Eat. Pay. Walk.

Bier Temple draws a steady local crowd in City Centre. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Find the hotel bar at your departure airport equivalent — somewhere quiet, low-volume, well-staffed. End the trip on a martini and a clean conversation.