Transfers in Brussels

About Brussels

Brussels is Belgium’s capital and the de facto capital of the European Union, hosting the European Commission, the European Parliament and NATO headquarters around a compact medieval core. The City of Brussels municipality holds close to 200,000 residents, the wider Brussels-Capital Region around 1.2 million across its 19 municipalities, and the metropolitan area more than 2.5 million, making it one of Europe’s most international cities with over 180 nationalities represented.

The Grand-Place, a UNESCO-listed square of guildhalls and the Gothic Town Hall, sits at the heart of the old town alongside the Manneken Pis, the Mont des Arts museum district and the Art Nouveau townhouses that spread through Ixelles and Saint-Gilles. The European Quarter around Schuman brings a very different, glass-and-steel character just east of the centre.

Getting around

The STIB/MIVB network of metro, tram and bus covers the centre and outer municipalities well, and a direct train links Brussels Airport to Brussels-Central in around 20 minutes. Traffic on the ring road and the routes into the centre slows at weekday rush hour and during EU summit weeks, when a pre-booked private transfer with a driver who already knows the fastest route is usually less stressful than a taxi rank queue with luggage.

Best time to visit

May to September brings the mildest, driest weather for walking the old town and sitting out on Grand-Place terraces. Winter is grey and often wet, though the Christmas market and ice rink on Grand-Place from late November draw their own crowds. Spring brings the biennial flower carpet on Grand-Place (even years) and blooming Bois de la Cambre, while summer festivals fill the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

Transferring from Brussels’s airport

Brussels Airport (BRU) at Zaventem is the country’s main gateway, a single terminal split into Schengen and non-Schengen zones and linked by a connector building, about 12 km northeast of the centre. Pre-booked private transfers cover the city, the European Quarter and the wider region, with flight tracking, 60 minutes of free wait time and a fixed price that holds regardless of arrival time.

Common transfer routes

Typical Brussels routes include:

• Brussels Airport to Grand-Place and the city centre, around 20 minutes.
• Brussels Airport to the European Quarter (Schuman), around 20 to 25 minutes.
• Brussels Airport to Bruges, around 1 hour 10 minutes.
• Brussels Airport to Ghent, around 45 minutes.
• Brussels Airport to Antwerp, around 40 minutes.

Many visitors pair a Brussels stay with a day trip to Bruges or Ghent, both an easy return by pre-booked transfer or train, and business travellers heading to the European Quarter often add a stop at a hotel near Schuman on the way in from the airport.

Booking your Brussels transfer

Compare licensed Belgian operators on this site for any BRU route. You see one fixed price up front, with meet-and-greet at the terminal and free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Alipay, iDEAL, Wero and PayPal are all supported, so settling the booking before you fly is straightforward.