Hello there you friendly faces!
I'm traveling to Athens for 5 days and Brussels for 2 days with my family (kids are 8 and 6) in April. We have a few ideas of activities to do while in Athens but thought it would be good to ask this community for any ideas for folks that have made the trip.
We'll probably make a full day of sight seeing and walking around the Acropolis. We're also looking into taking a boat ride to one of the nearby islands for the day.
Other than that, I'd love to hear any suggestions for other family friendly things to do or places to get food at.
Brussels will be a bit quick (it's more like a '1.5 day' layover). We're staying very near the city center so it will be mostly sight seeing, eating and drinking. Most likely making at stop at the Delirium Café that holds the Guinness World Record for most beers available for tasting: 2,004.
Thanks a bunch in advance!
Comments
Following...planning a trip to Greece as well
Brussels is a pretty cool city but 2 days is probably enough to see the main stuff. Grand Place always has a bunch of random stuff going on like street performers. If you like mussels, you should definitely get moule frites for dinner. It will probably be chilly in April, but a lot of places have street seating with big heaters so you can sit outside and people watch. You should check out mannequin pis just because it's hilarious that a 3' tall fountain of a boy pissing got so famous. Les Galeries Royales is pretty cool to walk through as well.
Other than that, the beer and chocolate are both fantastic so sample generously.
For Brussels, here are a few things that are close to the center of the city that are worth walking through. I'll echo a few that VTSnake said as well.
Grand Place. Gorgeous main square of Brussels. If it's the right time/day then you might catch some locals getting married in the Town Hall and waving from above. A part of the Belgian wedding is going to the town hall and signing the ledger. They typically dress up for this part. It's a bit more fun than how we do the civil marriage thing.
Galeries Royales Saint Hubert. Gorgeous gallery of shops to walk through. Stop by Pierre Marcolini for some awesome chocolate while passing through!
One of my favorite Belgian meals is Lapin a la Kriek. It's braised rabbit in a sour cherry and Kriek sauce. Kriek is a lambic (a sour beer that can only made in the Brussels region) aged with sour cherries. It's a delicious and very fulfilling meal. Fin de Siécle was amazing when I had it a few years back. The portion size was incredible and it's only a 5 minute walk from Grand Place. Which is thankfully just far enough that not everything is a tourist trap anymore. Be warned they are cash only.
If you can't get enough of peeing statues, there is also a peeing girl (Jeanneke Pis) and a peeing dog (Zinneke Pis). Jeanneke Pis is across the alley from Delirium. You'll probably pass her as you exit.
As for beer/breweries Delirium is definitely an awesome one! A lot of fantastic beer and some hard to find stuff, especially for Americans. Enjoy your fill of lambic, Abbey, and Trappist beer!
Brussels Beer Project is a cool place to check out. They're more in the American vein for brewing style with a lot of unique offerings.
One last note on beer - if you've had Chouffe before, it tastes fresher and the coriander pops more when you have it fresh from a keg. It's worth having a glass or 6 while you're there.
Have a great time!
In Brussels: Grand Place, the Bourse. There's a decent brasserie near the Bourse, but I've forgotten the name. In your situation, I think wondering around the streets around Grand Place may be your best bet.
Other options, if you have access to transportation, would be Le Petite Sablon (Wittamer chocolates), and Le Palais de Justice (for a great view of the city, all the way to the Atomium [Giant Atom from a World's Fair], which is on the other side of town) but the walk might be long with kids.
It's tricky with kids for food, as the good restaurants tend to be great, but spendy, and while the restaurants around Grand Place have great atmosphere and beer, the service is often pretty slow, and the food is hit or miss, but maybe not the best value. Mostly, it requires the right attitude. It's an expensive city, you paid a lot to be there, so be prepared to pay for lunch/dinner. There are some Greek Pita places that are pretty good, and easy on the pocket book (but like you said, you're going to Athens). A Brasserie might be a good option. Generally, get a drink on Grand place for the character (Roy d'Espagne is a good option), but walk a couple of blocks from there for better food options. There are reviews of most of them online, and you can get a feel for the character.
You sort of have to see the Mannekin Pis (boy pissing), and the Jeanneke Pis (female version). The Toone Theatre (puppets) could be a fun stop for kids (and to get a beer/coffee/soft drink), but the shows themselves aren't in English. I've taken people in there just to look around at the puppets, and didn't necessarily even get anything to drink.
I like Roy d'Espagne on Grand Place for a beer, in a touristy place that you definitely won't forget. Get a window seat if available and people watch on Grand Place. Or get a seat outside just about anywhere that looks good if it's a nice day.
I'll second the recommendation for Fin de Siecle, and the lapin - some places make it with prunes, but it's awesome. I liked it so much I tried to make it at home. Stick to a good restaurant.
April is a great time to be Brussels, but it will likely be chilly. Hopefully you get a sunny day, but that will require a bit of luck.
In Brussels, they have a fantastic war museum, if you're up for that. Its in an old WWII airplane hanger, and is enormous, and has a flight display that rivals that of Udvar Hazy out near Dulles. In the same facility, there's an Automuseum that is pretty cool as well.
Also, highly recommend Kwak, if you've not had it, yet.
Mannekin Pis is worth a stroll by if you have time, but its very much a tourist trap. Nothing to see outside of a relatively small statue on some random corner that is dressed in some random attire for the day. Grand Place is absolutely worth a visit, but I recommend going at night rather than in the day, seeing it all lit up at night is beautiful.
The war museum is cool but at least when I went in 2016 it was kind of in pieces and incomplete (but itwas also free so couldn't complain).
The auto museum was quite cool to
I went in 2017 and didn't get that feeling at all. Granted, I never really got to finish the WWII area because it was closing, but it didn't seem to be incomplete at all. You must have gone during a time of renovation.
For anyone that hasn't gone, there's more shit in this hallway right here than you see in many entire museums:
On that same trip we went to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and pretty much everything about that place is impressive as well
I was only in Athens for about a day and a half and we did the Acropolis which was fantastic. We also did a food tour that started around 6 PMish and ended around 730/8PMish that was also really great. Food tours are always a great way to get some local food & burn some calories/energy for your kids!
I went to Athens for 4-5 days in 2019 (I very fortunately decided not to stay up and watch the 2019 VT Duke football game), and we rented a car and made day trips to Nafplio and Meteora. Meteora will require a full day because it's a long drive there and back, but it is absolutely beautiful and worth it.
Nafplio is a little coastal town with a giant tower/castle/former prison thing (you can't miss it) that you can climb up (long vertical hike up steps) leading to incredible views. Not super touristy and great local food. (little under 2hr drive).
Meteora is in the mountains and there are a bunch of monasteries built up on top of the mountains you can visit. There is also a neat little restaurant up there with great views. (Little over 4hr drive)
With both of these little side trips we still had plenty of time to explore the obvious historical sites in Athens.
As for food, if you like Souvlaki (skewers) or Gyros, the stuff you can get from street vendors/little shops is actually really good and doesn't take long to get or find.
I hear the waffles in Belgium are on point.
They are. Just to point out though, the 1 euro beligian waffles you find already use a sweetened batter, so only tourists get them loaded with toppings and syrups. There is also a Brussells waffle that isn't sweetened and is crispier. If you find a place that does those, I recommend fresh fruit and whipped cream on them
My experience is 10+ years old but Athens was pretty enjoyable while I was there during the tourist offseason. There Acropolis is a must, and I would encourage you and the fam to eat the local cuisine as much as you possibly can. As for the island hopping - we did Santorini and Mykonos and both were very enjoyable, but different... Santorini was laid back, and Mykonos was a bit more partying, but both had fantastic beaches. The one thing I would strongly recommend for the catamaran trips to the islands is plan ahead - know where you want to go and dont just assume you can get on a boat when you want to. Give yourself at least a day to get your tickets in advance just to be safe.
Just went to Athens for Presidents Day, 2 nights kids 10 and 6. The weather was great and it wasn't crowded.
Kids liked the Acropolis and the Agora. The Acropolis museum was nice, but the kids probably wont enjoy it too much. Lycabettus Hill had great views, especially at night, but wouldn't recommend the restaurant there. the Olympic stadium looked nice from a distance but we didn't make it over there. Depending on your budget and your kids interest in Percy Jackson, a Percy Jackson guided tour would probably be worth it.
Everyone speaks perfect english, so that was nice considering their alphabet had me doing flashback to calculus class. Also the taxis are very cheap, and you can call for one and prepay on your phone. it was like 6 to 7 eruos for a 15min ride across town. Use google maps for restaurant ratings, Europeans use that more then Yelp.
I think you will probably see all you want in Athens in 2 to 3 days. Everyone we have talked to absolutely loves Crete. We are living in Italy right now, and all our friends who have been to multiple Greek islands say that is their favorite.
Thanks for all the comments so far. As usual, the TKP community never ceases to amaze me.
I guess it's a good thing I booked the Marriott at Grand Place, so we'll be close to a LOT of what's been recommended!
I booked most of the trip thus far with credit card points/miles and hotel points so I'll be spending the real $$ on food and drinks and tours with the family!
The more I read y'alls comments, the more excited we are getting!
I have to give a shout out to Hungry Mary and the beer and chocolate tour. Did it back in 2016 and looks like they are still going. We went to a bunch of small, family chocolate shops rather than the commerical names, took us all around the city and gave a bunch of background and history before visiting a beer store to taste through several different types and then ended in the oldest bar in the city. Was the best 90 euro I've ever spent