Getting there and around
Airport
Brussels international (Zaventem) airport is 14km (9mi) northeast of Brussels. Many international airlines fly here, but more fly into other European cities, so, depending on where you're coming from, it may be better to fly into Paris, London, Frankfurt or Amsterdam and take a train or bus to Brussels. Belgium is so small that there are no internal flights between cities.
Brussels international (Zaventem) airport is 14km (9mi) northeast of Brussels. Many international airlines fly here, but more fly into other European cities, so, depending on where you're coming from, it may be better to fly into Paris, London, Frankfurt or Amsterdam and take a train or bus to Brussels. Belgium is so small that there are no internal flights between cities.
A train station on the lowest level (-1) runs the Airport City Express shuttle train between the airport and Brussels' three main train stations, Gare du Nord, Gare du Midi and Gare Centrale. The latter is a five-minute walk from the Grand Place. You can also catch bus BZ between the airport and Gare du Nord or catch a taxi from outside the arrivals hall - official taxis have a yellow and blue 'Taxi' sign.
Public transport
The public transport system is made up of the metro (underground trains), buses and trams that criss-cross the city. All of these services are operated by the same company STIB and therefore share the same ticketing system. This makes it easy to make transfers and to purchase tickets. Intercity trains are operated by a separate company SNCB but all the railway stations are connected to metro stations, tram stops and bus stops.
Public transport
The public transport system is made up of the metro (underground trains), buses and trams that criss-cross the city. All of these services are operated by the same company STIB and therefore share the same ticketing system. This makes it easy to make transfers and to purchase tickets. Intercity trains are operated by a separate company SNCB but all the railway stations are connected to metro stations, tram stops and bus stops.
Tickets are available at metro stations, STIB kiosks, some newsagents and on buses and trams. You can purchase single-trip tickets, five/ten-journey tickets or day passes. Metro stations are marked by rectangular signs with a white 'M' on a blue background. Tram and bus stops have red and white signs.
There are three main railway train stations in Brussels. All of them have trains that depart to other cities in Belgium and to other cities in Europe. Note that in Brussels everything is bilingual (French and Flemish) so you have to know both versions of the stations before you search for information, look at maps or book tickets online.