Brussels Price Guide | Calculating The Daily Costs to Visit Brussels

Brussels is the largest city in Belgium and home to the EU parliament. It’s also a major business hub—which means it’s expensive since it caters to wealthy visitors. Attractions are on the expensive side and everyday items like transportation and food can be expensive. In this Brussels price guide, we’ll cover typical Brussels travel costs for food, accommodation, sights, and extras so you can better budget your trip.

This article is part of our City Price Guide Series — Click here to see all our city price guides.

Average Daily Costs For Visiting Brussels

It costs around €80-€100/day to visit Brussels for budget-minded travelers. These prices are based on what you’ll need to visit the city comfortably on a budget. 

If you want nicer accommodation then you’ll need to add an extra €60-€110/night depending on where you stay. These prices also don’t include things like big nights out at the bar/pub, club entry fees, souvenir/clothing shopping, tours, random purchases, nicer food, etc. Don’t forget to budget extra for those “non-essentials.”

Daily Cost of Budget Travel in Brussels: €90 (Approx. $100)

• Attractions: €15 (one paid attraction + any free sights)
• Food: €35
  • Breakfast: €4
  • Lunch: €10
  • Dinner: €18
  • Treat (dessert/beer/wine): €4
• Transportation: €2.10
• Accommodation (Hostel): €42

Daily Cost of Frugal Travel in Brussels: €62 (Approx. $67)

• Attractions: €10 (free walking tour + visit one of the free sights)
• Food: €20
  • Breakfast: €0 (free hostel breakfast)
  • Lunch: €7 (street food or takeaway shop fare)
  • Dinner: €12 (make your own meal in the hostel or grab something cheap)
  • Beer: €2 (chill out at the park and have a cold one)
• Transportation: €0 (walk)
• Accommodation (Cheap Hostel): €32

---

Brussels Attraction and Museum Prices

There aren’t many free attractions in Brussels so expect to pay €10-€12 for each.

• Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium: €10-€15
• Musical Instruments Museum: €15
• Horta Museum: €10
• Belgian Comic Strip Center: €13
• Atomium/Mini-Europe: €19 (Atomium), €31 (Atomium/Mini-Europe)
• Magritte Museum: €11
• Moof Museum: €14
• Royal Museum of Army and Military History: Free admission
• Parlamentarium: Free admission
• Walking Tour: Free (tip around €8) – €30

The Brussels Card can be purchased for 24/48/72 hour use (€32/€42/€49) and grants entry to 49+ museums and attractions as well as unlimited public transportation.

---

Brussels Food Prices

In general, the food in Brussels is expensive (especially near the city center) so you have to actively seek out the best deals if you’re on a budget.

Belgium is famous for its fries, waffles, and chocolate. Other traditional meals include grilled sandwiches (croquets), carbonade falamande (beef and beer stew), and moules frites (mussels and fries). The Grand-Place in Brussels’ city center has a number of eateries and cafés offering chocolate, beer, and other dishes (usually at a premium price).

Stop into a Brasseries (basically a combination pub and restaurant) for traditional fare alongside domestic and imported draught beer. You can also find cheap and filling food from department store cafeterias, such as Galeria Kaufhof, for a good price.

Brussels Budget Breakfast Prices: Free-€10

• Many hostels will offer a free simple breakfast that normally consists of cereal, bread/croissant, and maybe milk, coffee, tea, or juice (some hostels will offer more and some less). Hotel breakfasts tend to be overpriced, so skip those in most cases.
• Breakfast pastry from a local bakery runs €2-€4.
• Belgian waffles (which are normally seen as a dessert… but who cares?) run €4-€8 and stands can be found throughout the city center (Grand-Place) or the Maison Dandoy’s Tea Room has more expensive (and famous) offerings.

A few suggested budget-friendly breakfast suggestions:

• Boulangerie Charli: Nice little boulangerie near the city center serving up French pastries and coffee.
• EXKi Agora: Buffet-style chain restaurant with fresh fruits, toast, cereal, coffee, etc.
• Aksum Coffee House: The best espresso in Brussels.
• Pastelaria Garcia: A traditional Portuguese pastry shop serving up excellent pasteis de nata for over 25 years.

Brussels Budget Lunch Prices: €7-€15

• Super budget travelers can make a super cheap lunch of bread, lunch meat, cheese, and fruit from any grocery store for a few euros.
• Takeaway meals run about €8.
• Kebabs from a food cart start at €5 for just a sandwich and go up to €9 for fries and soda. 
• Look out for friteries (also known as frietkot).These popular Belgian takeaway stands offer fries paired with grilled or fried meat. A cone of fries with sauce will cost around €3.50-€5.

Brussels Budget Dinner Prices: €12-€25

• Many of the options from the ‘Budget Lunch’ section above also work for dinner.
• A dish of moules frites (mussels and fries): €18-€27
• Carbonade flamande (beef stew made with beer): €18-€22
• You should be able to find a traditional dinner at a restaurant in a less touristy part of town for around €14-€20.
• Fin de Siècle is a moderately-priced option for a traditional Belgian meal.

A few suggested budget-friendly lunch and dinner suggestions:

• Tonton Garby:  A local favorite for inexpensive sandwiches.
• De Monk: Pasta and Belgian beer served in a laid-back pub.
• Bia Mara: Excellent fish and chips.
• Friterie Tabora: Fries with a ton of sauces.
• Fishbar Noordzee Mer du Nord: Simple seafood spot serving up fresh fish and beer.
• Fritland: Mega-servings of fries for cheap.
• L’Express: Tasty Lebanese shawarma and falafel.
• Il Colosseo: Budget-friendly pizza.

Read more of our strategies for Eating and Drinking in Europe on a Budget.

Drinks and Alcohol Prices in Brussels

• A pint of standard beer: €3-€5
• At a grocery, a bottle of beer runs an average of €1.65 (I highly suggest seeking out Belgium’s higher-end beers — they’re the best in the world)
• Bottle of wine from the grocery: €7.00
• Coffee: €2-€4

A Few Great Beer Bars:

• Moeder Lambic Original and Moeder Lambic Fontainas: Two great bars popular with the locals.
• Supra Bailly: Great neighborhood bar.
• A la Mort Subite: A lovely old-school bar-restaurant that opened in 1928.
• Brasserie De L’Union: Another neighborhood bar.
• Au Soleil: Cool bar with a cool atmosphere.
• Delirium Café: Super touristy bar but they have over 2000 beers.

---

Brussels Transportation Prices

Transit fares are slightly more expensive when purchased inside the metro, tram, or bus. All transit systems run on the same ticket. MOBIB or MOBIB basic cards are chipped plastic cards, purchased from vending machines or on transit. Single-fare tickets can also be purchased.

(Note: Purchasing JUMP tickets by fare grants access to the entire STIB, or transit, system – excluding the Bourget-Brussels Airport. A separate journey ticket must be purchased for the airline line, for €4.50, or a 24/48/72-hour unlimited JUMP ticket must be used.)

Single fare (for one hour):

• 1 JUMP fare (outside the vehicle): €2.10
• 1 JUMP fare (inside the vehicle): €2.50
• 5 JUMP fares: €8.00
• 10 JUMP fares: €14.00

Unlimited Ticket Prices:

• 24-hour JUMP fare: €7.50
• 48-hour JUMP fare: €14.00
• 72-hour JUMP fare: €18.00

Price For Getting To The Airport

• Airport transport, 1 journey ticket (purchased outside the vehicle): €4.50
• Airport transport, 1 journey ticket (purchased inside the vehicle): €6.00
• Taxi from Brussels city center to airport: Around €45

Bicycle rental from Villo!: €1.60/day, €7.65/week

---

Brussels Hostel, Hotel, & Rental Apartment Prices

Hotel and hostel prices are on the expensive side in Brussels. Brussels doesn’t have very many hostels, so that pushes prices up.

Hostel Prices in Brussels: €35-€55/Night

You should budget about €40/night per person for a decent hostel — although many hostels raise their prices on the weekend. Remember, these prices are for a bed in a shared dorm room. If you want a private room, expect to pay €75-€110 total (for two people).

I recommend booking through Hostelworld because they have the best selection.

Budget Hotel Prices in Brussels: €90-€160/Night

A decent budget hotel in the city center will cost around €100/night but you can find cheaper hotels if you want to stay farther away from the center. 

We suggest checking out Booking.com to see hotel prices for your dates since they’re always changing — especially when business conventions are in town. 

Rental Apartment Prices in Brussels: €75-€180/Night

Brussels has a decent amount of rental apartments throughout the city. They can be a good option for large groups or travelers who want a little more space (and a kitchen). On the other hand, you also have to deal with sometimes inconvenient check-in processes and things like extra cleaning fees and service charges. Airbnb is always popular but you can sometimes find cheaper/better options on our list of Airbnb Alternatives.

---

More City Price Guides From The Savvy Backpacker

Check out our guide on How Much It Costs To Backpack Europe to learn more about budgeting your entire trip (including many more city price guides).