Brussels

Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the headquarters of the European Union, as two of its four main institutions have their headquarters in the city.

Transport

Brussels is served by Brussels National Airport, located in the municipality of Zaventem, and by Brussels South Airport, located near Charleroi, some 80km from Brussels. Brussels' major train stations link the city to the United Kingdom by Eurostar, and to major European cities by high speed rail links (such as the Thalys).

Related Topics:
Brussels National Airport - Zaventem - Brussels South Airport - Charleroi - United Kingdom - Eurostar - Thalys

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The Brussels metro dates back to 1976 (but underground lines known as premetro have been serviced by tramways since 1968). A comprehensive bus and tram network also covers the city. Brussels also has its own port on the Willebroek canal located in the city's northwest.

Related Topics:
Brussels metro - 1976 - 1968 - Tram network - Willebroek

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There are four companies managing public transport inside Brussels:

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• STIB/MIVB (metro, bus, tram)
• SNCB/NMBS (train)
• De Lijn (buses based in Flanders)
• TEC (buses based in Wallonia)

An interticketing system means that a STIB/MIVB ticket holder can use the train or long-distance buses inside the city. The commuter services operated by De Lijn, TEC and SNCB/NMBS will in the next few years be augmented by an RER rail network around Brussels.

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Railway stations

The major stations in Brussels are on the North-South Junction:

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• Brussels North (Dutch: Brussel-Noord, French: Gare du Nord)
• Brussels Central (Dutch: Brussel-Centraal, French: Gare Centrale)
• Brussels South (Dutch: Brussel-Zuid, French: Gare du Midi or Bruxelles-Midi) (the Eurostar, Thalys, TGV and ICE international terminal)

Two more stations serve the EU district in Brussels. Trains towards Namur and Luxembourg call at:

Related Topics:
EU - Namur - Luxembourg

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• Brussels Luxembourg
• Brussels Schuman

The last two stations located in the municipality of Brussels (they also are on the North-South Junction and operate only in rush hours) are:

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• Brussels Congress (French: Bruxelles-Congrès, Dutch:Brussel-Congres)
• Brussels Chapel (French: Bruxelles-Chapelle, Dutch: Brussel-Kapellekerk)

Other railway stations in other Brussels municipalities include :

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• Schaarbeek (French: Schaerbeek)
• Etterbeek
• Uccle Stalle (Dutch: Ukkel Stalle)
• Uccle Calevoet (Dutch: Ukkel Kalevoet)
• Jette
• Merode
• Delta
• Sint-Job (French: Saint-Job)
• Vorst Oost (French: Forest Est)
• Vorst Zuid (French: Forest Midi)
• Sint-Agatha-Berchem (French: Berchem Sainte-Agathe)
• Saint-Gilles (Dutch: Sint-Gillis)
• Watermaal (French: Watermael)
• Bosvoorde (French: Boitsfort)
• Boondael (Dutch: Boondaal)
• Meiser

Road network

Brussels has an orbital motorway, numbered R0 (R-zero) and commonly referred to as the "ring" (French : ring Dutch: grote ring). It is pear-shaped as the southern side was never built as originally conceived, owing to residents' objections.

Related Topics:
Orbital - Motorway

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The city centre, sometimes known as "the pentagon", is surrounded by the "small ring" (Dutch: kleine ring, French: petite ceinture), a sequence of boulevards formally numbered R20. These were built upon the site of the second set of city walls following their demolition. Metro line 2 runs under much of these.

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On the eastern side of the city, the R21 (French: grande ceinture, no particular name in Dutch) is formed by a string of boulevards that curves round from Laeken to Uccle. Some premetro stations (see Brussels metro) were built on that route. A little further out, a stretch numbered R22 leads from Zaventem to St-Job.

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