LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Brussels
built 675 days ago
Brussels Airlines is the result of the alliance between SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express – an alliance that has existed since 2005 when the shareholdings of both airlines were placed within the single ownership group SN Airholding. Towards the beginning of 2006, the shareholders and board of directors decided on the innovative step of taking the two brands and forming one single airline.
Source:
At the last Belgian census in 1991, there were 63.7% inhabitants in Brussels-Capital Region who answered they were Belgian citizens, born as such in Belgium. However, there have been numerous individual or familial migrations towards Brussels since the end of the XVIIIth century, including political refugees (Karl Marx, Victor Hugo, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, Léon Daudet e.g.) from neighbouring or more distanced countries as well as labour migrants, former foreign students or expatriots, and many Belgian families in Brussels can tell at least a foreign grandparent. And even among the Belgians, many became Belgian only recently.
Source:
Brussels has numerous little squares and places dotted with bars, restaurants, and cafes, but not many present the ideal mix enjoyed by Place Saint-G ry. It's a few minutes' walk from both the opera house and Grand Place, yet it's just concealed enough to stay off most tourists' radar. Neither is it so large as to become unwieldy. Instead you have about a half-dozen resto-bars that cram the sidewalks with tables in good weather, plus a few more loungey or music-oriented venues in between. The crowd draws heavily on the surrounding arts, fashion, and design district along rue Antoine Dansaert, and as a rule they're young, local hipsters with a high foxiness quotient. A couple cool stores grace the perimeter, like the tiny DJ-record-fuel lair Doctor Vinyl.
Source:
Brussels has 3 metro lines, many buses and several tram lines, all run by STIB-MIVB. A card that can be used for ten rides with public transport costs €11. One hour tickets cost €1.50 if pre-purchased and are available from the driver for €2. One, five and ten ride tickets are available at almost all metro and train stations. You validate the ticket in the small orange machines located in buses/trams, or at the entrace to metro stations/major tram stops. The orange machines time-stamp the ticket, both in ink and magnetically, and it will be valid for one hour.
Source:
Please Note: Arriving at Brussels Airport, all transit & transfer passengers have to disembark and go through security screening before boarding again to their end destination. Following European regulations, liquids and gel items carried in the hand luggage are not allowed. These items will be confiscated at the security check. Passengers are requested to buy their duty free items in Brussels Airport or on the second part of the flight (departing from Brussels Airport). The shops offer a wide variety of products at various locations in the Terminal building.
Source:
Brussels took its name from “Broekzele”, or “city of the marsh”, which developed in the sixth century on the trade route between Cologne and Brugges / Gent. Under the Habsburgs the town flourished, eventually becoming capital of the Spanish Netherlands. In the 19th century it became the capital of the newly-independent Belgium. Although nowadays, the city is often primarily regarded as a destination for businesspeople or diplomats — it is the headquarters for the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) — there is plenty to see and do for other travelers. ‘Manneken Pis’, plenty of impressive museums, delicious chocolate and a city centre divided into the upper and the lower town with a beautiful cathedral and theGrote Markt where you can enjoy your Belgian beers. Brussels requires a minimum of two nights to get a feeling for the city but an even longer stay should be planned if there is a festival in town.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Brussels