Fosdem in Brussels - safe to attend?

D

da1

Hi all,

I would like to travel to Brussels, Belgium on the 30th of January to attend FOSDEM to retake the BSDA exam but in light of recent events, I wonder if one can enter the city.

Any Belgium users that can shed some light on this?
 
Not a Belgian. But it should be safe to travel. At least as safe as always. I wouldn't worry about it too much. The risk of getting run over by a car is significantly higher.
 
I'm more concerned about the city being locked down and not being able to enter it.
 
As far as I know everything should be open and freely accessible. No way to tell the future though.
 
I happened to be in Antwerp last month. It was very strange, military with assault rifles at the ready everywhere :-/ It was fine, just strange...
 
Were you able to stroll through the city or was there a curfew?

LE: I do plan to check out the city in the evening.
 
There is no curfew, the city is not under lockdown. It is as safe to visit now as it is otherwise (which is to say, pretty safe, but if you hang out in the wrong neighbourhoods you might get robbed, just like in most other european cities).
 
Dear da1,
if you go to Brussels try the potato fries in the little shops. This is a MUST.
"Special" is with ketchup, mayo and onions. It sounds strange but better try yourself.
There is just one side effect, it is difficult to enjoy other fries anymore :beer::).
 
chrbr said:
"Special" is with ketchup, mayo and onions. It sounds strange but better try yourself.
Click to expand...
I prefer "oorlog" (English: war; Sateh (peanut) sauce, mayo, unions and sometimes ketchup as well) but that's probably a bit weird to order in light of recent events ;)
 
The problem with fresh fries there is that they are kind of addictive. You have been warned ;)
 
While we're on the topic, what would you guys recommend that I go visit? Keep in mind that I only have half a day (from 14:00 to maybe 19:00 -- have to catch the flight back @21:00)
 
The grande place and the area around is very nice. Manneken Piss (?) is not far, only 3 minutes or so. It is not really impressive but many people like to see it. In the opposite direction are very small streets with lots of restaurants. Very close to the grande place is a very old shopping area with small shops. Everything seems to be pretty old and original. If you find the restaurant area comming from the grand place - which you will notice if you are there - this should be more to the right. In the area very close to the grande place the walks are in circles around the place and some lead to the centre. Fortunately there is a very high building on the grande place and occasionally you will see the tower and the way back.

I am not sure how long it takes from the grande place to the main railway station. It is walking distance for sure. I went from there to the centre only once. From the centre to the airport by car takes some time. The traffic jam in Brussels can be awful. It might be safe to ask local people how to go to the airport and how long it will take.
 
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