From chocolates to beer, to fine dining and jaw-dropping architecture... Brussels has it all. Gavin Engelbrecht catches up with our stylish Euro-partners

Think of Brussels and the first thing that invariably springs to mind is the tiresome debate about Europe. Should we stay, we go, should we renegotiate et al? But there is a lot more to this city than faceless bureaucrats, who supposedly dictate what shape our cucumbers should be.

And a flight with bmi from Newcastle International Airport to the city brings home just how close we really are to the heart of Europe - and how much more there is to what is a fascinating destination offering the ideal weekend break.

A compact city of 1m people, everything is within easy walking distance and caters for all tastes, be it chocolates, pralines, haute causine, beer, art or architecture. And if shopping is your bent, there are boutiques to die for.

After a flight lasting just over an hour-and-a-half, our party is swiftly booked into Aloft Brussels Schuman and we soon find ourselves in the thronging Monk Cafe, tucking wholesome helpings of its main fare – spaghetti. All is washed down with very quaffable beer . . . but be cautious, because it can be very strong here.

Talking of beer, we are in a country boasting no less than 800 breweries, so what better way to start our first day than a visit to one, albeit at 11am. Cantillon brewery, found in a nondescript side street, attracts 45,000 visitors a year. Our guide makes brewing sound so easy. It’s just like making coffee, he says.

Starting at the crack of dawn 800kg of malt and barley 400kg of wheat is boiled up for over two hours to extract the sugars and the result filtered and pumped to the first floor. There hops are added and further warmed before being cooled in large open container attracting natural yeasts from the air. Transferred oak casks, it is left to time to create traditional limbic beer.

One brew can get result in 6,500 bottles. To put things in scale what Cantillon produces in year is what big industrial brewery produce in two hours. We can’t leave before savouring some of their famed Gueuze-Lambic.

Still glowing from the tasty tipple we make our way to lunched at a Brussels institution - the Chez Leon. Opened as a small mussels and chips shop 100 years ago it has expanded to cater for 400 diners. Mussels remains its speciality.

Take note though: if you are in a hurry make a point of letting your waiter know, because service is not just fashionably slow here, it is slower than the delicious snails on the menu. Dining is incidental. It’s all about the occasion and the chance to socialise.

Two hours later we set out to discover the city, which is a veritable hotchpotch of architectural styles, with grand designs of empire-past standing cheek-by-jowel with the finest of Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

The most impressive is the jaw-dropped Grand Place, with its stunning town hall building. When French bombarded the city in 1695, they used the town hall as an aiming point. It survived, but the the surroundiong Grand Place was destroyed, along with 4,000 other buildings - a third of those in the city. New buildings rose quickly, like Phoenix from ashes, with most now bearing the date 1697, including an imposing series of guild houses.

Ovelooking the square is reputedly one of the poshest restaurants in the world - the La Maison du Cygne. Ironically, it’s where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels cooked up the Communist Manifesto during their frequent visits.

Art Nouveau style became craze at the end of nineteenthy century. Among the notable examples is the Old England Department Store, which houses the Museum of Musical Instruments.

Anyone with a sweet tooth will be spoilt for choice. The city is a stronghold of chocolate and pralines manufacturers running a myriad of shops, while bakery-patisseries can be found around every corner. Gateshead may boast Europe’s biggest shopping centre, but the honour of the oldest shopping arcade goes to Brussels’ august St Hubert Gallery. Built in 1847 and covered with a splendid glass skylight and contains luxury shops and cafes. Among the grander buildings in the city are the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Palace of Justice, along with several buildings of royal provenance.

A visit to Brussels would be incomplete without popping by the Peeing Boy or Manneqin Pis – an unlikey symbol of the city. Not to be outdone there is a peeing girl too (Jeanneke Pis), which is hidden discreetly in Impasse de le Fidelite. A bronze statue of a peeing dog (Zinneke Pis) is positioned next to a bollard in Rue de Chartreux.

If you are looking for fine dining try Monk at Rue Sainte-Catherine. The menu boasts “slow food philosophy” and there is no rush. I enjoy the tenderest of rump steaks, followed by a diet-busting Dame Blanche.

Visitors to Brussells will be spoilt for choice when it comes to museums and galleries. Our second day started at the Magrite Exhibition, dedicated to the Belgian surrealist artist, Rene Magritte. A must for any art buff.

A parting brunch was enjoyed at Les Filles in Oude Graanmarkt – it’s (no 46) to be precise, because if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t notice it, but for a small blackboard announcing its presence. The restaurant offers a range of wholesome dishes - all home sourced. For anyone looking for somewhere alternative to eat, this is just the ticket.

Fortified, we had a final whizz around the city. There is no debate about it. A visit to Brussels will beckon you back for more. And reinforce just how much we are part of Europe.

TRAVEL FACTS

Flights with bmi regional from Newcastle to Brussels from just £80 per person, one way. www.bmiregional.com. Flights operate Monday - Friday with 2 x daily flights on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and 3 x daily flights on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 2 x flights on Sundays.

A stay at Aloft Brussels Schuman starts from £57 (converted from 77€) per double room per night, including taxes and charges. To book, call 00800 325 35353 or visit www.aloftbrusselsschuman.com.

For more information about Brussels, visit www.visitflanders.co.uk

For more details about Newcastle International Airport, visit www.newcastleairport.com