Brussels stay safe · Brussels travel safety advice
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Brussels travel safety advice
Brussels travel safety advice
Brussels is generally a safe city. Some suburban neighbourhoods have a poor reputation, but most travellers are unlikely to visit them. The neighbourhoods of Schaarbeek, Brussels North, St-Josse ,the southern (Marollen) and southeastern parts (Anneessens) of Brussels Center, Molenbeek and Anderlecht should be avoided at night if possible.
However, pickpockets, sometimes in teams, operate in crowded tourist areas, and the train and metro stations (particularly at night) as well as parks (even in daytime) attract drug addicts and other shady types. Travellers should be particularly alert for distractions such as being asked for the time or directions and having attention diverted from their hand or shopping bag. Particulary popular at the moment seems to be the "soccer move distraction", when they suddenly stick their foot between your legs as if they are playing an imaginary soccer game. Travelling with laptops--at any time--is strongly discouraged.
In the Parc de Bruxelles/Warandepark, situated between the Royal Palace and the Belgian Parliament, criminals have been noted threatening their victims with violence. We advise you not to leave your bags unwatched and to keep them close to your body. In case you should be robbed, though, there is a police office right next to the gate in front of the Belgian Parliament (on the right side when leaving the park, hidden in the bushes) where experienced policemen will help you. Most of them speak French, Dutch and English well.
In addition to the above advice be aware of Brussels Midi-Zuid train station, whose vicinity is one of the poorest in the city: it is not advised to wander there alone at night.
In train stations, especially the Nord-Noord train station, scam artists show up in groups trying to distract you with some questions and meanwhile steal your belongings. They are really professional and business travelers are often targeted.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Brussels
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Brussels Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.