Is Brussels Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

Brussels is generally safe for solo female travelers. It is known for its high standard of living and wide, well-lit streets, creating a secure environment. Petty crime, like pickpocketing, can occur in crowded areas and the city's public transport, so it is advised to keep a close watch on your belongings. Sexual harassment is not commonly reported but it's always better to avoid walking alone in less crowded areas late at night. As long as you stay aware of your surroundings and practice some safety precautions as you would anywhere else, you should find Brussels a safe and welcoming city to travel alone.

Safety index

4.8 /5

Based on 15 experiences

3.7 /5

Based on research and crime data

Safety overview

Safety at night:Moderate

Brussels, is generally safe but caution should still be exercised. It is well-lit and policed in most areas, especially in populated places and tourist spots. However, some neighborhoods can be less secure and it's not advised to walk alone late at night. Public transportation such as taxis and rideshares are readily available if you prefer not to walk. Always stay alert and aware of your surroundings.

Public transportation: Safe

Public transportation in Brussels is generally considered safe. Trams, buses, and metros are well-maintained and have a regular schedule. However, like any big city, it's important to stay alert and aware of your surroundings, especially during non-peak hours. Most stations and vehicles have surveillance cameras for added security. It's advised to avoid less crowded areas at night. Keep your belongings secure and maintain a watchful eye for pickpockets as they can be active in crowded places. Despite these minor concerns, thousands of people safely use the public transport in Brussels every day.

Street harassment: Moderate

In Brussels, you may encounter some level of street harassment. This usually comes in the form of catcalling or unsolicited comments. However, as is the case anywhere, the degree of harassment can quite vary depending on the area and time. Areas like the Grand Place and the European Quarter are often more crowded with tourists and thus feel safer. It is generally suggested to be cautious and aware of your surroundings, particularly when travelling alone at night or in less crowded places. Respectable and law-abiding citizens far outnumber those who might seek to harass or intimidate.

Petty crimes:Low

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is a relatively safe city. The concern for petty crimes such as pickpocketing, purse-snatching, and theft from vehicles should not be completely disregarded but is lower compared to other major European cities. The risk increases in some touristy areas and on public transport. However, by taking simple precautions, like keeping an eye on your belongings and avoiding showing off expensive items, you can avoid most petty crimes.

Tap water:Very safe

The tap water in Brussels, is generally considered highly safe for consumption. The water quality is regularly tested, adhering to strict European Union standards. Therefore, drinking tap water is a common practice among locals and tourists alike. However, it's important to note that the hardness level of the water (which involves its mineral content) can vary by region. This doesn't affect its safety, but it may alter the taste slightly. You can confidently stay hydrated with Brussels' tap water throughout your travels.

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Travel experiences

Overall rating

4.4 /5

based on 15 experiences

Rating summary

Things to do

4.5/5

Safety

4.8/5

Food

4.5/5

Budget-friendly

3.3/5

Solo travel experience

I loved Brussels. Just a short train ride to Ghent, Bruges, and Ostend. I felt very safe there. I chose to stay there for Christmas and was not disappointed. Many establishments were open on Christmas Day. Fantastic art museum. A little cheese shop that was to die for. My hotel was a short walk from the Central Station.

Posted: September 18, 2023
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 3/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

I was surprised by Brussels. I was there and enjoyed going around. There are lots of beautiful places, nice shops, and colorful markets and also in the evening, I remember a lively atmosphere and music. I stayed very near Grand Place, taking also day trips by bus to Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges. I loved the whole experience in the city.

Posted: July 28, 2023
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 4/5Safety: 5/5
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sara

sara (28)

Austria

Solo travel experience

I went on a short trip to Brussel to visit my friend I spent there 4 nights. I had the best time, friendliest people and it was so easy to get around and I practiced my French although they speak another dialect but they were really nice and patient with me . Food was cheap and best thrifting experience 😍 They have shops where you by clothes and accessories by the kilo, so you basically weigh the stuff you want and you pay the bare minimum I got soooo many stuff for under 30€ I haven't tried many Belgian meals but the brunch meals are a must as well as the sweets ofc we had Belgian waffles which were funnily shaped as vaginas and penises 😂😂 It's really safe we were two girls roaming around brussels late at night and gladly we didn't encounter any problems with anyone. So an overall perfect experience 👌

Posted: June 19, 2023Experienced: December, 2022
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 5/5Safety: 5/5
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Group travel experience

I went to Brussels in Belgium with a friend a few months ago. Really loved it. It’s a big city but with a small-town vibe. We took a day trip to Luxembourg, which was also really pretty. We booked a bus, and it’s really cheap (FlixBus). If we’ve had more days I would have liked to do a day trip to Bruge as well, as I’ve heard it’s really nice.

Posted: June 11, 2023
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 5/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

I was only there for 2 days but I walked everywhere and felt pretty safe. The only place I felt was a little sketchy was the bus station at late night because sadly there were a lot of homeless people there.

Posted: April 23, 2023
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 5/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

I recently travelled to Brussels alone and I loved it! I felt really safe, the hostel was great and there was plenty to do! Plus, I loved belgium waffles and belgian chocolate. I took a walking tour which was brilliant and showed me all the best historic sites, and gave brilliant recommendations for where to eat etc.

Posted: December 14, 2022
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 3/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

Things to do: - Explore Grand Place - Lunch (bao buns) - Galerie du Roi - St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral - Mont des Arts (view!) - Parc du Bruxelles - Royal Palace of Brussels - Shopping (Rue Neuve) - Brunch at Maison Dandoy (Royal Gallery of St Hubert) - Try special frites (chips with ketchup, mayo and onions) - Notre Dame Sablon - Palais du Justice view point (see the Atomium in the distance) - Manneken Pis - Souvenir shopping - Haagen Daaz ice cream cafe

Posted: November 5, 2022
Things to do: 5/5Food: 4/5Budget-friendly: 3/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

Mini Europe is cool, the atominon building is really cool, have a meal in the top sphere. Downtown is great, lots of places to get good food, lots of chocolate, be sure to get the fries with the dipping sauces.

Posted: October 1, 2022
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 3/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

Things to do: - Visit Grand Place - Visit the Atomium - Take a free walking tour - Take a picture with Manneken Pis - Visit Galeries Royales - Enjoy the view at Mont Des Arts Food: Try Belgian waffles, fries and chocolate. Safety: Perfectly safe city. Recommendations: Brussels is beautiful, with excellent food and drink, but quite boring.

Posted: September 16, 2022
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 4/5Safety: 5/5
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Solo travel experience

Things to do: - Book a chocolate making class - Go up the Atomium - Visit the Royal Palace of Brussels - Explore the Grand Place - Tour the EU Headuarters - Visit St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral - See the Manneken Pis - Explore Cinquantenaire Park Safety: I was there in August and felt perfectly safe Recommendations: Brussels is beautiful, but it's a huge city with lots of walking involved.

Posted: September 9, 2022
Things to do: 5/5Food: 5/5Budget-friendly: 4/5Safety: 5/5
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Local experiences

Brussels is amazing little city. You can visit a lot of museums and coffeeshops. It’s mine of safe and really easy to travel around. Because it’s the capital of Europe we have also a lot of diversity here and the food is so diverse and you can find everything. We have also a lot of good local food of course.

Posted: November 5, 2023
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Brussels is a great place to live in as a student,there's loads of transport and people to meet . It's small, cozy and some neighborhoods are really alive. But if you're traveling here I would recommend not staying too too long since after a while there's nothing to visit or to do for free anymore here. But it's still enjoyable if you like to chill.

Posted: July 19, 2023
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For sight seeing I recommend Queen galleries, sablon, royal palace, mont des arts (where you have nice musuems close by, I recommend to go see at least from the outside the museum of instruments and the bozar musuem, that are in beautiful buildings). For drinks and brewery delirium is a good popular choice and is really in the center and old narrow streets, the brussel beer project is nice too. For cocktails the vertigo is nice bar down from the Sablon (area where you can get a lot of chocolates) and is in old and quite unique building. Around the Halles St Gery there are nice bars and the atmosphere is quite festive usually. Around the "parvis de Saint gilles" there are a lot of nice bars and restaurants, I personnally like the "ce piace", and not far from that a nice brunch place is "le petit mercado". The "place de jeu de balles" is also nice, it has a flee market, lots of antics, bars and restaurants, its nice to wander around in the streets and you can walk a bit in the neighbourhood and go in front of pieter bruegels (an old famous painter) house and go see the palace of justice by going with an elevator and have a view of the city. Another area that is nice and quite lively is place Flagey, you can go to get fries on the place and then have a drink at the Belga for example, and if you walk a bit follow the ponds of ixelles and go to the abbaye de la cambre and walk in the parc around.

Posted: November 20, 2022
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Meet locals in Brussels

Noémie

Noémie

Speaking

About Me

Hi, my name is Noémie I like talking and meeting new people, but most of all I like dancing, saying anything, giving pleasure to the people I love, drawing ugly pictures in the corner of the page... And you ?

Countries I’ve Visited

🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇫🇷 France, 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇳🇱 Netherlands

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Aurore/Aurora

Aurore/Aurora

Speaking

About Me

Hey everyone!! My name is Aurore, but you can say Aurora if it feels more natural to you (I love how "Aurora" sounds). I'm a 23 years-old student in Brussels (I study law, in the hope of maybe working for a charity that gives legal advice to migrants). I love to travel and discover new cultures and new people! I love chill travels where I take my time for exemple to sunbathe, swim, or hike to a nice spot to picnick there. I love sports and nature! I also love to discover history and culture, even though I don't like spending all day in museums. I also like walking around in cities. I'm going to Greece (Thessaloniki) this August with my sister. But when she goes back home on the 26th, I'd like to stay a bit longer in Greece, or I'd also love to visit the neighbouring countries. I've been to a trip around Greece a long time ago, and I have an awesome memory of this trip but I want to see more of Greece! I'll be happy to try and give you tips about Belgium or countries I've been to (I say "try" because even in my own city I feel like such a tourist, I never know what bars to recommend and I get lost quickly 😂). And I'd be happy to help you practice French if you want! I'm only fluent in French and English but if you're patient with me and speak slowly we can also communicate in German or Dutch. And I intend on learning the basics of Greece before my trip. I'm vegan and would be happy if you don't mind me using your kitchen to cook a vegan meal for you, or with you :) Oh and I'm queer (not saying that to look for a date, just in case you feel more comfortable around other queer people) ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Countries I’ve Visited

🇦🇹 Austria, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

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Aliki

Aliki

Speaking

About Me

Hi! I'm an ambivert girl (neither intro- nor extrovert) who loves meeting people! I have traveled a lot already, in my not (yet) so long life, and am continuing to do so, on my own. I love to help were I can, and I do so gladly. My motto would probably be "stay curious and explore". ☺️

Countries I’ve Visited

🇦🇺 Australia, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇨🇳 China, 🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇮🇩 Indonesia, 🇮🇳 India, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇸🇳 Senegal, 🇸🇬 Singapore, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇨🇭 Switzerland, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇻🇳 Vietnam, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇰🇭 Cambodia

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Stay with locals in Brussels

Noémie

Noémie

Speaking

You can stay for:

1 day

About me

Hi, my name is Noémie I like talking and meeting new people, but most of all I like dancing, saying anything, giving pleasure to the people I love, drawing ugly pictures in the corner of the page... And you ?

Countries I’ve Visited

🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇫🇷 France, 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇳🇱 Netherlands

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Seph

Seph

Speaking

You can stay for:

3 days

About me

Hi!, I'm Seph and I'm interested in architecture, books, backpacking, cinema, culture, education, food & cuisine, history, languages, nature and solo travel

Countries I’ve Visited

🇧🇭 Bahrain, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇬🇪 Georgia, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇹🇷 Turkey, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇪🇬 Egypt, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇫🇷 France, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇨🇭 Switzerland

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Leo

Leo

Speaking

You can stay for:

2 days

About me

Hello :) I am a young women how is travelling this year, before starting studies next year. I love to meet new people, make connexions.

Countries I’ve Visited

🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇫🇷 France, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇲🇦 Morocco, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇪🇸 Spain

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Upcoming visitors to Brussels

Saadia

Saadia

Speaking

About Me

Hellooo!! I am Saadia, an Art student. Coffee shops discoverer, i love traveling solo, love books, walks, getting to know about other cultures and languages.

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silène

silène

Speaking

About Me

Hey, My name is silène and I'm interested in books, art, cinema, culture, events & social, education, hiking, nature, nightlife, writing, live music and food & cuisine

Countries I’ve Visited

🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇲🇨 Monaco, 🇲🇦 Morocco, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇵🇱 Poland, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇨🇭 Switzerland, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇹🇳 Tunisia, 🇺🇸 United States, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇻🇦 Vatican City

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Local discussions

TravelWhat are some recommendations for things to do, places to go, and food in Brussels in December?

I'm planning on going to Brussel in December for 3/4 nights. Does anyone have any recommendations on things to do or places to go, food recommendations are also welcome

Posted: November 5, 2022
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Safety in Belgium