Brussels has two airports, and they’re in very different places. Brussels Airport is in Zaventem, north-east of the city, and has its own railway station right beneath the terminal, so getting from Brussels Airport to the city centre takes around 18 minutes by train to Bruxelles-Central station. Brussels South Charleroi Airport is near Charleroi, south of Brussels, and from there a direct bus to Bruxelles-Midi in just under an hour is the easy option.
The right choice depends on where you’re staying and when you land. From Brussels Airport, the train is best for the city centre, while bus 12 runs straight to the European Quarter, and a night bus takes over at night. Here are the fares, journey times and ticket rules for both airports, where to get off, and how to continue by metro. For the rough conversions I’ve used about £0.85 and $1.12 per euro.
Contents
At a glance
- Brussels Airport, train: Around €11 (about £9.30/$12.50) including the airport supplement, around 18 minutes to Bruxelles-Central, six trains an hour from early morning until around midnight.
- Brussels Airport, bus 12: €7.90 (about £6.70/$8.90) with a contactless card, around 30 minutes to the European Quarter, stopping at Schuman and Luxembourg.
- Brussels Airport, night bus N62: €3 (about £2.50/$3.40), runs every night between 00:55 and 04:45, with two departures an hour to Place Rogier.
- Brussels Airport, taxis and Uber: There’s no official fixed fare to the centre, the taxis wait right outside the arrivals hall, and Uber picks up in the P1 car park.
- Charleroi, Flibco: From €14.99 (about £12.50/$17) online, 55 to 60 minutes direct to Bruxelles-Midi, up to every 20 minutes.
- Charleroi, bus A1 and train: €6 (about £5.10/$6.70) for the bus plus a train ticket, around 20 minutes to Charleroi-Central and from there 50 to 55 minutes by train to Bruxelles-Midi.
Finding your transport at Brussels Airport and Charleroi
Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport-Zaventem railway station is directly beneath the departures and arrivals hall on level -1, and you get down to it by escalator or lift. There are ticket machines for the train both at the station and in the baggage reclaim hall, so you can buy your ticket while you wait for your suitcase.
The buses leave from the bus station on level 0, which is around 100 metres from the arrivals hall at the end of a covered walkway. Bus 12, the night bus and the long-distance coaches all leave from here, and the airport’s map of the bus station shows which platform your bus uses. There are ticket machines at the bus station.
The official taxis wait right outside the arrivals hall, and you just follow the signs to the taxi rank. Uber picks up on the 4th floor of the P1 car park opposite the terminal. You’ll find all the options on the airport’s transport page.
Brussels South Charleroi Airport
The airport at Charleroi has two terminals. Flibco’s buses to Brussels leave from the exit in front of Terminal 1, and you follow the signs from the arrivals hall. The ticket kiosk for the buses is outside, where the buses pull in.
TEC’s bus A1 to Charleroi-Central railway station also leaves from the airport, and close to the stop there are ticket machines from the rail operator SNCB, where you can buy both the bus ticket and the train ticket. The terminal is open around the clock, but the shops are closed between 23:00 and 04:30. You’ll find the airport’s overview on its access and parking page.
1. Train from Brussels Airport to Bruxelles-Central, Nord and Midi
The train is the fastest way into the city and my first choice for almost everyone. From Brussels Airport-Zaventem station beneath the terminal, six direct trains an hour run to Brussels from early morning until around midnight. They stop at the city’s three main stations: Bruxelles-Nord after around 11 minutes, Bruxelles-Central after around 18 minutes and Bruxelles-Midi after around 23 minutes.
The ticket is valid on the date printed on it rather than for one particular departure, so you simply take the first train towards Brussels. Check the screen on the platform, because trains to Leuven, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges leave from the same station. The stations in Brussels have both a French and a Dutch name, so on the screen Bruxelles-Midi can appear as Brussel-Zuid and Bruxelles-Central as Brussel-Centraal. According to SNCB’s timetable, the first trains towards Brussels leave shortly before 05:00 on weekdays and at around 05:30 at weekends. The timetable changes, so look up your departure in SNCB’s journey planner if you’re landing very early or late.
If you’re heading to the European Quarter, you don’t need to go via the city centre. The airport says that two trains an hour run there directly. One of them is the IC train towards Namur and Dinant, which runs once an hour on weekdays from just after 06:00 until just after 21:00 and reaches Bruxelles-Schuman after around 15 minutes and Bruxelles-Luxembourg after around 18 minutes. At weekends, the IC train doesn’t run from the airport, so check the journey planner to see which direct trains are running, or take bus 12.
The catch is the ticket, because you can’t buy it on the train, and you can’t get through the gates without it. See more on the airport’s train page.
Fares and tickets
The fare is made up of two parts. One is the train ticket itself, which SNCB prices by distance, with a minimum fare of €2.60 (about £2.20/$2.90) in 2nd class. The other is the airport surcharge, called the Brussels Airport Supplement, which according to SNCB’s fare list is €7.10 (about £6/$8) each way and is the same for everyone. The supplement is added automatically to tickets to and from Brussels Airport-Zaventem, so you don’t need to buy it separately.
A ticket between the airport and Brussels therefore never costs less than €9.70 (about £8.20/$11), and as an adult on a weekday you should expect to pay around €11 (about £9.30/$12.50). The machine or the app shows the exact fare before you pay. Travellers under 26 and those aged 65 or over automatically get a 40% discount on the ticket itself all week, and adults aged 26 to 64 get a 30% discount on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The discounts don’t apply to the supplement.
There’s no return ticket for the airport train, so you buy a single ticket each way and pay the supplement in both directions. Up to four children under 12 travel free with a paying passenger aged 12 or over, and they need neither a ticket nor the supplement. Bring a passport or another document that shows the child’s age. Tickets marked Train+ are only for people who hold SNCB’s discount card. The fares are in the fare list that SNCB publishes under its conditions of carriage.
How to buy your ticket and how the gates work
You can buy your ticket on SNCB’s website, in the SNCB app, from the ticket machines and at the ticket offices in the stations. Online and in the app you get a QR code, and the machine gives you a paper ticket with a QR code.
To get into and out of the station at the airport, you scan the QR code at a gate showing a green arrow. Turn up your screen brightness if the gate can’t read the code on your phone. Children travelling free are let through by staff along with you. Keep your ticket until you’re completely out of the station. That also applies on the way back, when you have to go through the gates to get up to the terminal.
You can’t buy a ticket on the train. SNCB requires you to have a valid ticket before you board, and travelling without one costs €90 (about £76/$101). Read more about the gates and the supplement at SNCB.
Where to get off
Bruxelles-Nord: The first stop in the city. Get off here if you’re staying near Place Rogier and Rue Neuve. Trams 4 and 10 stop at both Gare du Nord and Rogier, or you can walk the short distance. If you land late in the evening, I’d take a taxi for the last stretch, because the area right around the station isn’t the most pleasant part of the city after dark.
Bruxelles-Central: The station in the middle of the city and the right stop for most people. From here, you can walk to Grand Place, and Sablon is a walk up the hill. The metro station at the railway station is called Gare Centrale, and lines 1 and 5 run from here to Sainte-Catherine and De Brouckère and to Schuman in the European Quarter.
Bruxelles-Midi: The last stop in Brussels. Get off here if you’re heading to Ixelles and Avenue Louise, because metro lines 2 and 6 run from Gare du Midi to Louise. The station area itself isn’t somewhere I’d choose a hotel.
Bruxelles-Schuman and Bruxelles-Luxembourg: The two stations in the European Quarter where the direct trains towards Namur and Dinant stop. Schuman metro station, on lines 1 and 5, is at Bruxelles-Schuman, and Bruxelles-Luxembourg is the station for the hotels around Place du Luxembourg.
2. Bus 12 from Brussels Airport to the European Quarter
The transport operator STIB calls its airport bus the Airport Line, and it’s route number 12. It runs direct from the bus station on level 0 to the European Quarter, and the airport puts the journey at around 30 minutes. The airport lists the stops Schuman, Maelbeek and Luxembourg, and the bus also stops at Trône metro station.
The bus mostly suits you if you’re staying in the European Quarter, or if you land at the weekend, when the IC train to Schuman doesn’t run. If you’re heading to Grand Place, the train is faster. You’ll find the departure times in the STIB app and on STIB’s Airport Line page.
Fares and tickets
From the airport, you need a special ticket called Airport2City. It costs €7.90 (about £6.70/$8.90) when you pay contactless or have it on a MOBIB card, and €8.40 (about £7.10/$9.40) as a paper ticket. Ten journeys cost €52 (about £44/$58) and require a MOBIB card. The ticket is valid across the whole STIB network for the first hour after you’ve validated it, so you can change to the metro or a tram without paying again.
Ordinary STIB tickets, Brupass and day tickets aren’t valid on bus 12 from the airport. Towards the airport, on the other hand, they’re all valid, so for the trip out to your flight an ordinary STIB journey at €2.40 (about £2/$2.70) is enough. Children under 6 travel free with a companion aged 12 or over. You buy paper tickets from the machines at the bus station, because they aren’t sold on the bus.
Paying contactless on the bus
The easiest option is to hold your contactless payment card, your phone or your watch against the validator on the bus. The airport fare is then charged automatically, and you don’t need a ticket in advance. STIB accepts contactless payment cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Wallet on your phone, and Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay on your watch.
Each card can only pay for one person, so if there are several of you, you each need your own card or phone. If you change to the metro or a tram, you validate again with the same card, and at a ticket inspection you show the card or device you paid with. The rules are on STIB’s contactless payment page.
Where to get off the bus
Schuman: The stop in the middle of the European Quarter. Schuman metro station is here, with lines 1 and 5 running to Gare Centrale and De Brouckère in the centre.
Luxembourg: The stop for the hotels around Place du Luxembourg and for Bruxelles-Luxembourg railway station.
Trône: Trône metro station is here, on lines 2 and 6, which run on to Louise by Avenue Louise and to Rogier.
3. Flibco from Charleroi to Bruxelles-Midi
From Charleroi, the Flibco bus is the simple choice. It runs direct, with no stops along the way, from the exit in front of Terminal 1 to Bruxelles-Midi station, and the journey takes 55 to 60 minutes depending on the traffic. According to Flibco, the buses run up to every 20 minutes in both directions, and the departures are timed to match the flights.
The last bus from the airport leaves at around 01:00. If you land later, it’s a taxi or a wait in the terminal, which is open around the clock. The catch is the luggage, because how much you can bring depends on the ticket type.
Fares and tickets
The ticket costs from €14.99 (about £12.50/$17) each way when you buy it online from Flibco, and the price goes up with the ticket type. You can also buy a ticket at the airport and from the driver, but Flibco itself says that tickets bought from the driver cost more and are only sold if there’s space. So I’d buy online before you fly.
The ticket isn’t tied to one departure. It’s valid for one journey all day and until 04:00 the next morning, so if your flight is delayed, you just take a later bus. One child under four travels free with each adult, as long as you add the child when you book. Flibco doesn’t have child car seats. Fares and departures are listed at Flibco.
Luggage: choose the right ticket type
The cheapest ticket type only includes one small bag of no more than 35 x 20 x 20 centimetres and 10 kilos. With the middle one, you can also have one suitcase of up to 25 kilos in the hold, and with the most expensive one, two suitcases. Flibco says that all luggage with wheels has to go in the hold, so if you’re bringing a suitcase, I’d choose the middle ticket type. The cheapest one can’t be changed or refunded.
Where the bus stops in Brussels
Bruxelles-Midi: The bus stops at Bruxelles-Midi station, right by Rue de France, and the stop is signposted. From Gare du Midi, metro lines 2 and 6 run to Louise and Rogier, and trams 4 and 10 run to Bourse close to Grand Place. You can also take a train for the few minutes to Bruxelles-Central.
4. Bus A1 and train from Charleroi to Brussels
The other route from Charleroi goes via Charleroi’s own railway station. TEC’s bus A1 runs direct between the airport and Charleroi-Central in around 20 minutes, and according to the airport it runs around four times an hour between 04:30 and 23:30. From Charleroi-Central, IC trains run to Bruxelles-Midi, Bruxelles-Central and Bruxelles-Nord, and the journey to Bruxelles-Midi takes 50 to 55 minutes.
The bus ticket is called the Bus TEC Charleroi Airport Ticket and costs €6 (about £5.10/$6.70) each way. SNCB sells it together with the train ticket on its website, in the app, from the machines and at the ticket offices, and in the journey planner you select CHARLEROI Airport [TEC] as your station. The train ticket is priced by distance and comes on top. Children under 6 travel free on the bus, while children aged 6 to 11, who travel free on the train, need a bus ticket.
This option makes most sense if you’re travelling on by train to another Belgian city. If you just need to get into Brussels with a suitcase, Flibco is easier. The steps are explained on SNCB’s Charleroi Airport page.
5. Night bus N62 from Brussels Airport to Place Rogier
When the trains stop for the night, De Lijn’s night bus N62 runs between Brussels Airport and Place Rogier in Brussels. It runs every night all year round, with two departures an hour between 00:55 and 04:45, and stops along the way in Schaerbeek, Evere, Diegem and the centre of Zaventem. The bus leaves from the bus station on level 0.
The journey costs De Lijn’s standard fare of €3 (about £2.50/$3.40). You pay contactless at the white terminal on the bus with Visa, Mastercard, Maestro or V PAY, including cards from outside Belgium, or with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and you can pay for up to five people with the same card. From Place Rogier, you’re close to the hotels around Rogier, and for the rest of the city you continue by taxi. The route is shown at De Lijn.
6. Taxis, Uber and Bolt
The official taxis wait right outside the arrivals hall at Brussels Airport, and you don’t need to book. Follow the signs to the taxi rank, and only take a car from there. You can recognise the official taxis by the T on the number plate and by the blue and yellow logo. The airport doesn’t give a fare to the centre, so ask the driver for the price before you set off. See more on the airport’s taxi page.
Uber picks up in the P1 car park. From the baggage reclaim hall, turn left, walk around 50 metres to the sliding doors on your right, use the pedestrian crossing over to P1 and take the lift to the 4th floor. Bolt shows the pick-up point in the app. In both apps, you see the price before you book. The route is described at Uber.
At Charleroi, the airport refers passengers to the taxi companies Ideal Tax, Rapid Tax, Taxis Carolo and Sympatax. There’s no official fixed fare to Brussels, and the bus takes 55 to 60 minutes for the same trip, so expect an expensive ride and agree the price before you set off.
Private transfer
If you’re landing late with children, or there are several of you with lots of luggage, you can book a private transfer from Brussels Airport into the city here. The driver takes you to the door, and the price is agreed in advance. The airport also works with Comobi, where you book a car for up to seven people online at least 12 hours ahead, and where the driver waits with a name sign at the Java Meeting Point in the arrivals hall.
Onward travel around Brussels by metro and tram
From the three main stations, you can travel on with STIB’s metro, trams and buses. Metro lines 1 and 5 stop at Gare Centrale, De Brouckère, Sainte-Catherine and Schuman, and lines 2 and 6 stop at Gare du Midi, Louise, Trône and Rogier. Trams 4 and 10 stop at Gare du Midi, Bourse, De Brouckère, Rogier and Gare du Nord.
A journey costs €2.40 (about £2/$2.70) when you pay contactless, and you can change freely for 60 minutes. If you use the same card all day, you pay no more than €8.50 (about £7.20/$9.50) a day. A paper ticket for one journey costs €2.90 (about £2.50/$3.20), and a day ticket costs €9 (about £7.60/$10). Children under 6 travel free.
Most lines run every day of the week from 05:00 until midnight. On Friday and Saturday nights, STIB’s Noctis night buses run from Gare Centrale from midnight until 03:00. At night there’s also Collecto, a shared night taxi, which costs €6 (about £5.10/$6.70) per person.
Onward travel around Belgium straight from the airport
If you aren’t going to Brussels, you can take the train straight from Brussels Airport. The airport gives journey times of 13 minutes to Leuven, 30 minutes to Antwerp, 55 minutes to Ghent and 1 hour and 25 minutes to Bruges. The airport supplement is included in the ticket however far you’re going.
From the bus station on level 0, Flibco and Airport Express run to Antwerp, and FlixBus runs towards Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Lille and Paris, among other places. If your trip starts or ends in one of the neighbouring countries, you can read my guides to getting from Schiphol to central Amsterdam and to getting from Charles de Gaulle to central Paris.
If you need to get between the two airports, Flibco runs direct between Brussels Airport and Charleroi in around an hour, and the ticket costs from €18.99 (about £16/$21.50) online. You can also buy a ticket for the bus between the two airports here.
Getting back to the airport
Trains to Brussels Airport run from Bruxelles-Midi, Bruxelles-Central and Bruxelles-Nord six times an hour for most of the day. According to SNCB’s timetable, the first train from Bruxelles-Midi leaves shortly after 04:00 on weekdays and shortly before 05:00 at weekends, so check your departure the evening before if you have an early flight.
If the train doesn’t work for you, night bus N62 runs from Place Rogier to the airport every night, and bus 12 runs from the European Quarter. A taxi from the city charges the Brussels region’s set fares: a starting fee of €2.60 (about £2.20/$2.90), €2.30 (about £1.95/$2.60) per kilometre and €0.60 (about £0.51/$0.67) per minute or part of a minute, and between 22:00 and 06:00 there’s an extra €2 (about £1.70/$2.20) on top. The city’s taxis are black with a black and yellow chequered stripe on the doors, and the fares are listed by the Brussels-Capital Region.
The airport recommends being there two hours before a flight within Europe and three hours before an intercontinental flight. If someone’s driving you, the drop-off zone is free for 10 minutes once an hour, and after that it costs €12 (about £10/$13.50) plus €3 (about £2.50/$3.40) for each extra minute.
For Charleroi, Flibco leaves from Bruxelles-Midi, by Rue de France. According to the airport, the buses start at around 03:30, and the ticket is valid on all of that day’s departures, so you’re free to take an earlier bus. Flibco advises being at the airport two to three hours before departure. If you take the train to Charleroi-Central instead, bus A1 runs from there to the airport from around 04:30.
Which option should you choose?
Here’s what I’d recommend, depending on where you’re staying:
Grand Place and the centre: Take the train to Bruxelles-Central. It takes around 18 minutes, and you can walk the rest of the way.
Sainte-Catherine: Take the train to Bruxelles-Central and change to metro line 1 or 5 from Gare Centrale to Sainte-Catherine.
Sablon: Take the train to Bruxelles-Central and walk up the hill, or take a taxi from the station if your suitcase is heavy.
Ixelles and Avenue Louise: Take the train to Bruxelles-Midi and change to metro line 2 or 6 to Louise.
European Quarter: On weekdays, the direct train to Bruxelles-Schuman or Bruxelles-Luxembourg is fastest. Otherwise, bus 12 runs straight to Schuman and Luxembourg for €7.90 (about £6.70/$8.90).
Rogier and Rue Neuve: Get off the train at Bruxelles-Nord after around 11 minutes, and walk or take tram 4 or 10 to Rogier.
If you land at Charleroi: Take Flibco to Bruxelles-Midi and continue by metro, tram or train from there.
If you land at night: From Brussels Airport, night bus N62 runs to Place Rogier between 00:55 and 04:45, and otherwise it’s a taxi. From Charleroi, the last Flibco leaves at around 01:00.
If there are three or four of you: Three train tickets cost around €33 (about £28/$37), and four cost around €44 (about £37.50/$49.50), so see what an Uber costs in the app before you buy tickets. Children under 12 do travel free on the train, though.
Practical tips for getting from Brussels Airport and Charleroi to the city centre
Buy your train ticket before you go down to the platform. You need the QR code to get through the gates at the Brussels Airport station, and you can’t buy a ticket on the train. The machines are in the baggage reclaim hall and at the station on level -1.
Use the same card all day on STIB. The daily fare cap only works when you validate with the same card or the same phone every time, and each card only covers one person.
Don’t pay the airport fare on bus 12 on your way out. You only need Airport2City from the airport into the city. Towards the airport, an ordinary STIB ticket is valid.
Buy your Flibco ticket online before you travel. It’s cheaper than buying from the driver and is valid on every departure that day, so a delayed flight won’t cost you your ticket.
Choose your hotel with the connection in mind. If you stay near Grand Place, you’re within walking distance of Bruxelles-Central and the train from Brussels Airport, and you can see hotels near Grand Place here. In the European Quarter, you have both direct trains on weekdays and bus 12, and you can see hotels in the European Quarter here. If you stay near Place Rogier, Bruxelles-Nord is close by, and you can see hotels near Place Rogier here.
If you’re not sure which neighbourhood suits you, read my guide to where to stay in Brussels, where I go through the six best areas and the hotels in each of them.
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