Brussels, verdict by verdict

Brussels is the underrated heart of Europe: the Grand Place ranks among the continent's finest squares, free at all hours and better still at night when the gilded facades light up. Around it the city mixes Art Nouveau facades, the glass-roofed Galeries Saint-Hubert, chocolate shops where a named maker still boxes the pralines, serious beer cafes, and the Atomium's retro-future spheres with a panorama over the whole skyline. Cantillon's self-guided brewery visit, a working 1900s lambic house, is repeatedly called the city's best-value beer hour, and the whole package runs cheaper than Paris or Amsterdam.

The caveat is evenness: the postcard centre is compact while streets around Midi station and some outer districts feel scruffy, and the EU quarter empties on weekends. Most partner museums close Mondays, which quietly burns a card day on a weekend trip; the Atomium's panorama elevator queues thirty minutes at peaks; and guided chocolate or beer walks can charge heavily for what you could order yourself. Travelers wanting a uniformly pretty, polished centre or a week of big-ticket sights will feel the gaps.

One to two days covers the centre, the museums and the comic-strip trail, with a day for Bruges or Ghent after. May to September brings terrace weather and December the Grand Place light show, avoiding the flower-carpet crush unless crowds are the point. Sleep around the Grand Place rather than Midi, and Brussels suits square-and-architecture travelers, chocolate-waffle-beer-frites eaters, and anyone who prefers a capital that does not perform.