Focused Travels

DIY Travel Planning Tips for Part-Time Travellers

The Brussels Sightseeing Bus: Worth it or not?

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We only had one day in Brussels, and we wanted to make the most of it. So, we decided to take the Brussels Sightseeing Bus as it gives one an excellent overview of a city before you decide where to embark and explore further.

We rushed from our hotel, the Ibis Brussels Off-Grand Place when we noticed that it was almost 9:00 and the busses would start their routes for the day soon. Lucky, the Brussels Sightseeing Bus, is located just behind the Hotel ibis Brussels off Grand Place.

The Brussels Sightseeing Bus - worthwhile or not?

Buying the tickets

When we arrived at the bus station, the driver told us that we could only buy tickets using cash! We were flabbergasted! We have always used our credit cards for buying Sightseeing Bus tickets. But the driver was adamant – we had to look for an ATM.

Service on board the bus

Once again we were lucky – the nearest ATM was just about 100metres from the bus stop. We ran, took out the money and rushed back to the bus. The driver was not very friendly to us or the other customers, in fact, at times he was just downright rude!

The facilities on the bus

After finally buying our tickets, we went upstairs. The condition of the bus was disappointing. The seats were broken, and there were holes in the cover on the roof, and it was freezing! The bus was also quite dirty.

Timeliness

We were meant to leave at 9:00, but we eventually left at 9:30 when the bus was full. We were a bit surprised at this since the next bus was supposed to have arrived at 9:20 for the next load of people, but it never showed up.

The routes and bus stops

The Antomium in Brussels
The Atomium in Brussels

The Brussels Sightseeing Bus has two routes. We chose one with the intention of doing the other route in the afternoon to maximise the sites we see. Our route, the blue one, took about 2,5 hours. A suggestion would be for the routes to be shortened, but to have more than just two routes since they are both quite long.

The drive itself was pleasant. But the bus stops were not clearly marked and were sometimes quite far from the sights to see, meaning you still had to walk quite a distance from the bus stop before getting to your destination.

When we arrived back at the starting point, we waited 30 minutes for the bus for the red route, but it never showed up.

Overall opinion

We were disappointed with the customer service, the fact that one could not use a credit card to buy tickets and also the state of the bus facilities. It did not leave a good impression of Brussels with us.

Things to do in Lucerne: the Luzern city train

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One of my all-time favourite trips was my solo trip to Switzerland. I spent the first two days in Switzerland exploring Zurich and surrounds and then part of the second day exploring Basel. Then I had to do a bit of work for a few days (the actual purpose of the trip:-)). Afterwards, I decided to spend two days in Luzern (the English spelling is Lucerne) as there were many things to do in Lucerne for someone like me who was enjoying her first trip to Switzerland.

Things to do in Lucerne: the Luzern city train

Arriving in Luzern

Torbogen Luzern in front of the train station in Luzern
Torbogen Luzern in front of the train station in Luzern – the only wall left from the train station that burned down in 1971

After arriving at the Bahnhofplatz or train station in Luzern, I quickly made my way to my hotel and checked-in to my room. I quickly freshened up and decided that since I still had a few hours of daylight left, I could do some exploring of Lucern.

Finding the blue Luzern city train

It was a sunny day and I decided to walk along a street following  Lake Luzern. After a short while, I noticed the blue city train of Luzern outside the Hotel Schweizerhof Lucerne. I went inside to enquire about the tickets for the Luzern city train and heard that it was only about 5 minutes until the next ride starts. This was exciting news! I had seen the city train on the website when I was doing my research on Luzern, and it had been one of my listed things to do in Lucerne but had not been sure that I would take it. The city train gives a good overview of Luzern and may help me plan my explorations the next day. Luzern does not have red sightseeing buses, so this was going to be the next-best thing.

The Luzern city train ride

The Luzern City Train

After 5 minutes the city train left the hotel and started driving around. Everyone received earphones. I selected English for the commentary language.

Scenery along the way

The first thing I noticed was that there was suddenly music playing and it was not the type of music I would associate with the Swiss. It wasn’t Swiss people, but the gipsies were trying to make a few bucks from a musical performance.

Gypsies putting on a show in Lucerne, Switzerland

We went past an old jail building and was driving alongside the old city walls. We eventually came to the end of the old city wall where there was a colossal tower.

Old city wall in Lucerne, Switzerland

After turning the corner at the large tower, we could see Hotel Gutsch on the top of a mountain. It looks like a castle and according to the commentator the hotel had its furnicular in the olden days to get guests and their luggage to the top. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth from England has stayed at this hotel before.

Hotel Gutsch in Lucerne, Switzerland

 

We then crossed a bridge and could see the Spreuerbrucke bridge in the distance. Behind it was a mosque and even further away one could see the snow-capped mountains.

Spreuerbrucke in Lucerne, Switzerland

Along the way, we saw many beautiful buildings and fountains.

Traditional building in Lucerne, Switzerland

One thing that amazed me about Switzerland was that people didn’t lock their bicycles. If you didn’t lock anything you owned up in South Africa, it would be stolen in a few minutes. Clearly, Switzerland is much safer than South Africa.

Unlocked bicycles in Lucerne, Switzerland

We also passed the Old Swiss House, a restaurant in Luzern. I loved the building and the character it has.

Old Swiss House, a restaurant in Lucerne, Switzerland

And we went past the Matthauskirche (Matthew’s church?).

Matthauskirche in Lucerne, Switzerland

Worth it?

All too soon the 40-minute drive ended, and we were back at the hotel. The Luzern City Train is one of the things to do in Luzern – taking the train ride had been worth it. It gave me some insight into the Lucerne attractions and the commentary provided some historical background. I would recommend it to anyone who visits Lucerne for the first time.

Thank you!

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