BRU trains
 

how is the public trasportation in BRU?

what time do the trains start/ end?

if any one has stayed at the BRU renaissance hotel can you tell me the best way to get to the hotel from the airport and then back again. i leave BRU at 710 am on the early morning flight to LHR

I lived in BRU for 4.5 months back in 1998. The public transport there is great--they've got 3 metro lines and quite a few trolley lines & busses. I didn't have a car and didn't have a problem getting to where I needed to go. In particular, the Ren you're at appears to be about 5-6 blocks away from the Trone metro stop, just one stop south from where all three metro lines intersect, so you're in good shape there. As for the airport, public transportation does fall down a bit, as there are only a couple of busses that head out there. However, if you can get to any of the three main train stations (Gare du Midi [south], Gare Central, or Gare du Nord), there is a train from each of those stations directly to the airport, but I don't know what time they start at or how often they run.

Here's the website for BRU public transport (in French and Flemish; I'm not sure if they have an English version):

http://www.stib.irisnet.be/

Brussels is a great city...good luck & have fun!

thanks
which station is closest to my hotel?

Checkout the hotel website:
http://marriott.com/property/mapandn...WT_Ref=mi_left
Trone is your closest station.

Looking at the map, you're actually quite close to the Brussels-Luxembourg train station. Bus 12 from the airport goes directly to Brussels-Luxembourg; here's the schedules (in French). On the return trip, the bus to the airport leaves too late for you; at other times it starts from another place. The trains to the airport leave from the three main stations (North, Central, and South) and should start early enough in the morning. If you go from Trône station you might want to stay on line 2 and change at Rogier to a tram that goes one stop to the North station (Gare du Nord). The walk from Gare Centrale metro station to Gare Centrale itself is a bit long if you have lots of luggage. But if you want to walk, the walk from Trône to Gare Centrale itself isn't that long; I'd guess about 10 minutes or so, though it's been awhile since I've done it.

Another option would be to take the 2 line toward Clemenceau, as there is a stop right at Gare du Midi (i.e. no need to transfer to the tram like going to Gare du Nord), and as I recall, it's not a long walk from the station to the trains. Just don't go outside...the train station is fine, but the neighborhood is not (at least it wasn't when I was there in 1998). As for which train station that goes to the airport is closest to your hotel, I think Gare du Midi is your best bet, but I'm not familiar with the 12--it sounds like it's definitely worth looking into.

Addendum: I just found the train schedule for Brussels <-> airport:

http://ari.b-holding.be/root2/folder...11/Z010215.pdf

Look on pp. 83-89 of the PDF file (pp. 82-88 of the printed document).

The train is super-convienent; it drops you off at the bottom level of the airport. Simply take the elevator up 3 or 4 floors (I forget, but it's signed), and you're at the ticket counters!

Logan Flyer : terrific help.