Brussels has a combined transport system run by the Société des Transports Intercommunaux Bruxellois (STIB), which incorporates trams, buses and the Metro network, offering easy and efficient means of getting around the city centre and its environs. Alternatively, train transportation is another good way of getting around, with rail services travelling all over the city and country, with selected services to other European destinations.
Airports
 Most visitors arrive in Brussels by air at Brussels International Airport, located approximately eight miles northeast of the city, though a limited number of flights also touch down at Charleroi Brussels South Airport, situated about five miles from the centre of Charleroi. Both airports are easily accessible from Brussels via car or public transportation.
Brussels International Airport is one of Europe’s major transportation hubs, serving approximately millions of travellers on an annual basis. The airport is efficient and modern, with plentiful refreshment venues and passenger facilities as well as an impressive exhibition of artworks in one of its terminals.
Full banking services are available at the airport during selected hours, with bureaux de change and 24-hour ATMs also available. Baggage storage facilities are available on request and an airport information desk is available in the Departures area. Business facilities include the Sky Hall Reception Room, which can accommodate up to 1,500 people; the Airport Forum, offering a variety of secretarial and telecommunications services; and the Regus Skyport Meeting Centre, with its meeting rooms, secretarial services and wireless internet access. A post office is also located in the airport building.
Shops are plentiful and scattered throughout the airport, with stores including newsagents, gift shops and duty-free areas. Prayer and meditation spaces are provided for Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, Orthodox and denominational passengers. Parent-baby rooms are widespread throughout the terminal building and handicapped travellers are well catered for with specially adapted toilets, lifts and ramps.
Transportation options between the airport and the city centre include both road and rail transportation. Hire cars are available from a number of different agents in the airport’s Arrivals area, with rental companies including Hertz, Budget, Europcar, National and Sixt. Taxis can be caught from the taxi rank situated just outside the Arrivals Hall and they provide a quick and easy means of reaching the city centre. If you plan on taking a taxi into Brussels, it is best to go directly to the rank and stick to licensed taxis, which can be recognised by a blue and yellow emblem; avoid drivers in the Baggage Claim area who are likely to rip you off.
 Buses leave from the bus terminal located below the Arrivals Hall and the Airport Express Train provides a regular service to Brussels’ three major train stations (Gare Centrale, Gare du Midi and Gare du Nord) between 06:00 and midnight.
A small number of carriers including Ryanair, EcoAir and Virgin Express provide services to Charleroi Brussels South Airport, rather than to Brussels International Airport. While smaller than Brussels Airport, Charleroi Airport still features a comprehensive selection of customer services including banking services, limited business facilities, a tourist help desk and a number of shops, restaurants and cafeterias. Taxis are available round the clock from outside the terminal building and public buses run to Charleroi rail station all day, from where connections run to all parts of Belgium.
Public Transport
Brussels is fairly easy to get around, with an integrated overground and underground public transport system that includes buses, trams and the Metro network. The system is affordable and reliable, operating daily between 06:00 and midnight. Tickets can be purchased at Metro stations as well as at most newsagents.
The Metro network is clean, comfortable and efficient, with lines primarily serving the central part of the city. Metro stations can be identified by blue signs bearing a white ‘M’, which are posted above ground, while bus and tram stops are marked by white and red signs respectively. Both trams and buses provide transportation around the city centre and to the surrounding suburbs.
 An alternative to the STIB network is the Belgian National Railways system, which connects the central city area with the suburbs and destinations nationwide. The Eurostar, TVG trains and Thalys services also connect the Belgian network with other major European cities including London, Amsterdam and Cologne.
Taxis are widely available in the city, but to avoid being swindled, travellers should utilise only official Autolux taxis, which are marked by blue and yellow emblems. Taxi ranks are scattered around the city centre at various locations including at the Bourse, Place de Broukère and at major railway stations.
 The "Brussels Card" gives free access to nearly all the Brussels museums and free Brussels (STIB) public transport for a period of 72 hours. It is valid for three days and includes a chip card, a ticket for public transport and an illustrated guide. It also gives a 25% discount in the famous mussels restaurant "Chez Léon", when using the service of the "Brussels Line" (the blue double-decker buses that take you through the city), and on the entrance fee at the Museum of the Royal Toone Theatre. The Brussels Card is available at tourist information counters, hotels, museums and agencies of the Brussels public transport. Visit www.brusselscard.be/ for more information.
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