Communications

Identification

Always carry a passport or other good original ID. Belgian bureaucracy demands it even on relatively trivial occasions—such as entering a government building, collecting a registered letter from the post office and so on.

Language

Don’t worry if you speak only English. Brussels is officially bilingual (French and Dutch), but English functions almost everywhere, sometimes even as a neutral language between Francophone and Flemish Belgians. Taxis are an important exception; here you will need some basic French or have the address written down.

Mobile phones

Belgian phones operate on the GSM system, so if you are coming from most areas of Western Europe, your mobile phone should work here.

Buy one with a prepaid smart card. It’s not worth the bother of renting. You need pay no more than €99 for a basic model phone, which includes €50 of prepaid calls. When that runs out you can always buy another card, and you can keep the phone.

Operator and directory enquiries

Domestic enquiries: 1307

International operator: 1304

International calls: 00

Reverse-charge calls: 1224

Wake-up call: There is an automated service (in French) on 0800-51348

Phone calls always need the Brussels code (02) even when dialling within Brussels.

Post offices

Most post offices are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. The main post office is in the Monnaie (‘Munt’, in Dutch) shopping centre, on Place de la Monnaie, close to the Grand Place (open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9.30am-3pm). The post office at Gare du Midi is open longer hours (Mon-Sat 7am-11pm, Sun noon-8pm). Grab a ticket when you go in to register your place in the queue.


Public telephones

It’s best to buy up a phone card at a metro station or newsstand. Remember to dial the full city code—02—before dialling local numbers in Brussels.