Crime and safety

By big-city standards, Brussels is a very safe place; you can walk around late at night and take the Metro alone without much cause for concern. One exception to this rule is the rather seedy area around the Gare du Midi (where the Eurostar arrives). Like many station areas, it abounds in sex shops, cut-rate hotels and all the insecurity such places attract. Be on the alert, too, in the nightlife area around the stock exchange and Place St Gery late at night, when drunken revellers mill around, and serious drunks settle down for the night in shop doorways. Single women are well-treated in restaurants, and can regard taxis as safe.