patfromLA

I'm doing a 2 part trip and don't want to carry my business stuff on my leisure trip. Can anyone tell me if it costs a fortune to store a small suitcase at the airport or train station in Brussels for 10 days? Thanks.

BTilke

It's 3.5 or 4€ per piece to store it in the manned left luggage department at Gare du Midi. I don't know if you can store it for 10 days though. I will be in Gare du Midi tomorrow, I will ask the guy there how long someone can leave their luggage. There are lockers as well, but I'm sure you won't be able to leave a piece in one for 10 days.

stardust

If you are staying in a hotel in Brussels before you want to leave your small suitcase, perhaps you could kindly ask them to keep this suitcase in their luggage room?

BTilke

Well, I asked this morning. The rate is 3.3€ per piece per calendar day (NOT 24-hour period...if you drop something off at 10 pm and pick it up the next morning at 9 am, you have to pay for two days). So you're looking at a cost of roughly 33€. The lockers are definitely 24 hours maximum.
Hope this helps with your decision.

tjenneke

This is the info for Brussels airport:
Baggage lockers are available on level 0 (bus station) on the left against the façade for anyone leaving the terminal via the Diamond. The use of a locker cost € 7.50 for 24 hours. Payment is made with coins of € 0.50, € 1 and € 2. A change machine near the lockers exchanges euro banknotes for coins.
Oversized baggage can also be deposited on level 0. To do so please ring tel. +32 2 753 30 13 or use the interphone which is available free of charge near the lockers. Storage of oversized baggage costs € 7.50 for 24 hours for 3 pieces of luggage, for every extra piece of luggage € 2.50 will be charged.
Small luggage lockers are also available in the shopping area of Pier A (ground floor and 1st floor). The charge is € 5 for 24hours. These lockers can also be rented for short periods at € 1 for 30 minutes, € 2 for 1 hour and € 3 for 2 hours. There are change machines at both levels that accept banknotes of € 5, € 10 and € 20.

polly229

Am wondering about the size of the luggage lockers in the train stations. My husband and I are spending 7 nights in Belgium next month following a conference in Amsterdam. Rather than stay in 3 hotels, we're spending 4 nights in Bruges and 3 in Antwerp and will see Brussels in one (or more) day trips. As fate would have it, we travel from Bruges to Antwerp on Sun. I haven't checked yet on trains but am guessing we might have to change in Brussels anyway. Since my husband is a big market fan, Sunday is a great day to be in Brussels - but not with a couple of roll-aboards and a smaller bag or two. Can we get a roll-aboard into a train station locker, maybe with a smaller piece, or do we need to budget 12-16 Euros for storage?

stardust

Polly229, no need to pass by Brussels to get to Antwerp. There's a straight train going Brugge-Antwerpen, passing by Ghent, each hour at .03.

But of course you're free to pass by Brussels if you want to I can't help you with the size of the lockers though, I'm sorry.

hopscotch

Polly229,
Brussels Central Station luggage locker sizes are:
Small, 36"x15"x12'
Medium, 36"x24"x15"
Jumbo, 36"x36"x20"

polly229

Exact luggage locker dimensions? Hopscotch, how on earth do you know that?

Byrd

This is great informaton for us as we plan our October trip.

We are thinking of spending the day in Brussels on the way from Bruges to Amsterdam. Having convenient lockers in which to stow our bags makes this idea much more practical.

Thank you, everybody!

Byrd

Byrd

Sorry, that should be "practicable."

Byrd

BTilke

Keep in mind, though, that lockers in both the airport and train stations can't be used for more than 24 hours. Also, the largest lockers, the ones that can hold full size luggage, are the first to go. In the Gare du Midi on Saturday, I noticed that all the largest lockers (and there aren't that many of them) were taken. If you want to use the lockers, you'd be better off bringing two smaller pieces of luggage rather than one big suitcase. Otherwise, you'd have to use the manned luggage storage facility at Gare du Midi.

polly229

BTilke, you have (unknown to yourself) been a great font of useful info for me. Many thanks.

I haven't bothered to check train schedules, figured I could do that when I got to Amsterdam for the trip to Bruges. Have also figured that there would be frequent trains from Bruges to Brussels and Brussels to Antwerp and I could just show up, buy a ticket and get on like I do in the Netherlands. Have I figured right?

Also, if we do go Sun. from Bruges to Brussels for the market (which is when we need to leave the luggage for the day), can you tell me what station I will likely arrive at and whether it will also be the same one we'd leave from to get to Antwerp? And how convenient would that be to the Sun. market. (I'm thinking I read somewhere about a Gare du Midi market. Or did I make that up?)

I did some research back in Feb., got hotels, and then went to Arizona, then to Greece, then to Canada, then to Minneapolis. Suddenly I have realized that I have 19 days left and I'd probably better get busy figuring some stuff out.

stardust

Polly 229, yes you can just show up and buy your tickets. You can buy your tickets Brugge-Brussels and Brussels-Antwerp both in the Brugge train station so you don't have to wait in line twice !


There are 3 main stations in Brussels: Nord, Central and Midi (=South in French). The trains coming from Brugge pass all 3 in this order: Brugge=>Gent=>Midi=>Central=>North, and the ones going to Antwerp go Midi=>Central=>North=>Antwerp. So you can get off and on at any of the 3 stations you like (no difference in tickets either). I don't know about a market at the Gare du Midi (might be), but Central is the stop used by most tourists, as it's close to the Grand Place. On weekends there's an antiques market at the Grand Sablon (also get off at Centrale for this one). Enjoy your trip!

polly229

Thanks, Stardust. I'm sure I can find out where the Sun. market in Brussels is. Will add that to my list of things to do.

rkkwan

BTilke and stardust -

Thanks for all the info. Let me tag on a followup question. I have about 2 hours in Brussels on a Saturday evening (9/2). I'm arriving from Antwerp and then have reservations on Thalys to CDG later in the evening. I have one 21" rollerboard that needs to be stored for about 2 hours.

Do you think I should ride through to Midi, store luggage, then backtrack to Central? Or just get off at Central, store luggage there, and then later on pick up luggage, ride train to Midi to connect to Thalys?

I know the difference is slim. Just wonder if you think one is significantly advantageous to the other. Thanks.

stardust

Rkkwan

Assuming that you want to go to the Grand Place in those 2 hours, I'd go for the second option. Otherwise you'd have 2 extra rides between Central and Midi.

You have to be aware that during that weekend there is a beer festival on the Grand Place. Might be exactly what you want or want to avoid...

BTilke

I'd do the opposite, take the luggage straight to GdM and store it there, for the following reasons:
1. The luggage stores (lockers and manned luggage) is kept near the tracks for the Thalys/TGV trains.
2. Less having to keep checking his watch to make sure he have enough time to hike back up the hill to Central and catch a train to Midi. RKKwan could opt to catch a taxi to Midi straight from the GP area, or take one of the underground trams. Or, better still, dump the luggage at Midi, catch a train to Central, see the GP, walk up rue L'Hopital to the Sablon, have a drink there, then either catch the 27 bus to Midi (pick it up at the stop at the "bottom" of Sablon, near the Dupont or Davidoff fancy cigar store), or walk up to Louise and catch a metro down to Midi (the ride from Louise to Midi via metro takes 4 minutes...ride in the very front car).

Storing the luggage at Midi gives RK more options with what to do with his 2 hours. He's not tied into having to get back to Centrale.

stardust

Rkkwan,
I guess BTilke is right. She most probably has more practical experience with it than I do

rkkwan

You guys are awesome. Great information for alternate ways to get to Midi. I think I'll do exactly that. Store luggage at Midi and then backtrack to Central.