Difference between revisions of "Brussels"

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Historical Note: As Louvain-La-Neuve is a student town, and Delta is at the entrance of the motorway and next to the University of Brussels, many students used to hitchhike that route.  
 
Historical Note: As Louvain-La-Neuve is a student town, and Delta is at the entrance of the motorway and next to the University of Brussels, many students used to hitchhike that route.  
  
* Station "Beaulieu" in Ixelles (''Metro 1A direction Herrmann-Debroux''). You will notice many cars stopping at traffic lights just before the station. This road connects with the motorway towards the South. I got a lift in less than 2 minutes. There is a big service station 10 minutes down the road if needed for further lifts.  
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* Station "Beaulieu" in Ixelles (''Metro 5 direction Herrmann-Debroux''). You will notice many cars stopping at traffic lights just before the station. This road connects with the motorway towards the South. I got a lift in less than 2 minutes. There is a big service station 10 minutes down the road if needed for further lifts.  
  
 
Note that the E411 starting from there head direction South to [[Namur]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Lorraine]] in [[France]] and [[Rheinland-Pfalz]] in [[Germany]]. Many junctions, such as the southern ring near Jezus-Eik, gives the chance to reach the E19 (towards [[Charleroi]], [[Mons (Bergen)|Mons]] and [[Paris]]) or the E42 just north of [[Namur]]. Using a sign would ease the journey but remember that '''none of these junctions are hitchhiking friendly'''.
 
Note that the E411 starting from there head direction South to [[Namur]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Lorraine]] in [[France]] and [[Rheinland-Pfalz]] in [[Germany]]. Many junctions, such as the southern ring near Jezus-Eik, gives the chance to reach the E19 (towards [[Charleroi]], [[Mons (Bergen)|Mons]] and [[Paris]]) or the E42 just north of [[Namur]]. Using a sign would ease the journey but remember that '''none of these junctions are hitchhiking friendly'''.

Revision as of 11:55, 14 December 2009

Brussels (French: Bruxelles, Dutch: Brussel, Polish: Bruksela) is the capital of Belgium and the European capital. Brussels is a very international city. While still walking around in the center you might be able to spot some cars from other countries. For instance, when heading to Paris, check the French numberplates with 75 or 90-something (Paris and its suburbs).

Hitching Out

<map lat='50.836082778824434' lng='4.352989196777344' zoom='12' view='3' float='right'/>

South-West towards Charleroi, Mons, Lille, Paris (E19)

  • On the Internationalelaan (Boulevard International) close to the motorway entrance, there is a lot of traffic and much space for cars to stop, even a petrol station where you could ask people directly. To get there, take Bus #78 from the South Station in direction of Humanite and get out at the stop Bollinckx. Attention! The bus only runs every hour. Schedule

Keep in mind that you are now in the middle of an industrial zone!

then walk on further on the main road till the Drogenbos motorway exit (800m ). You can stand at the traffic light under the motorway bridge: As cars need to wait to turn left, its possible to ask drivers to take you south, or to the next petrol station on the motorway, which is 1500 meters further.

What about walking from the Ruisbroek train station to this stop or the service station itself?


Alternative destinations along the E19:

South towards Louvain-la-Neuve, Charleroi, Namur, Luxembourg (E411)

  • One of the historically well known (by locals) hitch hiker places towards the direction of Louvain-La-Neuve (student town) is right at the exit of Metro "Delta". Next to the Delta Bus Depot.

( To get there, Metro 5 direction Herrmann-Debroux , or Bus 71 Delta. ) It takes a minute or two before a car stops, and it is not rare to bump into one or two other (student) hitchhikers there. There's a gas station (Lukoil) next to the metro station where you won't wait more than five minutes on a Sunday morning if you say you're a student.

Historical Note: As Louvain-La-Neuve is a student town, and Delta is at the entrance of the motorway and next to the University of Brussels, many students used to hitchhike that route.

  • Station "Beaulieu" in Ixelles (Metro 5 direction Herrmann-Debroux). You will notice many cars stopping at traffic lights just before the station. This road connects with the motorway towards the South. I got a lift in less than 2 minutes. There is a big service station 10 minutes down the road if needed for further lifts.

Note that the E411 starting from there head direction South to Namur, Luxembourg, Lorraine in France and Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany. Many junctions, such as the southern ring near Jezus-Eik, gives the chance to reach the E19 (towards Charleroi, Mons and Paris) or the E42 just north of Namur. Using a sign would ease the journey but remember that none of these junctions are hitchhiking friendly.

The E411 to Luxembourg is a recommended direction to head further towards:

This option should probably also be considered to go South if you want to avoid Paris.

South towards Waterloo (local hitching)

Public transport to the site of Waterloo battlefield are deficient, so hitch-hiking could be a solution for those who wish to do a day excursion to that historic site. The best is to reach 'Ter Cameren Bos' (Bois de la Cambre) at the border between Ixelles and Ukkel (Tram 94 - 23 - 24) and find a spot along the Chaussee de Waterloo.

or by taking Tram 92 till "Fort Jaco" terminus, and then walk to adjacent Chaussee de Waterloo to hh further south.

North or East, towards Leuven, Antwerp, Liege, Germany, Netherlands (E40 - E314)

You can easily hitch out of Brussels in direction East from the European / Business Quarter.

  • The first option is to hitch at the entrance of the Tunnel located at the gate of the Jubelpark (Parc du Cinquentenaire) on the Blijde-Inkomst laan (Avenue de la Joyeuse-Entree) on the side of the 'Rond-Point Schuman' (metro access 1A/1B direction Herrmann-Debroux/Stokkel). There is a street light and a side parking just at the entrance of the tunnel, you may simply stand by the light with a sign and the cars can immediately pull over to pick you. This hitching point is an easy start to go to Leuven or Liege or possibly reach the services in Leuven on the E40 or on the E314.

(Note: this spot works perfectly during business hours, but the traffic is low on Sundays or during holidays; note that it is also possible to catch a ride in direction North Antwerp from there too but a sign is required)

  • Another, second, good option is to hitch at the red lights on the Rue du Belliard. It's a one way street with 4 lanes and most cars enter the Tunnel at the end of the street that goes onto the motorway towards Leuven, Liege and Aachen. Make sure to ask your driver they go onto the motorway and go towards Leuven. The first petrol station on the motorway is right after the exit to Leuven. If your driver goes to Leuven he can miss hes turn and still go to the town through the petrol station. Nearby public transportation to this second hitch spot are Metro station "Trone/Troon" and also several bus lines.
  • A third option is to go from the "zoning of Diegem". There's a petrol station and lots of highways around it. Though I lack information about the exact location of the petrol station... I should have taken note on the moment.

Go to Metro Station "Diamant" (there are City Map stands). Cross "Bld. Auguste Reyers" in east direction. Then walk on the south side of A3-Highway along the small street about 100 metres, that leads to the A3-highway.

North towards Antwerp

There is no direct easy way to hitch from Brussels to Antwerp, although there is some alternative means to reach the ring in the hope to catch a ride along the E19 or the A12. Sadly those are always in periphery of the city.

(A12)

A good option is to take a train to Brussels International Airport. Here you walk out of the airport terminal, pass a Shell service station, and walk along the side road until it joins with the motorway. Cars are going relatively slow and there is plenty of room for a vehicle to pull over. A lot of these vehicles are going in the direction of Antwerp, at least. There is a big service station before Antwerp for you to be dropped at for other destinations.


Take the tram #3, #19 or #23 to the stop De Wand or Esplanade (#4) and walk along the Avenue de Meysse up to the Antwerpselaan, crossing the Romeinsesteenweg you can hitch along the Antwerpselaan to catch a car that would get onto the motorway at the Exit #2 of the A12. It is still possible that the car join the ring and the E19 towards Antwerp as Exit #3 is the Ring of Brussels junction.

Note: hitching further south on the Vuurkruisenlaan is a bit jeopardized as there are no places for a car to pull aside before it reaches the A12. The only possibility, as there is side parking along the road, is if there is sufficient space due to the fact that no cars are parked. Which makes it definitely a bad spot.


  • needs to be tested - suggestion :

"Notre Dame Cathedral / Laeken" option...

on Parvis Notre Dame, next to the Cathedral of Notre Dame , Laeken , where cars go slow at turn, towards north ( before and towards Koninglijk Parklaan - Avenue du Parc Royal )

Tram 94 goes not far from there ( Princesse Clementine stop ? ) and also metro 6 at Bockstal station is not too far - in both cases you then need to walk a bit east towards the Laeken Cathedral

(E19)

Hitchwiki could use your help to complete this article. You can help by expanding it.
Find a good spot at the E19

North-West towards Gent

Let people take you to the Basiliek of Koekelberg. Then ask them the direction for the motorway. They'll indicate you to the back of the Basiliek of Koekelberg = Keizer Karel laan. Hike till for 1,4 km till on your right the Baselix Shopping Center, where you'll find 2 petrol stations. Stay there as people fill up with petrol for going to e.g. Gent or Brugge. Just ask people.. won't take you more than 10 minutes to get a hike.

Take tram 82 from the South Station in direction of 'Berchem' until the stop 'Berchem Shopping'. From there walk up the Av. Charles Quint, reach the train bridge and you are at the beginning of the E40 in direction of Gent. Just hitch after the traffic lights, where there is a vast area for a car to pull aside behind you. The circulation is dense but cars can easily pull aside and get back on the road quite safely.

There are two services along the E40 between Brussels and Gent that you can always manage to reach:

  1. 'Groot Bijgaarden' is about 2.5km from the spot you are standing
  2. 'Wetteren' is some 34km from Brussels and about 15km from the center of Gent

Hitching in

If you do not encounter a driver that goes inside the city, but takes the Northern Ring around the city, you can ask them to pull off the motorway (E40) at Exit #7a/7b (Chaussee Romaine/Parc des Expositions/Tentoonstellingspark) (basically, the Atomium and Heysel Stadium area) or at Exit #8 (Wemmel). At both exits drivers can immediately rejoin the motorway at the sliproad opposite the exit.

From there, you simply have to walk towards the Expo park to join the Tram (23 - 81 - 94) or Metro (1A) stations at 'Koning Boudewijn' or 'Heysel'.

East

If you arrive from the East, you might also ask to be left at the Services along the E40 in Leuven, before arriving in Brussels, with the mean of catching a local ride that would get into town. This might be necessary if your driver goes up along the E19 to Antwerp, as there won't be any places for him to drop you off.

West - South

If you arrive from the North-West, (Gent), you can ask to be dropped at the Services in Groot-Bijgaarden which is 2.5km before the ring of Brussels along the E40.

If your ride only takes the Western Ring anyhow (from Gent or the south), you can ask to be left at the Exit 16 and gain the Metro 1b, stations 'Eddy Merckx' or 'Ceria' which are at footsteps.


trash:Brussels