Train Station Lockers in Brussels Clarification Please

Brussels Midi is also known as Brussels South. Same train station.

The Grand Place or Grote Markt is about a half hour walk from there. It's much closer to Brussels Central Station (about 5 minutes). And you can catch your train to Bruges from Brussels Central. So maybe consider taking a train from Brussels Midi to Brussels Central (I think you can do that on the same ticket). Then stow your luggage in lockers there.

Oh that's a great idea, thank you!

I concur with Lane’s suggestion to head to Central station and store your bags there. The area around Brussels South is not the best and the Grand Place is much closer to Central.

Since 15 December 2024 international tickets are not valid anymore for travelling between stations in Brussels. This does not apply for local trains, so if you travel further for instance to Bruges buy your ticket at Bruxelles-Midi, the station where your Eurostar will arrive.

Zone on tickets applies for the larger cities with multiple train stations in Belgium like Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. With a point-to-point ticket for local trains you can go to any train station within that zone you like. And also travel between these stations as much as you like on the date the ticket is issued for.

You can’t do that with an international ticket, you can travel only to “Zone 2”. To “Zone 1” you need another ticket, in other words a ticket for a local train. So you have to buy your ticket for domestic travel as soon as you arrive at Midi.

As already correctly noticed the area around Midi is not (so) safe and taking the train to Bruxelles Central needs just several minutes. From there it’s an easy walk to the Grand Place.

Thanks Laura for concurring with Lane. That's what we'll do!

And, thank you Will for the explanation of the zone and domestic tickets. We'll do that both for going from Brussels to Brugge and then for a day trip to Ghent from Brugge. And, I think we'll also take a regional train vs the Eurostar from Brugge to Amsterdam, so we don't have to worry about Eurostar prices or committed train times.

Thanks everyone!

Yes, for travel from Bruges to Amsterdam, it is really not much faster to go to Brussels to get the Eurostar. Your route will be Bruges- Ghent-Antwerp-then to Amsterdam, possibly with a stop in the Netherlands. Your ticket will be good all day on all non-Eurostar trains for that route, including if you stop someplace for a while. For the fastest itinerary, once in Antwerp, look for an Intercity Direct train to Amsterdam.

Thanks, Paul, for all that! Even though the train info. is available to sift through online, it's sure great to have your validation and the extra clarity!