Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Planning a trip to Brussels? This Brussels travel guide with Emmy Award-winning host Darley Newman goes beyond the Grand Place — through Belgian chocolate workshops, Art Nouveau architecture, a kayaking adventure in the Ardennes, and the best food in Liège and Durbuy, including waffles, Belgian fries and the region's famous meatball, le boulet.
BRUSSELS: HISTORY, ART NOUVEAU & CHOCOLATE
0:00 📍 Brussels: Darley kicks off her Belgium adventure in the country's capital and largest city — a mix of international flavor, historic architecture and quirky, cool energy she'll explore on foot and by bike.
1:13 📍 The Grand Place with Sasha Seggai: Local guide Sasha Seggai walks Darley through Brussels' Upper and Lower Town, landing at the Grand Place — rebuilt after French bombardment in 1695, with facades so individual that, as Sasha jokes, "it's easy to find your home back in Belgium if you're drunk of course."
2:41 📍 Rue des Bouchers & Dansaert Street: Darley weaves through Brussels' Restaurant Row past Chez Leon, open more than 100 years and known for mussels and frites, before browsing the fashion-forward shops of Dansaert Street.
3:15 📍 Chocolate Workshop with Laurent Gerbaud: Top chocolatier Laurent Gerbaud introduces Darley to spice- and fruit-accented Belgian chocolate — including what he calls "orgasmic chocolate," a hazelnut cream made with Piedmont hazelnuts.
5:21 📍 The Brussels Jazz Marathon: Darley caps her first day back at the Grand Place, where the multi-day Brussels Jazz Marathon fills the city with free concerts from hundreds of artists.
5:40 📍 Art Nouveau Bike Tour with Pro Velo: Guide Riet Naessens leads Darley by bicycle through Brussels' Art Nouveau neighborhoods — the Montagne Quarter, the Ponds of Ixelles and Flagey — spotting facades by architects Paul Cauchie and Ernest Blerot along the way.
8:27 📍 Hotel Solvay: The tour ends at Victor Horta's Hotel Solvay, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed Art Nouveau masterpiece built with an unlimited budget from client Ernest Solvay.
THE ARDENNES: ADVENTURE ON THE LESSE RIVER
10:12 📍 Kayaking the Lesse River: Darley heads into the Ardennes for a kayaking trip with Olivier Pitance of Dinant Adventures, a family-run outfitter — paddling through small rapids, a surprise hailstorm and on to a riverside castle.
11:37 📍 Rail Biking to Maredsous Abbey: Darley tries rail biking along old railroad tracks from the station in Falaen to Maredsous Abbey, home to Benedictine monks who make their own cheese and beer.
LIÈGE: WAFFLES, MARKETS & MEATBALLS
12:12 📍 Arrival in Liège: Just an hour from Brussels, Liège greets Darley with its Calatrava-designed train station, one of the most striking transit hubs in Europe.
12:44 📍 Liège Waffles at Maison Massin: At this local bakery, Darley learns the difference between light, airy Brussels waffles and the dense, caramelized, eat-on-the-go Liège style.
13:55 📍 La Batte Market: Reputed to be Belgium's oldest and largest market, La Batte stretches along the river with everything from cheese and snails to seafood and sausage.
14:35 📍 Curtius Brasserie (Brasserie C): Inside a former 1970s convent beside the 374-step Mount Bueren Stairs, brewer Maxime Bragard pairs his beers with local cheese for Darley — including one memorably named "chicken poop."
17:42 📍 Le Boulet: Liège's Famous Meatball: Sebastien Laviolette of La Confrérie du Gay Boulet — a guild devoted to taste-testing the dish — introduces Darley to le boulet, a large beef-and-pork meatball in a sweet pear-and-apple sauce that's a true Liège staple.
20:46 📍 The Art of the Belgian Fry: Darley breaks down why Belgian fries are so good: thick-cut, double-fried, and best with mayonnaise or one of dozens of other sauces at a local friterie.
DURBUY: CASTLES & COUNTRYSIDE
21:41 📍 Modave Chateau: On the way to Durbuy, Darley tours this ornately decorated 17th-century chateau, once home to a Cardinal and a Count, with Baccarat chandeliers and embroidered Chinese silk on display.
22:22 📍 Durbuy: Castle of Count d'Ursel & the Topiary Garden: Guide Frederic Berteaux shows Darley around Durbuy — often called the world's smallest city — including the still-inhabited Castle of Count d'Ursel and a topiary garden with more than 250 sculpted plants, some over 120 years old.
📺 Watch more Travels with Darley on PBS & streaming: darley-newman.com/travels-with-darley
🔔 Subscribe for more travel, food and history: darley.link/youtubesubscribe
📲 Follow Darley Newman:
Instagram: instagram.com/darleynewman
Facebook: facebook.com/travelswithdarley
TikTok: tiktok.com/@darleynewman
X: https://x.com/DarleyNewman
Planning a trip to Brussels? This Brussels travel guide with Emmy Award-winning host Darley Newman goes beyond the Grand Place — through Belgian chocolate workshops, Art Nouveau architecture, a kayaking adventure in the Ardennes, and the best food in Liège and Durbuy, including waffles, Belgian fries and the region's famous meatball, le boulet.
BRUSSELS: HISTORY, ART NOUVEAU & CHOCOLATE
0:00 📍 Brussels: Darley kicks off her Belgium adventure in the country's capital and largest city — a mix of international flavor, historic architecture and quirky, cool energy she'll explore on foot and by bike.
1:13 📍 The Grand Place with Sasha Seggai: Local guide Sasha Seggai walks Darley through Brussels' Upper and Lower Town, landing at the Grand Place — rebuilt after French bombardment in 1695, with facades so individual that, as Sasha jokes, "it's easy to find your home back in Belgium if you're drunk of course."
2:41 📍 Rue des Bouchers & Dansaert Street: Darley weaves through Brussels' Restaurant Row past Chez Leon, open more than 100 years and known for mussels and frites, before browsing the fashion-forward shops of Dansaert Street.
3:15 📍 Chocolate Workshop with Laurent Gerbaud: Top chocolatier Laurent Gerbaud introduces Darley to spice- and fruit-accented Belgian chocolate — including what he calls "orgasmic chocolate," a hazelnut cream made with Piedmont hazelnuts.
5:21 📍 The Brussels Jazz Marathon: Darley caps her first day back at the Grand Place, where the multi-day Brussels Jazz Marathon fills the city with free concerts from hundreds of artists.
5:40 📍 Art Nouveau Bike Tour with Pro Velo: Guide Riet Naessens leads Darley by bicycle through Brussels' Art Nouveau neighborhoods — the Montagne Quarter, the Ponds of Ixelles and Flagey — spotting facades by architects Paul Cauchie and Ernest Blerot along the way.
8:27 📍 Hotel Solvay: The tour ends at Victor Horta's Hotel Solvay, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed Art Nouveau masterpiece built with an unlimited budget from client Ernest Solvay.
THE ARDENNES: ADVENTURE ON THE LESSE RIVER
10:12 📍 Kayaking the Lesse River: Darley heads into the Ardennes for a kayaking trip with Olivier Pitance of Dinant Adventures, a family-run outfitter — paddling through small rapids, a surprise hailstorm and on to a riverside castle.
11:37 📍 Rail Biking to Maredsous Abbey: Darley tries rail biking along old railroad tracks from the station in Falaen to Maredsous Abbey, home to Benedictine monks who make their own cheese and beer.
LIÈGE: WAFFLES, MARKETS & MEATBALLS
12:12 📍 Arrival in Liège: Just an hour from Brussels, Liège greets Darley with its Calatrava-designed train station, one of the most striking transit hubs in Europe.
12:44 📍 Liège Waffles at Maison Massin: At this local bakery, Darley learns the difference between light, airy Brussels waffles and the dense, caramelized, eat-on-the-go Liège style.
13:55 📍 La Batte Market: Reputed to be Belgium's oldest and largest market, La Batte stretches along the river with everything from cheese and snails to seafood and sausage.
14:35 📍 Curtius Brasserie (Brasserie C): Inside a former 1970s convent beside the 374-step Mount Bueren Stairs, brewer Maxime Bragard pairs his beers with local cheese for Darley — including one memorably named "chicken poop."
17:42 📍 Le Boulet: Liège's Famous Meatball: Sebastien Laviolette of La Confrérie du Gay Boulet — a guild devoted to taste-testing the dish — introduces Darley to le boulet, a large beef-and-pork meatball in a sweet pear-and-apple sauce that's a true Liège staple.
20:46 📍 The Art of the Belgian Fry: Darley breaks down why Belgian fries are so good: thick-cut, double-fried, and best with mayonnaise or one of dozens of other sauces at a local friterie.
DURBUY: CASTLES & COUNTRYSIDE
21:41 📍 Modave Chateau: On the way to Durbuy, Darley tours this ornately decorated 17th-century chateau, once home to a Cardinal and a Count, with Baccarat chandeliers and embroidered Chinese silk on display.
22:22 📍 Durbuy: Castle of Count d'Ursel & the Topiary Garden: Guide Frederic Berteaux shows Darley around Durbuy — often called the world's smallest city — including the still-inhabited Castle of Count d'Ursel and a topiary garden with more than 250 sculpted plants, some over 120 years old.
📺 Watch more Travels with Darley on PBS & streaming: darley-newman.com/travels-with-darley
🔔 Subscribe for more travel, food and history: darley.link/youtubesubscribe
📲 Follow Darley Newman:
Instagram: instagram.com/darleynewman
Facebook: facebook.com/travelswithdarley
TikTok: tiktok.com/@darleynewman
X: https://x.com/DarleyNewman
