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The
aristocratic city of
Brussels is the capital of the north-western European country of Belgium.
Brussels which is the largest urban area in Belgium is composed of 19 municipalities
including the City of Brussels which is the constitutional capital of Belgium, the
Flanders and Wallonia. Brussels is in fact a Flemish-French bilingual enclave located
in the Flemish-speaking area of Belgium.
Aside from functioning as the constitutional capital of Belgium, Brussels is also
often considered to be the capital of Europe as it is home to the headquarters of
the European Union. As a founding member of the EU it also hosts several other EU
institutions like the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the
Committee of the Regions and the European parliament which is the legislative branch
of the EU composed of representatives elected by the people of the member states
for the duration of a five-year term.
Additionally
this city which is characterized by the co-existence of French and Flemish cultures
also hosts the headquarters of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and
Eurocontrol (the European organization for the safety of Air navigation) within
its borders. Further this Belgian capital city is also home to the European headquarters
of countless multinational corporations like Toyota, UPS, Proctor and Gamble, Monsanto,
Shurgard amongst others. The presence of these various international organizations
and companies has given Brussels a distinct cosmopolitan flavor as it is nowadays
home to various different nationalities. In fact it is estimated that nearly 25%
of Brussels inhabitants are foreigners who are employed in these diverse international
institutions and companies.
All
this hectic intergovernmental and economic activity has thus firmly established
Brussels as an extremely important destination on the business traveler’s map. According
to recent records it is estimated that approximately 14 million business travelers
visit Brussels every year. Moreover Brussels is also easily accessible as it is
well served by its Brussels National international airport which is located approximately
11km (6 miles) to the northeast of the city and provides connections between Brussels
and various destinations all over the world. Apart from these numerous air links,
Brussels is also connected by the high speed trains like the Thalys and Eurostar
trains which come into its Gare du Midi and connect it to various other European
cities like Paris, London, Cologne, Lille, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Montpellier
and Grenoble.
To
serve the needs of the many business travelers who visit the Belgian capital all
throughout the year, the city of Brussels is equipped with many diverse hotels which
can easily accommodate all kinds of budgets. Some of the popular business hotels
located here include Be Manos which is a boutique hotel located near the Gare du
Midi, home of the Eurostar, the Dominican which is a stylish hotel located near
the Grand’Place and the Opera House and the Hotel Amigo which is also located near
the Grand’Place and is housed in a beautifully restored 18th century building.
Conducting business meetings over lunch is an accepted custom in Brussels and the
city which is known for its numerous gastronomic contributions like waffles, the
Brussels sprout, French fries, chocolate and artisanal beers is also home to many
top notch restaurants like Comme chez Soi (the city’s premier French restaurant)
Notos, a Greek restaurant popular with politicians and diplomats and upscale Italian
eateries, Dal Padrino and Barbanera all of which are favored venues for meetings.
However apart from these restaurants,
Brussels is also equipped with traditional meetings and convention centers like
the Square Brussels Meeting Centre, the Concert Noble, the Federation of Enterprises
in Belgium which are all equipped with Wi-Fi, giant screens and other state of the
art facilities for the many conferences, European summits, exhibitions, meetings,
fairs that are held in the Belgian capital every year.
If your business entails frequent trips to the Belgian capital city, your flight
from the US is bound to involve a long haul trans-Atlantic journey and the only
way that you can hope to avoid jet lag and the resultant travel-induced fatigue
is to travel in the premier cabin of one of the many carriers that offer connections
to Brussels from various US cities.
Business class
tickets often cost twice as much as coach class tickets and business class tickets to Brussels from the US are no
different for they can cost $3000 upwards depending on whether you choose to fly
on direct or take a multi-stop connection to Brussels. However your company can
easily manage to procure cheap business class travel deals by partnering with a travel
management company like the New York City based, Fare Buzz which specializes in
cheap business
class airfares.
Through its contracts with over sixty domestic and international airlines Fare Buzz
is able to procure
discount business class flights to nearly every global destination. It is
worth mentioning that these low business class tickets offered by Fare Buzz come with
all the perks that are normally associated with regular business class tickets like
mileage accrual and pre-assigned seats. Moreover Fare Buzz along with favorable
business class tickets prices also offers the excellent services of its knowledgeable
customer service team which is on hand all seven days of the week. So don't hesitate
any longer but pick up the phone and call Fare Buzz at 1-800-847-1963
to score the best business travel deals the capital of Europe to today.
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