Breakfast

I%26#39;m sure we%26#39;re not going to want to pay Le Meridien%26#39;s prices for breakfast, so where can we get something CLOSE to there (I mean really close, we like to tumble out of bed and get our coffee) - it doesn%26#39;t have to be fancy, just a place to get a cup of coffee and a pastry, maybe one day something more substantial.

And if I could get a brief idea of what Belgian%26#39;s normally eat for breakfast, that would be great too, so we could fit right in.

|||

We just stayed at Le Meridien a couple weeks ago. There are a few places very close to the hotel. Half a block down the street is a square with several restaurants - a couple serve breakfast.

|||

How bad is the construction around the hotel? It sounds awful. Do you remember which direction the square with the breakfast places was?

|||

Come out of your hotel, turn right, go under archway, turn right again and you will see all the cafés on your left. The last one in the row is a bakery chain, Panos, where you can get a coffee and pastry. The Belgian breakfast pastry is called a couque and is a bit like a croissant. In addition to the plain variety (couque nature), couque au chocolat is like a French petit pain au chocolat; couque à la crème (or %26quot;huit à la crème for those in the shape of a figure 8) is filled with crème patissière; couque aux raisins has raisins in it...

|||

The construction is between the train station and the hotel so the lobby is inaccessible - they%26#39;ve set up a temporary lobby on the back side of the hotel, which isn%26#39;t too bad. There are signs from the train station to guide you around to where you need to enter the hotel. The only real issue is that you%26#39;ve got to go up a flight of stairs between the lobby and the level where the elevators start to get to the rooms. That was a slight inconvinience, but not bad.

Finding the square with the restaurants - easy, definitely. Turn right out of the temporary lobby and you will be in the square in half a block.

|||

Is there any way to avoid the stairs into the hotel? What if we took a taxi from Midi (did I ask this before - having a Senior Moment as we%26#39;re leaving next week so really busy) - anyway, we don%26#39;t mind paying the money if we can avoid lugging our suitcases up stairs. But if not, when you get to the hotel (at the bottom of the stairs) is there a way to get a bellman to help you up? Is it STILL worse coming from the Centrale since the construction is between there and the hotel? We are older and not that limber and don%26#39;t want to end up with a wrenched back on vacation!

Can%26#39;t wait to try the pastry shops and cafes for breakfast!

|||

Getting to the hotel from the train station isn%26#39;t a problem. The stairs are once you get inside the hotel, due to the fact that the regular lobby is blocked and they have a temporary lobby set up on the back side. The bellman will absolutely help you with your luggage though. So as long as you can walk up a flight of stairs yourself, you shouldn%26#39;t have a problem.

|||

Since it sounds like such a mess I think we%26#39;re just going to take the train one more stop to Centrale and figure our way from there. No sense popping for a taxi that%26#39;s not going to get us any closer.

It is really depressing when you make reservations almost a year in advance when there is NO word of construction, then suddenly it%26#39;s there. It%26#39;s life, and we%26#39;ll deal with it.

|||

Why %26quot;one MORE stop%26quot;? The airport train stops first at Nord, then Central, then Midi. If you had been going to take a taxi, it would have been better to take it from Nord than Midi.

At Midi and Nord, there are steps DOWN from the platform to the main concourse; escalators only go up.

At Gare centrale on the other hand, because it is underground you come UP from the platform to the main concourse, and the station has 2 levels. From the platform level to the first level there are escalators. From that level to the ticket office, there is a flight of steps; but if you walk to the left or right of this (can%26#39;t remember which - possibly both!) you will find an escalator to ground level. This brings you out at the side of the station when your hotel is at the front, so you would then turn left: but it isn%26#39;t far, you should be able to see the Méridien to your left when you come out.

There is also a lift (elevator) that comes out to the left of the ticket office in the main hall (ground level) which would be convenient for you, however I am not sure where it starts. I think it must be to the left of the left-luggage office (consigne), which is signposted from the level you arrive at coming up from the platforms and is next to one of the entrances (there are several!) to platform 4.

|||

We%26#39;re arriving by Eurostar, not coming from the airport. But I appreciate your detailed directions.

|||

Eurostar stops at Midi, to get to Central you will have to take another train, but your Eurostar ticket will be valid.