Mobile data in Brussels: the airport train, the metro and the fast trains out
Brussels is a city of short stays and fast trains: Lille, Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne are all reachable for the day from Brussels-Midi. Getting around the city is simple; the pack you need depends on how many of those trains you take.
At a glance
- Does an eSIM work in Belgium?
- Yes. It connects to Proximus, Orange, Base (5G).
- Price
- From 3,99 € (3 GB, 15 days).
- For a one-week trip
- 5 GB for 30 days: 6,29 €.
- Does an EU phone plan work there?
- Yes: Belgium is in EU roaming, so a plan from an EU country usually works at no extra cost, within your operator's fair-use limit. If your plan is from outside the EU, it charges international roaming.
- When does the plan start?
- When your phone first connects to a network in Belgium. The QR code arrives by email within minutes.
Zaventem to the centre by train or bus 12
Brussels Airport, at Zaventem, has its station under the terminal. There is no dedicated airport shuttle train: regular intercity trains stop there and run on to Brussels-Nord, Central and Midi, roughly 15 to 20 minutes to Central. For the European quarter, STIB bus 12 runs from the airport to Schuman and Luxembourg on weekdays, with line 21 taking over in the evenings and at weekends. Taxis wait outside, and Uber works in Brussels.
Station names come in French and Dutch, so the same stop is Bruxelles-Midi or Brussel-Zuid, and some international bookings call it Brussels-South. It is one station; search for any of the names in your apps.
eSIM for Belgium
Data on your phone the moment you land in Belgium. No account, no app, no shop.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
STIB: metro, trams and a contactless card
STIB runs the metro, trams and buses inside Brussels. You can pay by tapping a contactless bank card, a phone or a watch on the validator, and you tap the same card again each time you change line and at the metro exit gates. One card per person: the system charges whoever taps.
Paying by tap needs no data, but working out which tram or bus gets you to the Atomium, or whether the metro you want is running, does. Train tickets for day trips inside Belgium are sold in the SNCB app, which also shows the platform, and that is where the phone gets used most on a Brussels week.
Lille, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne: one border per day trip
From Brussels-Midi, high-speed trains reach Lille in a little over half an hour, and Eurostar trains, the former Thalys, run to Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne. Each of those is in another country, so a Belgium pack stops giving data as soon as the train crosses the border.
The 33-country Europe pack includes Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany, and keeps the same eSIM working all the way. The train to London, through the Channel Tunnel, is covered on our Belgium page.
Waterloo, Bruges and the rest of Belgium
Day trips that stay in Belgium stay in the Belgium pack: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven or Mechelen by train, or the battlefield at Waterloo, south of the city. Belgium has three networks, Proximus on 5G and Orange and Base on 4G, and the phone picks whichever has the best signal.
Outside Brussels, buses belong to different companies, De Lijn in Flanders and TEC in Wallonia, each with its own tickets. If a day trip ends with a bus to a castle or an abbey, look up the last one back before you leave the station.
How much data for Brussels
A weekend in Brussels, with the Grand-Place, a museum and a train to Bruges or Ghent, fits in 3 GB for 15 days on a Belgium pack. A week of day trips around Belgium is 5 GB for 30 days. If one of those days is in Lille, Paris or Amsterdam, switch to the Europe pack: 3 GB for 15 days for a light week, 10 GB for 30 days for a heavier one.
For meetings in the European quarter with a laptop on the phone's hotspot, start at 10 GB. The eSIM is data only, so calls and SMS stay on your usual SIM, and the days start at the first connection in Belgium. The data calculator turns your plans into a number.
Is Bruxelles-Midi the same as Brussel-Zuid?
Yes. It is one station, also called Brussels-South, where the international trains stop.
Can I pay for the metro with my bank card?
Yes. Tap a contactless card, phone or watch on the validator, and tap it again when you change line or leave the metro.
Does a Belgium eSIM work on a day trip to Lille?
No. Lille is in France, so the Belgium pack has no data there. The Europe pack covers both countries.
Will I get a Belgian phone number?
No. The eSIM is data only, with no number for calls or SMS. WhatsApp keeps working with your usual number.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See eSIMs for Belgium