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2 hours
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Groovy Brussels - Chocolate and Bike Tours
Groovy Brussels - Chocolate and Bike Tours
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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Groovy Brussels offers unforgettable bicycle sightseeing and chocolate walking tours. Come join the fun!
Tours and Tickets by Groovy Brussels - Chocolate and Bike Tours
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3–4 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
1,093 reviews
Excellent
840
Very good
150
Average
58
Poor
19
Terrible
26
jness002
Breckenridge, CO16 contributions
Jun 2011
With countless Belgian ales produced by only slightly fewer Belgian breweries, an unguided drinker is likely to settle for one of the mass produced standard beers - Leffe, Delerium Tremens or Stella Artois. To avoid that trap, I would strongly recommend taking the Brussels Beer Tour - www.brusselsbeertours.com.
The tour group meets daily in front of the Visit Brussels information office on the Grand Place. After an introduction to the craft of brewing and the difference between craft beer and industrial beer, our tour guide, Cesar, guided us to two very small pubs, off the beaten track and dating to the 1600's. Make a note of their address and definitely stop by later.
Next, the tour visits the Cantillon Brewery, the only remaining brewery to make their beers exclusively through the process of spontaneous fermentation. We toured the brewery and sampled their geuze and lambic beers in the company of the brew master. One needs to maintain an open mind when drinking this type of ale, but if you do, you will be richly rewarded.
After touring the brewery, the tour visits a pub called Moeder Lambic (Mother Lambic) for four generous tastings of Belgian Ales that are truly off the beaten track. The beers are included in the price of the tour and each of them was delicious.
With the knowledge you gain from the Brussels Beer Tour, you will be able to more knowledgeably explore the world of Belgian ales - This tour is strenously recommended
One final thing - they also offer a Brussels bike tour. We didn't do it but spoke to a couple people who did and reommended it strongly.
The tour group meets daily in front of the Visit Brussels information office on the Grand Place. After an introduction to the craft of brewing and the difference between craft beer and industrial beer, our tour guide, Cesar, guided us to two very small pubs, off the beaten track and dating to the 1600's. Make a note of their address and definitely stop by later.
Next, the tour visits the Cantillon Brewery, the only remaining brewery to make their beers exclusively through the process of spontaneous fermentation. We toured the brewery and sampled their geuze and lambic beers in the company of the brew master. One needs to maintain an open mind when drinking this type of ale, but if you do, you will be richly rewarded.
After touring the brewery, the tour visits a pub called Moeder Lambic (Mother Lambic) for four generous tastings of Belgian Ales that are truly off the beaten track. The beers are included in the price of the tour and each of them was delicious.
With the knowledge you gain from the Brussels Beer Tour, you will be able to more knowledgeably explore the world of Belgian ales - This tour is strenously recommended
One final thing - they also offer a Brussels bike tour. We didn't do it but spoke to a couple people who did and reommended it strongly.
Written June 27, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lolamiko
The Netherlands10 contributions
This was a bit of a surprise. Expected a simple wander around sampling chocolates, but, got more of a taste education starting at the “low end” of the well known shops and ending up at the top places experimenting in ingredients and flavours. Backtracked and bought our own favourites as well.
Written May 13, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
neiljsydney
Coffs Harbour, Australia22 contributions
Definitely a great way to see Brussels at the beginning of your trip. Takes 4 hours, and you see all the major attractions. Best part is the guide who is very down-to-earth, firendly and accommodating. Caters for inexperienced bike riders too - my wife had not ridden for 17 years - but we still had a great time. Beer and chips recommended at end of tour. Can be a bit daunting at first riding with lots of walking tourists in the way on the cobblestones, but soon you get onto the roads and its much better.
Written May 13, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AJ_M_30
Rathcoole, Ireland82 contributions
Sep 2012 • Business
Hello all,
Just to give you some knowledge on the informal agreement about the service between AJ & Cesar (Groovy Bikes):-
• Service – City Bike trip in Brussels on 22nd September
• Point of meeting – Visitor centre, Grand Place, Brussels
• Time – 14:00
• Number of people – 19
• Payment – Pay half in advance & half after the service is fulfilled
Issue – I am raising this dispute because I believe we didn’t receive the service that we paid for.
Details – I and 18 of my colleagues were in Brussels for a weekend trip and we decided to do a cycling city trip Groovy Bikes, due to couple of issues we were running late & were not going to make it on time for the cycling trip.
What did we do to Inform Cesar about the delay: - We made all possible attempts to get in touch with Cesar (Groovy Bikes) to inform him about the delay in getting to the meeting point that includes calling him twice on his mobile phone on three occasions that day & fourth time the next day.
First call (at 13:29) – Made at 13:29 which is when we arrived in the hotel due to a delay which was outside our control. At this point his phone kept ringing and then went on the voicemail.
Second call (at 13:30)- shortly after the first call I rang again and left a voicemail this time explaining him that we are running late & will seeing him at 14:30 at the agreed meeting location.
I arrived at the Visitor centre in Grand Place, Brussels at 14:30 & didn’t find anyone outside waiting for me with 19 bikes, so I went inside the office and checked at the information desk which is where I was told there is another visitor centre within the grand place, so I ran towards that location and I can honestly tell you this second visitor centre 1/8th size of the bigger visitor centre, it’s like a small grocery shop where as the first visitor centre was massive and had big sign posts outside with big huge (i) directing me towards it. Trust me I am not exaggerating the situation but it was extremely easy to believe that the first visitor centre was the correct location.
Third Call (at 14:45) – I arrived at the second visitor centre where I saw only 8 bikes outside not 19 as promised. I went inside and l started to look for Cesar & the staff didn’t know anything about it. There was extremely helpful lady on the desk, she went out to check any information on Cesar (Groovy Bikes) with her colleagues, she was confident that none of the staff in the visitor centre seen Cesar there that day. We tried to ring him from the visitor centre & yet again the phone went on voicemail. The lady on reception left another voicemail in local language & also left my phone number but we didn’t receive any calls the whole day.
Fourth call (10:30 AM next day) – We again rang the same number and he answered the phone, this time I just wanted to know why he didn’t turn up but I was told you were late and there will be no refund.
I was shocked that he had no sympathy with us and didn’t want to know why we couldn’t make it on time. He didn’t mention why he couldn’t take any of our calls. It was a very bad experience. I would appreciate if you can arrange to get our money back. The time 19 people lost and the discomfort cannot be possibly measured. I would appreciate if you can help us get the refund. Thank you, Ajay
Just to give you some knowledge on the informal agreement about the service between AJ & Cesar (Groovy Bikes):-
• Service – City Bike trip in Brussels on 22nd September
• Point of meeting – Visitor centre, Grand Place, Brussels
• Time – 14:00
• Number of people – 19
• Payment – Pay half in advance & half after the service is fulfilled
Issue – I am raising this dispute because I believe we didn’t receive the service that we paid for.
Details – I and 18 of my colleagues were in Brussels for a weekend trip and we decided to do a cycling city trip Groovy Bikes, due to couple of issues we were running late & were not going to make it on time for the cycling trip.
What did we do to Inform Cesar about the delay: - We made all possible attempts to get in touch with Cesar (Groovy Bikes) to inform him about the delay in getting to the meeting point that includes calling him twice on his mobile phone on three occasions that day & fourth time the next day.
First call (at 13:29) – Made at 13:29 which is when we arrived in the hotel due to a delay which was outside our control. At this point his phone kept ringing and then went on the voicemail.
Second call (at 13:30)- shortly after the first call I rang again and left a voicemail this time explaining him that we are running late & will seeing him at 14:30 at the agreed meeting location.
I arrived at the Visitor centre in Grand Place, Brussels at 14:30 & didn’t find anyone outside waiting for me with 19 bikes, so I went inside the office and checked at the information desk which is where I was told there is another visitor centre within the grand place, so I ran towards that location and I can honestly tell you this second visitor centre 1/8th size of the bigger visitor centre, it’s like a small grocery shop where as the first visitor centre was massive and had big sign posts outside with big huge (i) directing me towards it. Trust me I am not exaggerating the situation but it was extremely easy to believe that the first visitor centre was the correct location.
Third Call (at 14:45) – I arrived at the second visitor centre where I saw only 8 bikes outside not 19 as promised. I went inside and l started to look for Cesar & the staff didn’t know anything about it. There was extremely helpful lady on the desk, she went out to check any information on Cesar (Groovy Bikes) with her colleagues, she was confident that none of the staff in the visitor centre seen Cesar there that day. We tried to ring him from the visitor centre & yet again the phone went on voicemail. The lady on reception left another voicemail in local language & also left my phone number but we didn’t receive any calls the whole day.
Fourth call (10:30 AM next day) – We again rang the same number and he answered the phone, this time I just wanted to know why he didn’t turn up but I was told you were late and there will be no refund.
I was shocked that he had no sympathy with us and didn’t want to know why we couldn’t make it on time. He didn’t mention why he couldn’t take any of our calls. It was a very bad experience. I would appreciate if you can arrange to get our money back. The time 19 people lost and the discomfort cannot be possibly measured. I would appreciate if you can help us get the refund. Thank you, Ajay
Written September 24, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DannyZ24
Norristown, PA278 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
My wife and I found this tour from TripAdvisor and based on the reviews and my love of beer we booked and took our tour with Cesar on February 2nd.
Overall: Decent tour; nice education; appeals to all levels of beer knowledge; fair priced; not a pub crawl (Cesar makes note of that from the beginning); nice selection of beers; tour a working brewery (Cantillon Brewing); experience two unique and different Brussels Pubs & plenty of American generalizations. Wait, what did he just say?
Some of Cesar’s Americanisms grew to be a bit much for my wife and I by the end of the tour. The way he talked down about American culture in generalizations was really inappropriate at times. One of his comments about how “the Americans on the tour might have some trouble keeping up with the walking” really annoyed my wife and I. There was even a point where some of our Norwegian tour partners glanced over and exchanged eye rolls after a few of his comments. I’m really surprised other US reviewers did not include this in their reviews; took someone from Canada to point out this fact. Don’t believe me? Read it in their TA review of this tour from February 14, 2012.
Simply put, the tour operator, Cesar, originally from Argentina, living for 6 years in Brussels, who also spent some time in France and married a corporate lawyer should really hold his opinions of American culture to himself. Especially, when we shelled out $107 USD for his tour. Plus, if he read TripAdvisor he would notice that it’s mainly Americans who are giving him the positive reviews that help him maintain his “#1 Activity in Brussels status.” By nature I’m more passive, so his comments mainly just got under my skin, but since I was more interested in the beer knowledge I gave him a pass. My wife on the other hand wasn’t as forgiving. She may even write her own TA review.
Sorry, enough of the rant, let me comment on the tour itself. It’s a great concept. Cesar gives a decent tour and he includes some awesome spots. You meet out front of the Visit Brussels office in the Grand Place at 2pm sharp. Our tour started at Au Bon Vieux Temps, a quaint Brussels beer bar, about 300 years old, located down an alley way. Here, Cesar began with an intro to the ingredients of beer followed by a discussion about Trappist beers and brewing. We were given the option to try a Blonde (Westmalle Tripel), Amber (Orval), or a Dark (Rouchefort). We also spent some time discussing the “Best Beer in the World”, Westvleteren. Unfortunately, we did not try it, but Cesar got us a bottle form the bar (yes Au Bon Vieux had it) and we passed the plain bottle around and discussed how marketing can effect perception. He suggested if you order this beer from this Pub, ask for it at cellar temperature.
Next stop was Cantillon Brewing, according to Cesar this is a Mecca for Beer Geeks. As a “Wanna Be Beer Geek,” I was all in for the experience. Here we toured the functioning brewery and learned about spontaneous fermentation. At the end we sampled a Lambic right from the barrel (not actually from the barrel, more like from a ceramic jug who’s contents I guess came from the barrel). We were also given the choice to sample a Gueze (sour), or a Raspberry Lambic (sweet), or an Iris (a mix; completely original to the brewery). It’s worth noting that the Cantillon website offers a great PDF file with information for a walking tour around Brussels, print it out before you go.
The tour concludes at a more modern Brussels pub called Moeder Lambic Fontainas (Mother Lambic). The pub has 46 beers on draft and leaves some malted grains on the tables for you to snack on. It was early Saturday evening and the place was beginning to fill up. We had a reserved area in the back where we sampled two additional beers. A blonde, from Brassier de la Senne. Very refreshing after the sourness of the Gueze and the Lambic at Cantillon. We were then given a choice of either a smoky, bacon flavored Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Brauerei Heller. My personal favorite of the day. My wife opted for the other selection, her favorite of the day, the Bink Blosesem from Kerkom. Cesar wrapped up the tour, which at this point was going on 4 hours, after these selections. My wife and I decided to stay a little longer to experience the vibe of Moeder Lambic after the tour to try one of their quiches. Highly recommend.
So, bottom line, if Cesar tones down, and/or gets rid of his American generalizations, or if you can block them out for 4 hours, you’ll have an even better time on this tour.
Overall: Decent tour; nice education; appeals to all levels of beer knowledge; fair priced; not a pub crawl (Cesar makes note of that from the beginning); nice selection of beers; tour a working brewery (Cantillon Brewing); experience two unique and different Brussels Pubs & plenty of American generalizations. Wait, what did he just say?
Some of Cesar’s Americanisms grew to be a bit much for my wife and I by the end of the tour. The way he talked down about American culture in generalizations was really inappropriate at times. One of his comments about how “the Americans on the tour might have some trouble keeping up with the walking” really annoyed my wife and I. There was even a point where some of our Norwegian tour partners glanced over and exchanged eye rolls after a few of his comments. I’m really surprised other US reviewers did not include this in their reviews; took someone from Canada to point out this fact. Don’t believe me? Read it in their TA review of this tour from February 14, 2012.
Simply put, the tour operator, Cesar, originally from Argentina, living for 6 years in Brussels, who also spent some time in France and married a corporate lawyer should really hold his opinions of American culture to himself. Especially, when we shelled out $107 USD for his tour. Plus, if he read TripAdvisor he would notice that it’s mainly Americans who are giving him the positive reviews that help him maintain his “#1 Activity in Brussels status.” By nature I’m more passive, so his comments mainly just got under my skin, but since I was more interested in the beer knowledge I gave him a pass. My wife on the other hand wasn’t as forgiving. She may even write her own TA review.
Sorry, enough of the rant, let me comment on the tour itself. It’s a great concept. Cesar gives a decent tour and he includes some awesome spots. You meet out front of the Visit Brussels office in the Grand Place at 2pm sharp. Our tour started at Au Bon Vieux Temps, a quaint Brussels beer bar, about 300 years old, located down an alley way. Here, Cesar began with an intro to the ingredients of beer followed by a discussion about Trappist beers and brewing. We were given the option to try a Blonde (Westmalle Tripel), Amber (Orval), or a Dark (Rouchefort). We also spent some time discussing the “Best Beer in the World”, Westvleteren. Unfortunately, we did not try it, but Cesar got us a bottle form the bar (yes Au Bon Vieux had it) and we passed the plain bottle around and discussed how marketing can effect perception. He suggested if you order this beer from this Pub, ask for it at cellar temperature.
Next stop was Cantillon Brewing, according to Cesar this is a Mecca for Beer Geeks. As a “Wanna Be Beer Geek,” I was all in for the experience. Here we toured the functioning brewery and learned about spontaneous fermentation. At the end we sampled a Lambic right from the barrel (not actually from the barrel, more like from a ceramic jug who’s contents I guess came from the barrel). We were also given the choice to sample a Gueze (sour), or a Raspberry Lambic (sweet), or an Iris (a mix; completely original to the brewery). It’s worth noting that the Cantillon website offers a great PDF file with information for a walking tour around Brussels, print it out before you go.
The tour concludes at a more modern Brussels pub called Moeder Lambic Fontainas (Mother Lambic). The pub has 46 beers on draft and leaves some malted grains on the tables for you to snack on. It was early Saturday evening and the place was beginning to fill up. We had a reserved area in the back where we sampled two additional beers. A blonde, from Brassier de la Senne. Very refreshing after the sourness of the Gueze and the Lambic at Cantillon. We were then given a choice of either a smoky, bacon flavored Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Brauerei Heller. My personal favorite of the day. My wife opted for the other selection, her favorite of the day, the Bink Blosesem from Kerkom. Cesar wrapped up the tour, which at this point was going on 4 hours, after these selections. My wife and I decided to stay a little longer to experience the vibe of Moeder Lambic after the tour to try one of their quiches. Highly recommend.
So, bottom line, if Cesar tones down, and/or gets rid of his American generalizations, or if you can block them out for 4 hours, you’ll have an even better time on this tour.
Written February 4, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Far from being critical of the United States, I actually love watching Jersey Shore and eating at a Waffle House.
Thank you for your review,
Cheers,
Cesar
Written April 3, 2013
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
gazza_nz73
Te Awamutu11 contributions
If you have had an awesome experience as we have on a Mike's or Fat Tire Bike Tours, this one is definitely not for you!! Brussels bike tours is totally unprofessional, over priced and the guide we had was very very bad.
For a start he didn’t introduce himself just that he was from Argentina. He struggled to find enough bikes for a group of 5.I have done several other bike tours around Europe. We have found them all to be a lot of fun, very safe in regard to the guide grouping up to cross major intersections etc.
This guy just road ahead and let you fend for yourself, felt quite unsafe riding some of the streets. As for tour guide skills told us nothing, very boring and when asked questions standard reply was "its not important so don’t worry" or "I'll cover that later" translation he didn’t know!
He was very negative towards Brussels, certainly didn't help you feel passionate about the place.
At lunch I got belittled because I asked which beer was just a normal draught as I'm not a big fan of the Belgium 8 - 9% .
Mikes Bikes & Fat Tire keep up the awesome tours, and don’t go on Brussels Bike Tours!!
For a start he didn’t introduce himself just that he was from Argentina. He struggled to find enough bikes for a group of 5.I have done several other bike tours around Europe. We have found them all to be a lot of fun, very safe in regard to the guide grouping up to cross major intersections etc.
This guy just road ahead and let you fend for yourself, felt quite unsafe riding some of the streets. As for tour guide skills told us nothing, very boring and when asked questions standard reply was "its not important so don’t worry" or "I'll cover that later" translation he didn’t know!
He was very negative towards Brussels, certainly didn't help you feel passionate about the place.
At lunch I got belittled because I asked which beer was just a normal draught as I'm not a big fan of the Belgium 8 - 9% .
Mikes Bikes & Fat Tire keep up the awesome tours, and don’t go on Brussels Bike Tours!!
Written October 31, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ma0sm
Utrecht, The Netherlands176 contributions
Bullet pointed as otherwise people get bored.
Pros:
1. Caesar is a genuinely likeable, affable guy who seems to really care about the tour and wants those on it to enjoy it. His enthusiasm is contagious.
2. It covers some great areas of the city, including some you wouldn't necessarily think of going to without prompting.
3. It's a great first stop to get to know Brussels and identify areas you'd like to explore further.
4. The tour and comments were sculpted based on our responses and questioning. My partner and I were the only ones on the tour, and were clearly penny pinching travellers. Caesar took the opportunity to point out good places / areas to eat / drink on a budget.
Cons:
1. The bikes have seen better days, handlebars kept slipping on my girlfriends bike. They're not great, but get the job done.
2. Some safety measures like the option for helmets would be good, surprised there aren't more really as it's in Caesar's interests to keep the group safe. A brief introduction to cycling tips in Brussels would have been good too.
3. The price is steep for what you get, especially as bike hire is so widely available in Brussels at a very reasonable price.
4. There were some holes in Caesar's knowledge, which he would often reveal without prompting. He's just being honest, but it doesn't fill you with confidence when this happens. No tour guide knows everything about a city, it's just there are multiple ways of revealing that you don't know about something.
Pros:
1. Caesar is a genuinely likeable, affable guy who seems to really care about the tour and wants those on it to enjoy it. His enthusiasm is contagious.
2. It covers some great areas of the city, including some you wouldn't necessarily think of going to without prompting.
3. It's a great first stop to get to know Brussels and identify areas you'd like to explore further.
4. The tour and comments were sculpted based on our responses and questioning. My partner and I were the only ones on the tour, and were clearly penny pinching travellers. Caesar took the opportunity to point out good places / areas to eat / drink on a budget.
Cons:
1. The bikes have seen better days, handlebars kept slipping on my girlfriends bike. They're not great, but get the job done.
2. Some safety measures like the option for helmets would be good, surprised there aren't more really as it's in Caesar's interests to keep the group safe. A brief introduction to cycling tips in Brussels would have been good too.
3. The price is steep for what you get, especially as bike hire is so widely available in Brussels at a very reasonable price.
4. There were some holes in Caesar's knowledge, which he would often reveal without prompting. He's just being honest, but it doesn't fill you with confidence when this happens. No tour guide knows everything about a city, it's just there are multiple ways of revealing that you don't know about something.
Written February 16, 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for joining one of our tours and for taking the time to share your experience with everyone visiting the TripAdvisor website. Reviews allow us to learn and improve day by day.
Just wanted to let you know that we've purchased brand new Batavus dutch bikes (some call them the BMW of bikes) which will be delivered at the end of the month, so we're very excited about this and a little bit sad to let our "classics" go :-(.
Helmets are not mandatory for cycling in Belgium (neither in France nor the Netherlands, among other countries in Europe) and we cycle at very low speeds, as you were able to see. Anyhow, since we want our clients to both be and feel safe, we will be purchasing some helmets very soon so that whoever wants to use one will be able to do so. A couple of people have posted the same comment about the helmets so I think this would be a good idea.
Me and the the rest of the guides learn new things every day about Brussels and we share with our clients whatever we consider to be interesting or funny (ideally both) about this city. There might unfortunately be times when we don't know the answer to one of our guest's questions. I've made the company's policy not to give any BS to our guests, we'd rather say that we don't know something than make something up and, to be honest, this has only happened to me about three times. Guess I'll just have to keep on reading more belgian/Brussels history ;-).
Thanks once again for coming and for writing your thoughts. Hope to see you again soon in Brussels.
Cheers, Cesar.
Written February 24, 2009
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
mattkorey
San Francisco, CA321 contributions
Let me start by saying that overall, I thought the tour was fun. Would I recommend it as it is right now? I'm not so sure about that. This tour needs some serious upgrading all the way around. I think we got somewhat lucky that we had really hilarious people on the tour with us, it really enhanced the experience, and you can't count on that.
First the good. Cesar, the tour guide, is a very nice, funny guy. He's very charming, which is a good thing, given the problems with the tour. So now the not so good. The bikes themselves are a mess. The whole operation actually comes across as being completely done on the cheap. The gears don't work on any of the bikes (at least not on our tour, and there were about eight of us). The biggest problem with my partner's bike is part of it kept falling apart. Part of the handlebar actually fell off twice, causing him to crash flat out in the middle of an intersection and slice up his hand and lead to a stint in the emergency room. Not only did Cesar not really pay much mind to it, he didn't even have so much as a band aid to stop the bleeding. Another woman on the tour did thankfully. We were weaving through traffic on coblestones, in the rain, down hills with no helmets. And there were little kids on our tour. This tour would never fly in the US from a liability point of view.
Speaking of the weather, rain is extremely common in Brussels, and he has no ponchos for the riders. How much would it cost to buy some? A dollar a person? It was just so puzzling and he acted as if he had never heard of such a thing. I have never heard of a tour that didn't have them. Mind you, you are paying $40 for the tour, on a broken down bike, with no helmet and are all wet in the rain. And, he makes much ado of a stop to get the best fries in Brussels, which they were, but then he makes you pay for them! I mean, it is only a few dollars, but if just comes across as being so cheap. It would look better for him to charge a little more up front and cover those sorts of costs. This penny pinching reflected very poorly on the tour. In addittion, the Brussels history portion was a little sketchy as well I'm afraid, we'd pass huge monuments and buildings and have no idea what anything was. One girl on the tour said she was just going to take pictures and then look it up on the internet. Again, not good. At least he knew his way around the city.
All that said, seeing Brussels on a bike is a great way to see so much more of the city than you ever could otherwise, and the tour was great fun just in the riding about and seeing things. However, Cesar needs to step it up in a big, big way. If this is the top activity in the entire city in its current state, then Brussels is in big trouble.
First the good. Cesar, the tour guide, is a very nice, funny guy. He's very charming, which is a good thing, given the problems with the tour. So now the not so good. The bikes themselves are a mess. The whole operation actually comes across as being completely done on the cheap. The gears don't work on any of the bikes (at least not on our tour, and there were about eight of us). The biggest problem with my partner's bike is part of it kept falling apart. Part of the handlebar actually fell off twice, causing him to crash flat out in the middle of an intersection and slice up his hand and lead to a stint in the emergency room. Not only did Cesar not really pay much mind to it, he didn't even have so much as a band aid to stop the bleeding. Another woman on the tour did thankfully. We were weaving through traffic on coblestones, in the rain, down hills with no helmets. And there were little kids on our tour. This tour would never fly in the US from a liability point of view.
Speaking of the weather, rain is extremely common in Brussels, and he has no ponchos for the riders. How much would it cost to buy some? A dollar a person? It was just so puzzling and he acted as if he had never heard of such a thing. I have never heard of a tour that didn't have them. Mind you, you are paying $40 for the tour, on a broken down bike, with no helmet and are all wet in the rain. And, he makes much ado of a stop to get the best fries in Brussels, which they were, but then he makes you pay for them! I mean, it is only a few dollars, but if just comes across as being so cheap. It would look better for him to charge a little more up front and cover those sorts of costs. This penny pinching reflected very poorly on the tour. In addittion, the Brussels history portion was a little sketchy as well I'm afraid, we'd pass huge monuments and buildings and have no idea what anything was. One girl on the tour said she was just going to take pictures and then look it up on the internet. Again, not good. At least he knew his way around the city.
All that said, seeing Brussels on a bike is a great way to see so much more of the city than you ever could otherwise, and the tour was great fun just in the riding about and seeing things. However, Cesar needs to step it up in a big, big way. If this is the top activity in the entire city in its current state, then Brussels is in big trouble.
Written October 7, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
First of all, thanks Matt for joining our tours and for leaving your review, we truly appreciate it.
I'd like to comment on your review since most of it is full of bad faith.
First and most important, safety. The bikes are NOT a mess. They are not brand new but they DO work properly and they are safe (they will be completely replaced next year). We've shown the city to hundreds of persons, and everyone has been able to complete the tour without a scratch. Your friend's bike actually had the safest brakes on the market (Shimano Nexus roller brakes) and they worked properly. The handlebar did not fall. Handlebars NEVER fall. The reason for your friend's fall (I only saw one), was explained to him: due to the very cold weather, the aluminum on the handlebar contracted and one of the rubber grips slipped when your friend turned at the intersection, so he lost his grip and fell. I immediately approached him to se how he was and he said he was ok. There was no bleeding in his hand, just a minor scratch (in my previous life I was an Outward Bound instructor and had a Wilderness First Responder certification). I agreed with you that it would be a good idea to carry some band aids, which I've already purchased. Regarding helmets: Belgian law, doesn't require the use helmets (neither French nor Dutch). Kids are welcome on our tours, and belgian law allows them to bike on the streets. There were seven persons on the tour and not eight as you say.
Second. Rain is NOT extremely common in Brussels, overcast skies are. It rains only 7% accumulated time. Average monthly rainfall is 2.6 in. San Francisco for example, gets 1.6 in. and New York City 3.9 in.! You and your friend were offered rain protection (though it is clearly stated on our website that it is not included in the price, probably next year it will). Your friend did not accept it so his was used by another client. I gave you my own personal rain jacket for you to be protected from the rain and cold, so what you say truly surprises me.
Third. The fries you had are considered the best in Brussels. The New York Times even says they are the best in the world! Our stop halfway is for everyone to take a break, go to the toilet, have a drink or anything that suits them (I even remember telling you could do flip-flops if you wished to). So that is the reason fries and beer are not included in the price. You are free to do, eat or drink anything you like during our half-hour stop (the indian family in the group went for pizza for example).
Fourth. I really don't understand what you mean by "sketchy Brussels history". We make 14 stops on our tour and we give a brief explanation of each attraction we see on these stops. We only give true information, we don't make-up stories about them.
Fifth. The cost of our tours is 25€ (euros) and not $40.
Last. We designed the tour so that people would have the best possible time here in Brussels. I would have truly appreciated you telling me your thoughts once the tour was over. Having known at that time you had such a bad experience, I would not have charged you.
Thanks again for coming,
Cesar
Written October 9, 2008
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mike621
Illinois1 contribution
If you think it's cool to have a guide show up late, complain he didn't have time for a coffee, curse, pee in public, and not know anything other than the names of the buildings, then ask for Caesar. If you think 25 euros entitles you to a guide who acts professionally and shares interesting stories about the city and the sights, find another tour company.
Written June 11, 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Excellent! Surreal reviews are also welcome!
Written June 12, 2009
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Melbourne Traveller
Melbourne, Australia12 contributions
This was a decent bike tour with good stops. Our guide, Marie, lacked the enthusiasm we’re used to from other guides - there were several comments regarding her commentary feeling scripted & mild. One of the most annoying things was saying “I’ll let you take pictures then explain what it is after”. Taking photos really needs context beforehand - just our opinion! I think this would have been a 5-star experience with another guide. If we had time, we would have done a second tour with another company to feel more knowledgeable and inspired about Brussels.
Written October 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bonjour, lorsque l'on procède à une vérification de la disponibilité, il est indiqué que la location de vélo n'est pas comprise dans le prix ?? Pourtant dans le descriptif, les vélos sont compris !
Qu'en est-il exactement ?
Découvrez la beauté de Bruxelles lors de cette visite guidée de 3 heures en vélo. Découvrez 12 symboles de Bruxelles, y compris le Parlement européen, la Grand-Place, la place du Petit Sablon, le parc du Cinquantenaire et bien plus encore. Faites une pause à mi-chemin pour profiter des meilleures frites et d’une bière à la célèbre Maison Antoine (à vos frais). Cette visite en petit groupe pour 14 personnes maximum garantit une attention personnalisée. Les vélos ne sont pas inclus dans le prix de l’excursion.
Découvrez les points forts de Bruxelles lors de cette visite guidée d'une demi-journée à vélo. Visitez des sites historiques comme le Parlement européen, le Palais de justice, la place du Petit Sablon, le palais de Bruxelles, etc. De plus, vous aurez une vue sur l'Atomium. Faites une pause pour des frites et une bière au milieu de la visite (à vos propres frais). Les vélos sont fournis dans le prix.
Written June 13, 2022
Do you do beer tours in countryside or in Bruges or Ghent?
Written May 10, 2018
Hi, only in Brussels though we are momentarily not offering them.
Written May 10, 2018
We are looking at doing your/their bike tour on the 3rd or 4th week of April and I am seeing so many negative reviews for Mary. Is she still with Groovy? For those that have taken the bike tour recently, how was your experience?
Written April 5, 2018
Hi,
Mary got unfortunately bad reviews but also received some very good ones if you read carefully. She stopped working for us on October 2017. You're welcome to join any of our tours, you won't be disappointed. Should you not be absolutely happy with the tour, we'll refund your payment in full.
Cheers,
César
Written April 5, 2018
Bonjour.
Je souhaiterais venir le 15 ou 16 avril est ce que lz guide explique en français?
Merci bonne soirée
Written January 30, 2017
Hola,
por el momento, ofrecemos únicamente tours en inglés.
Sería posible ofrecerle un tour privado en español dependiendo del tamaño del grupo. Por favor, envíenos un correo electrónico indicando la fecha en la cual desea realizar la visita, horario, y numero de participantes y le contestaremos a la brevedad.
Saludos cordiales,
César
Written February 19, 2016
Hi, helmets are not mandatory in Belgium, we therefore don't supply them. Helmets are voluntarily used when road cycling, mountain biking or when using electric bikes due to the higher speeds. Helments are mandatory only in Australia and New Zealand, some US States and some Canadian provinces.
Cheers!
Written August 25, 2015
Buenos dias.
estaremos en bruselas domingo 12 july, o martes 14.
Somos una pareja con un niño de 4 años y nos gustaría saber si teneis bicicletas con silla de niño.
Y en tal caso, precio.
Gracias
Written July 8, 2015
Hi,
we have a free baby seat for chilren up to 22 kilograms only. After that, only children 12 years old or older can join.
Cheers!
Written July 8, 2015
My wife & I, plus our two young daughters, would like to do this tour. Our youngest child will be just under 5 years old when we come, so we might like her on a trailer bike. Do you have those kind? (Where the kid bike attaches to yours, so essentially their bike has no front wheel, bust does have handle bars, pedals, and a back wheel.)
Also, our older daughter will just be turning 7 and is an excellent rider. Can she have her own bike and do the tour with us?
Thank you!
Written May 13, 2015
We don't have trailer bikes unfortunately. We do have baby seats for up to 20 kilograms. Your 7 year old is welcome if she feels at ease cycling in a city environment and can keep an adult pace.
Written May 13, 2015
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.