Artisan Chocolate Tasting Tour Brussels

Included in the $34

The listing includes five tastings of a variety of different Belgian chocolates and a professional live guide in English, described as a small-group experience. The operator adds a playful line that white chocolate is also available if you want it. Your ticket is a mobile ticket available immediately in the GetYourGuide app and on the website, no printing required.

What You May Pay on the Day

Anything beyond the five tastings comes from your own pocket. Extra chocolate at the shops you visit, drinks, other food and tips to the guide are all outside the price. The Choco-Story Brussels stop on the route is a tasting visit rather than museum entry, so if you want the full museum with its audio guide and praline demonstration you would book the Choco-Story museum ticket separately, or the museum and workshop combination.

There are no stated mandatory extras. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later.

Meeting on the Grand-Place

You meet at Grote Markt 8, in front of the City Hall tower on the Grand-Place, and look for the SANDEMANs team with a red umbrella. The square measures 68 by 110 metres and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. Here the guide sets the scene with how cacao reached Europe, how chocolate came to Belgium in 1635 during the Spanish occupation, and how it grew into a national symbol.

Royal Galleries Saint-Hubert, About 15 Minutes

The first stretch is a guided walk of 15 minutes through the Royal Galleries Saint-Hubert, the glass-roofed arcade of 1847 where the filled Belgian praline was born. Jean Neuhaus opened his apothecary shop here in 1857, and the praline as known today was developed in 1912 by a later Jean Neuhaus, described as the founder's son in one source and grandson in another. About seventy shops line the 213-metre passage.

Chocolatier Stops, About 10 Minutes Each

The itinerary then lists five stops of 10 to 15 minutes each: Herman Van Dender, Corne Dynastie Grand-Place, Chocolaterie Mary, Choco-Story Brussels and Pierre Marcolini. Each is a guided tasting stop rather than a sit-down session. The listing describes Herman Van Dender as a royal chocolatier named best in Brussels by Gault&Millau in 2023 and Corné Dynastie as run by five generations of one family for over a century.

It says Mary was founded in 1919 by the city's first female chocolatier and became the first house to hold a royal warrant, per the operator's description. The same description says Pierre Marcolini was named the world's best pastry chef in 2020. When timing allows the group may step into a working atelier at Choco-Story to see chocolate made from bean to bar.

The Finish

The tour finishes at a chocolatier chosen by your guide, which may be Laurent Gerbaud, known for flavours such as curry, olive and tea ganache and a motto of less sugar, no alcohol, more cocoa. There is no stated return time or fixed return point, so check with your guide where you are before planning the rest of your day. If you still have appetite, the best chocolate in Brussels guide lists more houses.

Check These Limits Before Booking

The listing states no minimum age. Children under 5 join free but the infant ticket includes no tasting, so a family with small children may prefer the small group chocolate tasting, where children under 10 join free. The listing includes no drinks, so if beer is the point the beer and chocolate tour pours at least 5 Belgian beers across 2 to 3 taverns.

The group size is not stated, so if you want a guaranteed small group the small-group tour caps at 10. The tour is wheelchair accessible and dietary needs for gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan are accommodated if you tell the guide. There is no hotel pickup, you meet on the Grand-Place.

Arrive on time, since the walk follows a 90-minute route. Difficulty is not stated, but it is a standing and walking format for 1.5 to 2 hours.

• No minimum age stated, under 5s join free without tastings
• No drinks included
• Wheelchair accessible and dietary-friendly if you tell the guide
• No hotel pickup and no stated group size, hence the small-group alternative

Reaching the Grand-Place

Two stations to know are De Brouckère, which serves metro lines 1 and 5 and premetro lines 4 and 10, and Brussels-Central, Belgium's second busiest station, which connects to the Gare Centrale metro stop on lines 1 and 5 through a pedestrian tunnel. No walking time from either station is stated.

Before or After the Walk

The listing names no Neuhaus stop, though Jean Neuhaus opened his apothecary shop in the Galeries you walk through in 1857. For a longer DIY loop, start in the Sablon with Wittamer at Place du Grand Sablon 12, founded in 1910, plus Marcolini and Mary nearby, then the Royal Galleries for Neuhaus and end near the Grand-Place, as Brussels Times suggests, keeping to four or five stops to avoid flavour fatigue. The Galeries house about seventy shops and were designated a historic monument in 1986.

Grab a waffle on your own afterwards, the best waffles in Brussels guide covers where, and read up on Belgian chocolate to know what you are tasting.